Mark Stoops waved to UK fans after the win at Auburn. (UK Athletics Photo)
A happy coach Mark Stoops covered a lot of topics at his Monday press conference as the Cats prepare for hosting Florida Saturday night.
Here are a few of the topics he was asked about:
On differences in Florida’s team following change of coach…
“Just slight, just slight. Nothing drastic, nothing I care to talk about right now that were obvious to us. I know they played very hard, they played very good, had every opportunity to beat Georgia in a hard-fought game.”
On how rewarding the plane ride back was…
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun. It was good for the players, as I mentioned, it was just fun for them to celebrate. They’ve worked hard and it means a lot to them. Sometimes when you go through that stretch and go a long time in-between victories, it was really good for them. They deserved it. As I mentioned, they worked really hard, and it was fun to celebrate. Yeah, it was some relief.”
On Nasir Addison’s return at cornerback, looked like he played well…
“Definitely – very, very pleased with Nasir. They had some weapons out there as well. And just like you saw all year some of those hitches and some plays he came up, really broke on the football, made good tackles, and limited them to the gains that they were – five, six yards, and we line up and play the next play.”
On Lorenzo Cowan seeing more playing time…
“He’s been getting better. He’s a guy that works really hard, we feel like has a bright future. He’s a guy that just – a lot of these young guys you could see starting to put it together and starting to play better as the year goes on.”
On the defensive line…
“Oh, definitely. The D-line in general played extremely hard, they were also very disciplined. They were very precise on the games we were running. A couple times we were light in the box and short with the quarterback draw, we hit it for a loss. Just things like that sometimes go unseen. They did a lot of things good but they played extremely hard but they also executed the little things. And you’re right, the guys you mentioned, Khalil (Saunders) has been disruptive and playing very good for a long time. I thought Sam (Greene) really stood out in this game, very disruptive, really just played very sudden, very sure, very strong, made good tackles, he executed the defense very well. Again, some things that are unseen, he played well. Not only the disruption because I think he had seven tackles, a sack, TFL, quarterback pressure. He did a lot of things.”
On the touchdown drive and Fred Farrier II making two big catches…
“Yeah, just very pleased with Fred. In the last two/three weeks some of these receivers, some younger guys (are earning more playing time) but it takes a group effort and a guy like Fred keeping his head in the game, and maybe not getting a ton of snaps all the time, but when he comes in, he produces like that. He is a great teammate. It’s a great story, I just appreciate him, and the way he’s always positive, always into it. And when his number was called, he produced.”
2 Responses
Stoops knows Florida is a must win game to save this season.
Florida is a must win game to save his job. The only way we keep Stoops is if we make a bowl game. Otherwise I think he will be let go at the end of the year. No hard feelings. Whoever takes over the job will be in alot better position then when Stoops got here. We have young talent across the board. I'm kind of rooting for Stoops to win out. I know how special this team will be next year. We have a legitimate playoff contender if we can keep this team together and add playmakers and some offensive lineman and some holes that will be in the the secondary. Waller and Nichols should both be shut down corners next year. If we can get Bryant and Addison back too we will be in great shape next year. We also have 5 capable offensive lineman for next year that can come back. Add 4-5 in the portal and we will be set next year.
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