Good morning, HOB. Back over at Kroger Field for the start of Week 3 of the college football season. Hard to believe we’re already a quarter of the way into the season. Don’t blink. But I digress… We’ll have Mark Stoops joining us at Noon ET to talk about the Cats’ upcoming matchup with Chattanooga. Stay tuned…
NOTE:
* Scoring change has been announced by the SEC from Kentucky’s win over Missouri: OL Eli Cox has been credited for a TD on a fumble recovery, taking one of Chris Rodriguez’s school record-tying four touchdowns away.
MARK STOOPS Q&A:
* Stoops says film review showed a lot of things to build on. Really liked the plan they had in place for that game. Had a lot of opportunities. Need to clean some stuff up to take advantage. Thought they were in control of the game offensively the whole night with the exception of Possession 8, a three-and-out. “Did some really good things.”
* Coming off a physical, emotional game, the challenge is focusing on being ready to play in a game like this.
* Davonte Robinson should be good to go this week; Jordan Wright is still a wait-and-see.
* On Chris Rodriguez and ball security… Stoops says he just always reminds guys that when you have the football in your hands, you have the program in your hands. “He‘ll get it corrected. I have confidence in him.”
* Asked if he’s surprised by how quickly the offense has picked things up, Stoops says maybe not surprised but very much pleased. They’re able to do what they need to do when they need to do it. “That’s critical for our success, the balance we’re showing.”
* On Eli Cox… Some good things. Played better in this game. More consistent. Our center and whole right side played well, Stoops said. Says it’s very gratifying to see what Eli has done. A “program guy,” comes in and works hard and exceeds his recruiting billing.
* On how the narrative changes in showing they can do this against an SEC team… “It says a lot,” Stoops said. But he’d like to see that be a 45 and not 35.
* Asked about Jacquez Jones’ play… Great play. Nice to see him step up. To get a stop to start the second half is big. He had shown some of that athleticism in camp, even though he’s known more for being physical in the box.
* Asked if this is a “breather” this week (yeah, that was asked) Stoops said he would never use that term. Challenge is getting the players’ minds right, and they are also a little physically dinged up right now after playing an SEC game.
* Pleased with Levis’ play, even with the interception. It was the right place to go with the ball. Just gotta make a little better throw.
* Trevin Wallace helped create the game-clinching play, Stoops said. Some things they can do with him in that role, using his athleticism to pressure.
* We’re going to get better at the pass game, Stoops said. We already have. But we’re going to keep working at it.
* Asked if Liam Coen has ever run the ball 52 times in a game, Stoops jokes “I doubt it. He was a quarterback.” Cats ran it 12x in a row at one point, “because we could.”
* Regarding special teams, Stoops says Berry is still dealing with some lingering back issues, so they’re not flipping the field like they should. The blocked FG was a blocking problem, not on Ruffolo.
* Program was once 12-26 under Stoops. Now 51-50. Asked if he feels smarter (in a joking way) Stoops laughs and says, “No, not really.” Pleased with what they’ve been doing, though.
* Asked about the fieldhouse, Stoops said “We need to address it.” Pauses. Laughs and notes that his assistant AD is in the room. But says they need a new facility. Notes that UK and Vandy are the only two schools in the league that don’t have the full 100-yard indoor field to work on.
* On going right back to guys after a mistake (Cummings, Rodriguez, for example) Stoops said that’s part of Liam’s nature, and that if he trusts guys, he’s going to go right back to them.
UPDATED UK DEPTH CHART FOR WEEK 3:
NOTE:
* Scoring change has been announced by the SEC from Kentucky’s win over Missouri: OL Eli Cox has been credited for a TD on a fumble recovery, taking one of Chris Rodriguez’s school record-tying four touchdowns away.
MARK STOOPS Q&A:
* Stoops says film review showed a lot of things to build on. Really liked the plan they had in place for that game. Had a lot of opportunities. Need to clean some stuff up to take advantage. Thought they were in control of the game offensively the whole night with the exception of Possession 8, a three-and-out. “Did some really good things.”
* Coming off a physical, emotional game, the challenge is focusing on being ready to play in a game like this.
* Davonte Robinson should be good to go this week; Jordan Wright is still a wait-and-see.
* On Chris Rodriguez and ball security… Stoops says he just always reminds guys that when you have the football in your hands, you have the program in your hands. “He‘ll get it corrected. I have confidence in him.”
* Asked if he’s surprised by how quickly the offense has picked things up, Stoops says maybe not surprised but very much pleased. They’re able to do what they need to do when they need to do it. “That’s critical for our success, the balance we’re showing.”
* On Eli Cox… Some good things. Played better in this game. More consistent. Our center and whole right side played well, Stoops said. Says it’s very gratifying to see what Eli has done. A “program guy,” comes in and works hard and exceeds his recruiting billing.
* On how the narrative changes in showing they can do this against an SEC team… “It says a lot,” Stoops said. But he’d like to see that be a 45 and not 35.
* Asked about Jacquez Jones’ play… Great play. Nice to see him step up. To get a stop to start the second half is big. He had shown some of that athleticism in camp, even though he’s known more for being physical in the box.
* Asked if this is a “breather” this week (yeah, that was asked) Stoops said he would never use that term. Challenge is getting the players’ minds right, and they are also a little physically dinged up right now after playing an SEC game.
* Pleased with Levis’ play, even with the interception. It was the right place to go with the ball. Just gotta make a little better throw.
* Trevin Wallace helped create the game-clinching play, Stoops said. Some things they can do with him in that role, using his athleticism to pressure.
* We’re going to get better at the pass game, Stoops said. We already have. But we’re going to keep working at it.
* Asked if Liam Coen has ever run the ball 52 times in a game, Stoops jokes “I doubt it. He was a quarterback.” Cats ran it 12x in a row at one point, “because we could.”
* Regarding special teams, Stoops says Berry is still dealing with some lingering back issues, so they’re not flipping the field like they should. The blocked FG was a blocking problem, not on Ruffolo.
* Program was once 12-26 under Stoops. Now 51-50. Asked if he feels smarter (in a joking way) Stoops laughs and says, “No, not really.” Pleased with what they’ve been doing, though.
* Asked about the fieldhouse, Stoops said “We need to address it.” Pauses. Laughs and notes that his assistant AD is in the room. But says they need a new facility. Notes that UK and Vandy are the only two schools in the league that don’t have the full 100-yard indoor field to work on.
* On going right back to guys after a mistake (Cummings, Rodriguez, for example) Stoops said that’s part of Liam’s nature, and that if he trusts guys, he’s going to go right back to them.
UPDATED UK DEPTH CHART FOR WEEK 3:
Last edited:
