Barion Brown (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops knows what to expect from Alabama Saturday.
“Big, strong dudes, big and physical, and they always are, not just in the trenches, across the board,” Stoops said Monday about the Crimson Tide. “That comes from great recruiting and great developing. They develop their players and work at it, and they’re very physical.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban said Kentucky is a “completely different kind of team” than LSU, the team Alabama beat last week.
“What we did last week (a 42-28 win) is not going to have any impact on what we do this week. They’re tough, they’re physical, they’re well-coached. Coach Stoops does a really, really good job with his team, in terms of the competitive character that they play with and the intangibles that they have,” Saban said.
“They’re 6-3. They’ve got some really explosive players on offense. The quarterback has played really well for them. They’ve got great balance on offense. Their defense is tough and physical and really well-coached in terms of what they do. Barion Brown is a really good returner.
“They’ve got lots of good players. It’ll be a challenging preparation for both sides of the ball.”
Saban and Stoops are the two longest-tenured coaches in the SEC. Stoops downplayed the significance of that.
“I really just stay in the present. I’m fortunate. I feel gratitude from a lot of people that have put a lot into it,” Stoops said. “I don’t take that for granted, but I’m really just kind of trying to get this victory right here.”
5 Responses
Even know I got faith in the cats, but this one may get ugly like the Georgia game.
Might be close thru 1st half
Saban is trying to be nice, lull the Cats to sleep, or give them the "big head." He said "The QB has played really well for them." Lets see…..the UK starting QB has played at least decent for the last two games, and one of those was the annual loss to their arch rival, the "Knoxville Legends In Their own Minds" team. Look, if this UK team plays offensive football like they played at Miss State, UK has no chance, unless of course, the UK defense can perform a modern day miracle. I just hope UK can make it respectable, and make it a game and not a "blood bath." Kentucky’s pride will be put to the test against Goliath here.
From what I’ve seen so far from bama early on until lsu game is a 180. I thought early on this year UK had a shot..Not now.. Crimson Tide have seemingly turned the corner. UK on the other hand , has taken baby steps. Little choppy steps of balance most of the time. I’d like nothing more than to be wrong..
Same here Bill