Vicky Graff Photo
It’s an intangible that is not always easy to measure but Kentucky coach Mark Stoops is hoping his team has the right “football IQ” to help it bounce back from last year’s 4-8 season.
“Football IQ is so important for us and we have to be able to keep it forward or stay ahead of it,” Stoops said after Saturday’s Fan Day and open scrimmage. “That’s something that we’re also doing this camp. We’re spending extra time at night just working on two-minute (situations), third down, specialty blitzes, you name it. Just trying to work on all of that to get better and to get ahead.”
The UK coach said every play is like a “science project” for his team with a lot of teachable moments.
“I thought we made some strides today. Offensively, we had a little greater sense of urgency, a little better attention to detail. We just functioned better,” Stoops said. “It’s still early, but a good first week.”
Stoops wants his offensive line to be more physical and able to let UK run the ball more effectively than it did last year.
“I think we’re making big improvements (in the run game). I mentioned the offensive line, it starts there. I think we’re very big and stronger. We’re working on that depth and the backs are really good players,” Stoops said.
Stoops has been pleased with the secondary to this point.
“I don’t want to get the cart in front of the horse there, but I feel like the secondary can be really good,” Stoops said. “I think we’ve got some experience. You can see the length that we have out there. We need to keep (them) healthy and develop some depth.”
He hopes the team’s overall experience turns out to be a plus this season as well.
“These guys have played a lot of ball,” Stoops said. “They’ve worked really hard this summer. I feel like, on both sides of the ball and special teams, we’re further along.”
UK Football Fan Day
Photos by Vicky Graff
8 Responses
Football IQ starts with the coach. When will Stoops get some?
Well stated! 👍
There is a commenter on here saying buying our way out of this is the answer. It is not. Getting a head coach who is fundamentally a good coach is key. Stoops is the worst clock manager in history of the SEC. Shooting yourself in the foot? If that were a real thing, stoops would be walking around on his knees. I can count so many brain dead mistakes it's incredible. Eight players on the field? I never saw that in a Pee-wee football game? Uncovered receivers standing in the end zone, waving their arms twice in one game? He's done it. He's supposed to be a defensive coordinator? The brain dead decisions just before halftime are beyond description. No one can come close to him when it comes to that? For nine or $10 million a year you should be able to get a lot better coach.
I think last year was a big eye opener for Coach Stoops. When teams grew better incrementally, his reliance on a three yards and cloud of dust offense wasn't as noticeable. But these days, teams can make generational change (as did Vandy) in one season because you can now "buy" talent immediately. Stoops was very late to the table in the new coaching model resulting in a 4 – 8 season. You could see it coming from the previous two seasons but it really glared last year.
Now Coach Stoops is behind the 8-ball compared to the rest of the SEC. But again, he can buy his way out of trouble if he invests wisely and develops players a lot faster. Time is not on his side. Experimenting with unproven rookie coordinators is not a luxury Stoops can afford. He has to get his coaching act together immediately or he's toast.
I don't expect much this season due to the difficult schedule but it will tell us if we are getting competitive or not. Good Luck Cats.
Good points RJohn
With the new 8 game SEC schedule, EVERY season from now on will have a difficult schedule. Moving to a 16 team league and an 8 game league schedule will keep us below .500 in the league 9 years out of 10 and a permanent fixture in the Music City bowl in the few years that we can eke out 6 wins.
This is a make or break year for Stoops 9 million annually he better not take a day off. I think this team has much better chemistry then the last couple of years and that will go a long way. I do believe 2025 is a huge year for Kentucky football. Mark Stoops has had 12 years to prepare for this year. Worst case scenario could end up being the best case scenario. Which is we win 3-4 games and Stoops gets fired at the end of the year. Then we go hire Jon Sumrall who was one win away from the playoffs a year ago and he will field a much better team this year with playoff hopes. This can't be overlooked. If he could even retain the type of players Stoops is recruiting he is a much better coach then Mark Stoops. He could take us to a level that Mark Stoops could only produce twice in 12 years. I think Jon could make us a playoff team every 2-3 years. If Stoops doesn't take us the playoffs this year with the field expanded I doubt he ever gets us there. Sumrall could take Stoops 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes and take them to the playoffs in 2026 or 2027. When Boley is a redshirt junior in 2027 and all the 2024 class are juniors and seniors we will have a special team for 2-3 years, starting in 2026. This year is a holdover year to give the 2024 class experience for the next couple of years. I hope Stoops mixes the lineup up to give the 2024 class some experience this year. Boley Saunders Ward and Ponatoski will be a freshman in 2026. We have 3-4 very good young QBs. They are all a year away from being SEC caliber QBs. Calzada is providing this year to get them acclimated with the speed of SEC football.
If we can retain the 2024 and 2025 class we will be great in 26,27, and 28.