Liam Coen wants more mileage out of running game against Missouri

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Lian Coen wants to see Kavosiey Smoke and others finish more runs against Missouri. (Vicky Graff Photo)

After Kentucky’s 45-10 win over Louisiana Monroe, running back Chris Rodriguez — and most UK fans — thought he had played well. He ran for 125 yards and averaged over 6.5 yards per carry. He never broke a long run but got close several times.

Then the junior running back got to see the game film and realized he had missed some holes and big plays.

‘That’s what we want. We want the guys to think that they played great, see the film and see there’s so much more out there for them and now how can we take that to get better,” UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen said Tuesday.

Coen liked the way the players expected to win and acted that way after the win.

“Coach Stoops got those guys in the locker room after the game and it wasn’t like everyone was cheering and going nuts like we just won. That was an expectation. And I think that was the way our guys approached it,” Coen said.

“They were happy that we won. It’s always good to get a W. But I know that our players expected to do some of the things we did, and that’s not a knock on ULM. That’s just our standard.”

Both Coen and head coach Mark Stoops liked the passing game productivity but also saw a lot of mistakes in the running game.

“I think if you look at some of the rushing attempts and yards, there was a lot of hidden yards that I think we missed, whether it be in blocking, assignment, missed cuts, some of those things that I know those guys want back, and we see those,” he said.

“That’s the beauty of a game like that, that you win, you feel good about the win but there’s a lot of things that are correctable and you can fix. Our guys are conscientious and want to get those things fixed.

“We should’ve had a lot more rushing yards than we probably ended up with and those guys see that and they’ll fix that stuff.”

Coen wants to see UK finish more runs Saturday night against Missouri and get “more mileage” out of the run game — a similar sentiment Stoops had Monday at his press conference.

“I’d like to see some runs a little bit cleaner and hit those things the way they’re supposed to be hit. That comes with reps. There are a lot of things we’re doing offensively, especially in the run game, that’s very new for those guys,” Coen said.

“I think that they’re doing a great job picking it up, but hopefully, you’ll see a step up from game one to game two in that area.”

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