Hello HOB. Greetings from Lexington and the JCFTC. I’m back over here to get our latest dose of UK Football. The team is wrapping up practice as we speak, a little early today due to it being an open-date week. We will have UK head coach Mark Stoops meeting with us at around 5 ET to discuss the latest developments with the Cats. Stay tuned…
MARK STOOPS Q&A:
* On injury situation… Getting young guys a lot of reps this week, resting older guys who have been banged up pretty good.
* On the bowl streak… Take pride in that, but can’t get caught looking ahead in their current situation. Has to be one game at a time. Gotta get this team better, get this team healthier.
* Pretty clear we need to improve in a lot of areas, but at same time we’re not as far off as it may appear.
* On QB Cutter Boley… He’s an option. I’d like to see him with some game reps. But we want to make sure we look good. BVG would like to build off what he was doing last week. Making progress. Don’t want to discuss his status too much, but it is a head situation.
******
MARK STOOPS WEEKLY RADIO SHOW Q&A:
* The Monday coach's show got moved to Wednesday this week due to the UK men's and women's basketball games on Monday night. We'll share news and notes from the radio show here in this thread.
* We're beat up right now. Most teams in the country are. It's a wait-and-see situation for guys like BVG and Barion Brown. Says CB Maxwell Hairston is expected to return to action vs Murray, though, so that's a bit of good news they really need right now.
* We played winning football during large stretches of the UT game. Got exposed in a few areas we need to keep working on, but showed some nice balance on offense at times.
* RB Jamarion Wilcox definitely showing the talent they've been talking about all the way back to the summer. You're seeing the normal maturation process unfold. It takes time with almost all kids. But one thing that's undeniable is when you hand him the ball, he explodes and drives forward. Learning the nuances and little things that you have to do in order to get more playing time, "but he's coming." Told Bush during the game Saturday at UT to get him more touches.
* WR Hardley Gilmore is another young guy with a bright future. Really like what he's doing now that he's healthy and getting more reps.
* Challenging time of the year to figure out what the roster is going to look like moving forward, what recruiting targets should be, how to work the portal. They just now received the numbers within the SEC on what that should look like. They changed from just two weeks ago. Trying to figure out how much money do they have for "free agency." ... "It is what it is."
* Stoops still seething over some of the calls at UT. As usual, says he can't say much more about it. Mentioned on the SEC Coaches Teleconference earlier today that he turned in the play where a UT player on the sideline jacked his QB in the face with no call.
* Stoops jokes that he's not gonna brag much about young kicker Kauwe much on this show "so somebody doesn't come along and steal him from us."
* Tom Leach asks about four SEC teams being in the CFB playoff rankings. Stoops scoffs: "That needs to be six."
* First caller of the night says he appreciates Stoops, but is concerned about O-Line. Stoops thanks him for his support and says they need to get that corrected. Says OL has played hard, but still working to play better. Stoops notes that everybody is going after OL in the portal for immediate help, and those positions have gotten "very expensive."
* Caller says tough season, we've already lost to two teams I despise, and we got one more to go. Need to make sure we take care of business in that one.
* Caller asks if he thinks there should be a salary cap that all teams adhere to... Stoops says yes, adding that he believes even the coaches of the stronger programs believe that. Everybody should be on level playing field, and whoever manages it best comes out on top.
* Stoops says he's got no social media on his phone and isn't listening to anything from the outside right now.
* Caller says the old Coach Stoops would have taken the free 3 points on the opening drive of the UT game and that you should never pass up points like that... Stoops says he doesn't really disagree. He admits he was torn. Listened to analytic guys on that. Sometimes that doesn't work out. He thinks if he had kicked the 3, just as many people would complain about kicking it. Probably 50/50.
* I care deeply about this place, Stoops says. It matters more than people realize.
* Caller says he's proud of the team's effort at UT, sees that the team isn't giving up, and thinks they can finish up with three wins. Stoops says he'll never accept moral victories, but he thinks it remains vitally important how the players represent the program, and he was happy with that.
* Cutter Boley is really progressing well at QB, Stoops says. Loves to work. Has a mentality where he won't get rattled. Very talented, bright future.
* Caller says he lost his sight when he was 10 years old, never gave up, and that football is a lot like life. Urges Stoops not to let one bad year get him down. Life is about getting back up when you get knocked down. Stoops agrees, says it's been a rough couple of weeks for him, but he's determined to get things back on track.
MARK STOOPS Q&A:
* On injury situation… Getting young guys a lot of reps this week, resting older guys who have been banged up pretty good.
* On the bowl streak… Take pride in that, but can’t get caught looking ahead in their current situation. Has to be one game at a time. Gotta get this team better, get this team healthier.
* Pretty clear we need to improve in a lot of areas, but at same time we’re not as far off as it may appear.
* On QB Cutter Boley… He’s an option. I’d like to see him with some game reps. But we want to make sure we look good. BVG would like to build off what he was doing last week. Making progress. Don’t want to discuss his status too much, but it is a head situation.
******
MARK STOOPS WEEKLY RADIO SHOW Q&A:
* The Monday coach's show got moved to Wednesday this week due to the UK men's and women's basketball games on Monday night. We'll share news and notes from the radio show here in this thread.
* We're beat up right now. Most teams in the country are. It's a wait-and-see situation for guys like BVG and Barion Brown. Says CB Maxwell Hairston is expected to return to action vs Murray, though, so that's a bit of good news they really need right now.
* We played winning football during large stretches of the UT game. Got exposed in a few areas we need to keep working on, but showed some nice balance on offense at times.
* RB Jamarion Wilcox definitely showing the talent they've been talking about all the way back to the summer. You're seeing the normal maturation process unfold. It takes time with almost all kids. But one thing that's undeniable is when you hand him the ball, he explodes and drives forward. Learning the nuances and little things that you have to do in order to get more playing time, "but he's coming." Told Bush during the game Saturday at UT to get him more touches.
* WR Hardley Gilmore is another young guy with a bright future. Really like what he's doing now that he's healthy and getting more reps.
* Challenging time of the year to figure out what the roster is going to look like moving forward, what recruiting targets should be, how to work the portal. They just now received the numbers within the SEC on what that should look like. They changed from just two weeks ago. Trying to figure out how much money do they have for "free agency." ... "It is what it is."
* Stoops still seething over some of the calls at UT. As usual, says he can't say much more about it. Mentioned on the SEC Coaches Teleconference earlier today that he turned in the play where a UT player on the sideline jacked his QB in the face with no call.
* Stoops jokes that he's not gonna brag much about young kicker Kauwe much on this show "so somebody doesn't come along and steal him from us."
* Tom Leach asks about four SEC teams being in the CFB playoff rankings. Stoops scoffs: "That needs to be six."
* First caller of the night says he appreciates Stoops, but is concerned about O-Line. Stoops thanks him for his support and says they need to get that corrected. Says OL has played hard, but still working to play better. Stoops notes that everybody is going after OL in the portal for immediate help, and those positions have gotten "very expensive."
* Caller says tough season, we've already lost to two teams I despise, and we got one more to go. Need to make sure we take care of business in that one.
* Caller asks if he thinks there should be a salary cap that all teams adhere to... Stoops says yes, adding that he believes even the coaches of the stronger programs believe that. Everybody should be on level playing field, and whoever manages it best comes out on top.
* Stoops says he's got no social media on his phone and isn't listening to anything from the outside right now.
* Caller says the old Coach Stoops would have taken the free 3 points on the opening drive of the UT game and that you should never pass up points like that... Stoops says he doesn't really disagree. He admits he was torn. Listened to analytic guys on that. Sometimes that doesn't work out. He thinks if he had kicked the 3, just as many people would complain about kicking it. Probably 50/50.
* I care deeply about this place, Stoops says. It matters more than people realize.
* Caller says he's proud of the team's effort at UT, sees that the team isn't giving up, and thinks they can finish up with three wins. Stoops says he'll never accept moral victories, but he thinks it remains vitally important how the players represent the program, and he was happy with that.
* Cutter Boley is really progressing well at QB, Stoops says. Loves to work. Has a mentality where he won't get rattled. Very talented, bright future.
* Caller says he lost his sight when he was 10 years old, never gave up, and that football is a lot like life. Urges Stoops not to let one bad year get him down. Life is about getting back up when you get knocked down. Stoops agrees, says it's been a rough couple of weeks for him, but he's determined to get things back on track.
