Having Same Offensive Coordinator Should Help UK Offense

Vicky Graff Photo

By LARRY VAUGHT

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops could not resist poking a little fun at himself Tuesday at his spring practice press conference.

He was asked about his team’s offensive plans for the upcoming season and discussed several things he hoped to see done.

“We don’t want to hold back. That is one thing that is nice about having the same offensive coordinator for the second year,” Stoops said. “I haven’t had that for a while and it is important to grow and continue to grow.”

Bush Hamdan will be back for his second year as UK’s offensive coordinator, a rarity in recent years for Kentucky which has had a revolving door at offensive coordinator.

Hamdan was hired last year when Liam Coen left for the NFL after recruiting was finished. He had to try and put in his offense with players recruited to play in Coen’s system.

“For Bush, if you go back, if we’re going back for a moment, you know which I’m fine to do,” Stoops said. “I have to take those bullets (for the coaching turnover) for a while, right, and then it is always forward.

“But I think part of it for him is, like even for myself, last year, what can you do, right? And you learn maybe early on, okay, we’re a little deficient in this or that.”

Deficient in personnel?

“Exactly. We think we need to grow and will grow in certain areas and look different in certain ways,” Stoops said. “That doesn’t mean just a new scheme or anything like that.

“Let’s get better at the core principles of what we do and who we are and then as you protect and as you get back to maybe being balanced and run the ball and, like, yeah, let’s play action and drop back and all of the things we want to do and be fun and fun to watch. But you have to do the little things, right, or you will not do the fun and exciting things.”