Three takeaways from Stoops' Monday news conference
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops held his weekly news conference on Monday to talk about Saturday’s 44-35 loss to Southern Mississippi and UK’s upcoming matchup with No. 25 Florida.
Here’s three takeaways from what the head coach had to say during Monday’s presser:
Making plays that matter/under pressure
One of the first things Stoops harped on Monday was that his team must make plays when facing adversity. There were plenty of third downs he wanted to see result in stops and takeaway opportunities the Cats couldn’t take advantage of. The head coach said there were five plays where if UK had made any one of those plays it could’ve won the game.
“When things go wrong, we have guys that start rat trapping (resorting back to bad habits), doing some things that are inexcusable. And that’s gotta stop,” Stoops said. “That’s a losing mentality that we will not tolerate. And that’s gotta change because there are so many people doing so many good things and we cannot do that. Players have to make plays when things are going wrong.”
Stoops remains confident in the offense
Despite the poor performance from the defense, UK’s offensive showing left the coaching staff with plenty to hang its hat on. Barker had over 320 total yards through the air and four touchdowns in the first half. Stoops said other than the forced throw to Tavin Richardson that resulted in an interception, he was happy with the way Barker and the offense played.
“What was nice to see was the first drive of the second half when the offense got the ball, moves it right down the field. Then we get the turnover,” Stoops said. “Drew makes that same play earlier and throws a touchdown pass, literally the same move. He just didn’t protect the ball quite as good the second go round and we didn’t pin the defensive end long enough.”
Stoops said Southern Miss threw some different pressures and movements that were tough for the offensive line to execute against, but a tweak in technique and fundamentals can fix that problem and turn fumbles into points.
“That’s a technique issue. Our tight end has to pin their defensive end longer to not give him the opportunity to rush,” Stoops said. “We had it open. The play was there, it was good for a big play, possible touchdown. Instead it’s a turnover.”
No more being delicate
During Monday’s presser, Stoops made it clear that he’s got to be tougher on guys to get the results he wants. He said the team’s talent is there, but players aren’t making plays they’re capable of.
“Because there are so many guys doing so many good things, we’re beyond having to be delicate with these guys because they can handle more. They are tougher, but you’ve got to be honest with them,” Stoops said. “We’ve got to show it to them. Guys that are having a losing mentality or a losing play when the game is on the line is unacceptable.
“You’re not going to win when that happens. We’ve either gotta change them -- sometimes after so many opportunities, they either can’t or won’t; they either can’t change or won’t change -- so we’ve got to continue to find guys that can get them.”
When asked if the losing mentality is something that can be coached differently or if players haven’t fully matured in that aspect, Stoops said it was a combination of both.
“Again, we’re beyond dealing with fragile mentalities,” Stoops said. “They’ll be called out and showed in front of everybody the plays that we had the opportunity to make so everybody keeps the confidence and knows that everything was in place to win the game. And then eventually the players will start making them and then we’ll get over the hump. That’s the last thing left to do in this program is finding that winning attitude, that winning culture and ways to win games instead of losing them.”
INJURY UPDATE
- Sophomore linebacker Josh Allen was injured in Saturday’s opener and is still in a gray area on when he’ll return. “We’ll see how the week goes on,” Stoops said. As of Monday Allen was listed as the first-string strongside linebacker.
- Senior defensive back Blake McClain did not practice on Monday, but Stoops anticipates he’ll be back in time for Saturday. McClain had nine tackles, one pass breakup and an interception against Southern Miss. He was not listed on Monday's two-deep depth chart.
- Junior wide receiver Dorian Baker did not play in UK’s opener and the roster spot still listed “Tavin Richardson OR Dorian Baker.” Stoops did not give an update on the status of Baker on Monday.