Hello HOB. We are preparing for the end of Tuesday's UK football practice. Due to the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumping buckets of rain on Kentucky today, the Cats have moved their practice indoors to the fieldhouse and will conduct the media session via Zoom today. We are scheduled to meet with OC Liam Coen and select offensive players/coaches around 5:30 ET. Stay tuned for the latest news and notes...
Q&A with UK OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR LIAM COEN:
* On early signs he'll be looking for to see if the system is working well in the first game... Coen says don't be a hero, do your job, play fast. Kinda some of the things that Stoops mentioned yesterday. A clean operation, no pre-snap penalties. He'll also be interested to see how they respond to adversity.
* On first-game jitters for him, having not called plays in a while... Coen says yes. He even gets jitters before a scrimmage, he added. He said he doesn't have any right now. Maybe by Friday night that will come around, but he's confident in their game plan.
* Larry Vaught jokes that he can make fans happy by calling deep balls on the first three plays... Coen says that would be nice, but you don't want to start out a first game behind the chains. (Read between the lines on that one.) Look for physical run game and some play-action stuff, Coen hints. "Be Kentucky," he says. Later says he'd be crazy if he didn't put the ball in Chris Rodriguez's hands a lot.
* Asked about Scott Woodward as the new WR coach... Coen played with him in college. They have a long relationship. Good friends who see the game similarly. Good to have someone like that in the WR room. Can see things thru a different "lens" at times that is helpful for Coen to know.
* Loves the way Wan'Dale Robinson approaches practice, does everything the right way all the time. Those kind of guys have long careers in football when they're as talented as Wan'Dale is.
* On having a new baby in the family and the lack of sleep with game-planning... Coen says it's a challenge, but they got a little bit of a jump on ULM earlier in camp.
* Asked about where the O has made the most progress since Day 1, Coen says probably throwing and catching at a higher clip. Being more precise in routes, timing.
* Regarding Mark Stoops' comments last night that Brenden Bates might be one of the best football players on the team... Coen says he loves him. One of his favorites. Works his tail off. Balanced TE, blocking and catching. Better after the catch than you'd expect him to be. "Can't say enough good things about him."
KENTUCKY QB WILL LEVIS:
* On trying to go out and prove himself on Saturday... Levis says he knows there are high expectations. He says he'd be lying if he wasn't a little nervous, but he's prepared his "butt off."
* Asked if he has any pregame ritual to get his nerves calmed and get ready to play, Levis says he has some breathing rituals he does, spends some quiet, private time. Tries to get himself as loose as possible.
* Asked if he can sense the fans' excitement and whether he thinks they expect him to throw for 400 yards every game, Will said he can feel it. He knows fans are hungry for it. Just wants to show that they have an efficient passing offense at the very least that can execute and be balanced. "If we do, the sky is the limit for us."
* On the hardest part of the new offense to pick up... Being under center, the fundamentals that go into that. Handling the snap, footwork on play-action. He hadn't done much of that since high school. Actually fumbled one of the first under-center snaps he took.
* On having a proven RB like Chris Rodriguez behind him to take the pressure off... Says he's been around some great ones, and Chris is right up there with the best of them. Adds that Smoke will make a great 1-2 punch. (Smoke's name coming up A LOT more these last few days.)
* Asked if Coen asks for any of his input on the gameplan, Levis says "Definitely." They try to make it as comfortable as possible for the offense as a whole. "There's always room for open conversation for the whole offense." Noted that Wan'Dale spoke up on how a route was being run during one meeting, and Coen said, "Now that you say it, that makes sense to do it a different way."
* UK offense has watched a lot of Clemson film, Levis said, "but you never know until you're out there." Ready for whatever they see. "We feel pretty good about what we've been preparing."
* On whether he's a QB who needs to get hit to get into the flow of the game, Levis said that he is kinda that guy. He had that a lot at Penn State where he was used as a runner more than a passer. "But I'd be fine not getting hit at all."
* The addition of Dare Rosenthal was "huge for us," Levis said. The O-Line has really lived up to the hype and expectations he had heard about when he decided to pick Kentucky. "My best buddies."
KENTUCKY RB CHRIS RODRIGUEZ:
* On running in the new OL blocking scheme... It's different for the O-Line but fairly the same for C-Rod, he says. He's making the same reads he would in the old scheme.
* Rodriguez sees a big step-up for Buford this year on the OL. Thinks he's going to perform well when he gets an opportuity.
* C-Rod on expecting to get the ball a lot.... "That's the plan, but there's a lot of mouths to feed on this team."
* Asked about his goals... Wants to be the best back in the SEC. "That's what I'm working on right now." Said he wants to break records. Setting the bar high.
* C-Rod says don't sleep on Kavosiey Smoke just because you haven't heard his name that much this camp. Gonna do big things.
Q&A with UK DEPUTY AD MARC HILL, GAMEDAY OPS OFFICIAL:
* Asked about some of the logistical issues that other events have been experiencing lately, Hill says they've kept a close eye on things and studied all of the recommendations from the campus medical experts regarding masks for indoors, no masks for outdoors for vaccinated people.
* Asked about how you enforce unvaccinated people keeping their masks on at all times. Says it's a difficult task. The Railbird Festival in Lexington had similar challenges. Ultimately, they have no way of knowing that. He's hopeful people do what's right to protect each other.
* Asked if fans outside of the suites can purchase beer this year, Hill says they have not changed that policy at this particular time. Some infrastructure had been done to host some concerts at Kroger Field, but still a work in progress and undecided for the future of UK Football games.
* Regarding confusion about the mobile parking passes, Hill says they learned thru the pandemic last year that it was a really useful technology. If people have questions, they are being directed to the ticket office. They have people on hand to help answer any of those questions. They are urging all fans to plan for extra time, get there as early as possible.
* On concerns about older fans having trouble with new tech and getting frustrated and maybe just giving up... Hill said that is definitely a concern. But they're doing everything possible to have people reach out for help. Something they are certainly thinking ahead on. Hill urged folks to find a younger person, if needed, who is familiar with new technology, that they should be able to hammer it out in a matter of seconds.
Q&A with UK OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR LIAM COEN:
* On early signs he'll be looking for to see if the system is working well in the first game... Coen says don't be a hero, do your job, play fast. Kinda some of the things that Stoops mentioned yesterday. A clean operation, no pre-snap penalties. He'll also be interested to see how they respond to adversity.
* On first-game jitters for him, having not called plays in a while... Coen says yes. He even gets jitters before a scrimmage, he added. He said he doesn't have any right now. Maybe by Friday night that will come around, but he's confident in their game plan.
* Larry Vaught jokes that he can make fans happy by calling deep balls on the first three plays... Coen says that would be nice, but you don't want to start out a first game behind the chains. (Read between the lines on that one.) Look for physical run game and some play-action stuff, Coen hints. "Be Kentucky," he says. Later says he'd be crazy if he didn't put the ball in Chris Rodriguez's hands a lot.
* Asked about Scott Woodward as the new WR coach... Coen played with him in college. They have a long relationship. Good friends who see the game similarly. Good to have someone like that in the WR room. Can see things thru a different "lens" at times that is helpful for Coen to know.
* Loves the way Wan'Dale Robinson approaches practice, does everything the right way all the time. Those kind of guys have long careers in football when they're as talented as Wan'Dale is.
* On having a new baby in the family and the lack of sleep with game-planning... Coen says it's a challenge, but they got a little bit of a jump on ULM earlier in camp.
* Asked about where the O has made the most progress since Day 1, Coen says probably throwing and catching at a higher clip. Being more precise in routes, timing.
* Regarding Mark Stoops' comments last night that Brenden Bates might be one of the best football players on the team... Coen says he loves him. One of his favorites. Works his tail off. Balanced TE, blocking and catching. Better after the catch than you'd expect him to be. "Can't say enough good things about him."
KENTUCKY QB WILL LEVIS:
* On trying to go out and prove himself on Saturday... Levis says he knows there are high expectations. He says he'd be lying if he wasn't a little nervous, but he's prepared his "butt off."
* Asked if he has any pregame ritual to get his nerves calmed and get ready to play, Levis says he has some breathing rituals he does, spends some quiet, private time. Tries to get himself as loose as possible.
* Asked if he can sense the fans' excitement and whether he thinks they expect him to throw for 400 yards every game, Will said he can feel it. He knows fans are hungry for it. Just wants to show that they have an efficient passing offense at the very least that can execute and be balanced. "If we do, the sky is the limit for us."
* On the hardest part of the new offense to pick up... Being under center, the fundamentals that go into that. Handling the snap, footwork on play-action. He hadn't done much of that since high school. Actually fumbled one of the first under-center snaps he took.
* On having a proven RB like Chris Rodriguez behind him to take the pressure off... Says he's been around some great ones, and Chris is right up there with the best of them. Adds that Smoke will make a great 1-2 punch. (Smoke's name coming up A LOT more these last few days.)
* Asked if Coen asks for any of his input on the gameplan, Levis says "Definitely." They try to make it as comfortable as possible for the offense as a whole. "There's always room for open conversation for the whole offense." Noted that Wan'Dale spoke up on how a route was being run during one meeting, and Coen said, "Now that you say it, that makes sense to do it a different way."
* UK offense has watched a lot of Clemson film, Levis said, "but you never know until you're out there." Ready for whatever they see. "We feel pretty good about what we've been preparing."
* On whether he's a QB who needs to get hit to get into the flow of the game, Levis said that he is kinda that guy. He had that a lot at Penn State where he was used as a runner more than a passer. "But I'd be fine not getting hit at all."
* The addition of Dare Rosenthal was "huge for us," Levis said. The O-Line has really lived up to the hype and expectations he had heard about when he decided to pick Kentucky. "My best buddies."
KENTUCKY RB CHRIS RODRIGUEZ:
* On running in the new OL blocking scheme... It's different for the O-Line but fairly the same for C-Rod, he says. He's making the same reads he would in the old scheme.
* Rodriguez sees a big step-up for Buford this year on the OL. Thinks he's going to perform well when he gets an opportuity.
* C-Rod on expecting to get the ball a lot.... "That's the plan, but there's a lot of mouths to feed on this team."
* Asked about his goals... Wants to be the best back in the SEC. "That's what I'm working on right now." Said he wants to break records. Setting the bar high.
* C-Rod says don't sleep on Kavosiey Smoke just because you haven't heard his name that much this camp. Gonna do big things.
Q&A with UK DEPUTY AD MARC HILL, GAMEDAY OPS OFFICIAL:
* Asked about some of the logistical issues that other events have been experiencing lately, Hill says they've kept a close eye on things and studied all of the recommendations from the campus medical experts regarding masks for indoors, no masks for outdoors for vaccinated people.
* Asked about how you enforce unvaccinated people keeping their masks on at all times. Says it's a difficult task. The Railbird Festival in Lexington had similar challenges. Ultimately, they have no way of knowing that. He's hopeful people do what's right to protect each other.
* Asked if fans outside of the suites can purchase beer this year, Hill says they have not changed that policy at this particular time. Some infrastructure had been done to host some concerts at Kroger Field, but still a work in progress and undecided for the future of UK Football games.
* Regarding confusion about the mobile parking passes, Hill says they learned thru the pandemic last year that it was a really useful technology. If people have questions, they are being directed to the ticket office. They have people on hand to help answer any of those questions. They are urging all fans to plan for extra time, get there as early as possible.
* On concerns about older fans having trouble with new tech and getting frustrated and maybe just giving up... Hill said that is definitely a concern. But they're doing everything possible to have people reach out for help. Something they are certainly thinking ahead on. Hill urged folks to find a younger person, if needed, who is familiar with new technology, that they should be able to hammer it out in a matter of seconds.
