August 31st marks Kentucky Football’s home opener versus Southern Miss at 7:45 on SEC Network but media got to get some intel on how Mark Stoops is looking to have his best season yet. After last season finishing 7-6 and losing to Clemson in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Mark Stoops had a tough decision to make, stay at Kentucky or take a powerhouse job at Texas A&M. The decision nearly landing him in College Station could’ve change the Kentucky Football program entirely. If not for public backlash in College Station we may have never seen the remaining legacy of Mark Stoops at Kentucky.
Now turning the page to the 2024 season Kentucky brings in new transfer quarterback Brock Vandagriff, transfer running back Chip Trayanum to name a few, and new Offensive Coordinator Bush Hamdan into the mix. Media Day gave us some great intel on Kentucky’s upcoming season, down below you can find Media Day Questions and Answers from all three coaches (HC Mark Stoops, OC Bush Hamdan, and DC Brad White)
HC Mark Stoops talking to the media
Q Coach, what about leadership on this football team?
MARK STOOPS: Yet to be ‑‑ we will see as we move forward. There are certain some guys that been around a long time. When you look at JJ Weaver, D’Eryk Jackson, Marques Cox, even though he’s a transfer, he has been around for awhile. I feel really good about it. That has always developed as the year goes on and through training camp. Even yesterday was good. The first day we go out there it was beautiful weather and overcast it was almost cool. And then yesterday the sun broke out and there was some heat and humidity and as we go through practice, guys get tired and irritable, your true colors kind of shine when you get tired and hot and irritable so that’s gonna be a long camp. So that is when we will need great leadership coming in.
Q Transfers coming in?
MARK STOOPS: Yes. I like our team. I like ‑‑ I do. They’ve really helped our team. I think we took a transfer at just about every position accept tight‑end so I just want to supplement our roster in that area. I don’t have those numbers. I had them right before we went to the media day, but I want to say maybe overall we are at, maybe, 35 or 36 and that’s a good mixture right there. I still feel like the majority of our team is guys that we recruit out of high school and try to want to continue to follow that model. Recruit and develop young men and then supplement them with the portal when we need to.
Q Retention? Install? You said it’s going pretty well?
MARK STOOPS: Yes, if you look at our team, defensively we have returned a lot of guys that have played a lot of football for us and I think that is important, our defensive staff in the continuity that we have there, and the players that have gained experiences is invaluable. Then you have a guy like Pop who has played a lot a ball at Georgia, so there is pretty good experience there. Offensively, there are some guys who played a lot, I think we supplemented in some areas in areas that we needed to. Certainly, in the quarterback position, we have gone to the portal for several years, now. We feel really good about the high school guy we took in Cutter. He is going to be a special player, but we want to give him time to mature and grow. But Brock has done a very good job and we are excited about him. And then, also Gavin, and what he brings to the table and he’s got some snaps under his belt in the Big Ten. He is a big strong guy and he can throw it and he can run. And it was also very good to bring Beau back. You have seen what can happen in years past when you’re not deep in that position. Some funny things can happen, so we do think that we have some quality depth in that position.
Q Mark you’ve always had a stable of your offensive line in your early years, especially being a strong suit year? You had some bumps in the road a few years ago. You picked it back up again. What are your expectations? I know it’s early in camp, but how is that developing?
MARK STOOPS: I want to continue to grow. I think there is no mystery there. I’ve said it since day one. It’s very important. We have Eric Wolford back. I think Coach Wolford does a phenomenal job, not only coaching and at practice, but the way he recruits, and I feel like we are going to continue to progress in there, and then we are going to continue that depth and get better so I feel much better about that position.
Q We are a few years into that era of college football where bringing in 30 plus guys isn’t really an odd thing anymore. That continuity that you were talking about before, how have you had to adjust and how has this year maybe been easier in some ways?
MARK STOOPS: We have great leadership. I feel like that the transfers that we brought in fit in well here. I believe that that is an important piece to make sure that transfers are coming for the right reason and they fit our system. And then with us, we just try to ask expediate that process and have at them more in tune to our culture earlier than normal and try to, you know, continue to feed them that message and sometimes it is like drinking with a fire hose, but we want to do the best that we can to educate them and to see the culture that we want
Q You are saying that you have been wanting to snap the ball more frequently and play at a higher tempo this year, how you working with the tempo with the offense and how are you going to be moving forward and making sure?
MARK STOOPS: I want everybody to understand this. I’ve said it 20 times. Yes, I do, but I am not trying to be a tempo offense. We are not trying to be Old Miss and Tennessee and some of those teams that do it exceptionally well. And just snap it with 30 seconds on the play clock. That is a different style and it’s very difficult to defend and they do it very well. That’s just ‑‑ we can’t be that overnight and I just don’t want to staff it with two and three and four seconds on the play clock as well. I like to see more snaps. There needs to be a balance there. We are not trying to be in a complete hurry. We are just trying to be more efficient, get in a rhythm, and get some more plays. So, you know, any of these offensive coordinators have that ability to go superfast to go medium to go at the line, I think, just trying to get in a rhythm and, you know, hopefully get some more snaps, that also comes from getting first downs. If we get first downs, guys are going to get more touches. So you have to make sure that you’re still putting them in a position to be successful. And again, just as I touched on earlier, defense getting off the field. Special‑teams putting us in good position. You do that, and we’re not going to sit here after games and say why did so‑and‑so only get so many of this and so many of that, because we only have 55 plays, you know, 60 plays. That sometimes is frustrating because I feel like we do have some playmakers, but we have to get first downs and then we will get more touches.
OC Bush Hamdan talking to the media
Q What do you see emphasizing with Brock in the fall after the spring and summer?
BUSH HAMDAN: We have discussed it before. I think so much of it is a leadership part. You are a new guy coming into a new program. New office coordinator. So much is about scheme and plays, but don’t lose sight about what that looks like when you are in a locker room building those relationships with the guys as the true signal caller. Certainly from a play style standpoint it always comes down to accuracy, decision‑making, toughness, but we really don’t want to lose sight of that leadership part.
Q Is he adjusting pretty well?
BUSH HAMDAN: He is doing a great job. He really is.
Q Smart guy.
BUSH HAMDAN: Smart player, tough, can run, all those things. Again, I think we’ve had success with the last 3 to 5 years, a guy like Brady Cook at Missouri, you see what his skill set looks like what Taylen Green did last year at Boise, Maddox Madsen, we think he is right in the mold of a guy we like for the system.
Q What is the biggest trait that you have liked from him so far at the quarterback position?
BUSH HAMDAN: He is a consummate pro. I’ve said that multiple times. This is a big time football league. We get done with practices at 6:30, he wants to be up in the facility. He’s always watching games on opponents. We know at this position it comes down to kind of locking yourself in that room, if you will. Taking a side with the naysayers have to say and just working and keep getting better every day and I think that he is a guy that understand that.
Q How do you go about establishing the run, be more physical upfront, what are your thoughts going into the season, about the offensive line? It seems like has the most experience line when you talk about starts. How much can that help accomplish that goal?
BUSH HAMDAN: We’ve got good depth. I think you mentioned it right there. Certainly there is the comfort feelings about Eli Cox at center and the amount of games that he has played in. Certainly feel good about those guys. We have a long way to go. As you know, most folks are going to say that, just three practices in, but certainly needs to be a really solid group for us with the amount of starts these guys have made.
Q We brought in an NFL schematic last year and started to challenge Devin Leary’s ability to get plays on. Is it your expectation that using the new helmet system is going to make your ability to do complex plays easier?
BUSH HAMDAN: I think so. I think the starting point is still trying to keep it as simple as possible for guys to go play fast. I think the more critical thing is the challenge on me of what information to give them. As you guys know, we are all maybe parents, sometimes our kids don’t want to hear a lot, but they just have to hear enough, and I think of that. When we get that play call in, how can we be clear, concise, competitive, and give them just the things he needs to be successful in that play.
Q Coach, you guys have a lot of folks in that wide receiver, but Barion and Dane have been here for three years, three offensive coordinators, three quarterbacks, how do you feel like some of these guys who have been in the room for awhile are adjusting to your system, this quarterback, as they have been through so much already?
BUSH HAMDAN: They’ve got a level of experience again they have played for some great coaches, some great systems, so a lot of it just comes down to ‑‑ we used to call this scheme and now we are calling it that scheme. Guys like that, what they never lose is the technique and the fundamentals and the experience. That always stays with you even with the change in the coordinator. So excited about those guys, there is a level of maturity in this league; right? From one week to the next just staying the course, we are going to rely on their experience in that position. Certainly with some of these younger guys who are extremely talented who we think and get going.
Q Bush, you just spoke a little bit about the tempo and finding a balance. And what does that looks like?
BUSH HAMDAN: We are going to run 100 games per game and be the fastest offense in the country. (Laughter.) I think I lose sleep over the tempo question and you guys coming in here and asking me. I think the biggest thing is with tempo and the systems that we had. Again, if you go back to the tape, right, I think about last year at Memphis. We get down. We’ve got the ability. I think we put 17 points up in seven minutes, because we have the ability to play extremely fast. We always want to be somewhere in the middle. And what that means is, have the flexibility depending on how the game is going to do whatever it takes to win the football game. And I think that’s important for all of us to know. I think the checklist in fall camp is, we have periods where it is fast as anyone in the country. One‑word plays, getting up there, snapping the ball within seven seconds, we also have that focus where we can huddle, operate, execute, take time off the clock. I know everybody wants to play fast. It always comes back to execution with us. So I think the thing that you we want you guys to know is we are going to have the ability to play fast and keep people on their feet.
DC Brad White talking to the media
Q Brad, what are some things that you were not happy about last year that you really want to focus on with your guys this year.
BRAD WHITE: Yeah, when you look back and you self‑scout yourself, look at what you need to do better obviously, there third‑down defense and specifically, with the backend of the season, third and long situations, especially extra long, was an area that, historically, if you look we have been really good, and we were not. Not anywhere close to the standard that we need to be at and it cost us. When you give up third‑downs, you extend drives and extended drives leads to points, it leads to less opportunities for the offense. So obviously, that is going to be a primary focus. Again, the year before ’22, was, sort of, our best year ever in third‑down defense, and there is a correlation to how well we played as a defense. We need to get back there.
Q There were times last year, the secondaries were doing their job, but the front, not getting enough pressure on the quarterback, sack numbers were low at time, so with the unit that’s probably going to be as good as anyone the SEC with pass coverage, how important is it that if you get more pressure on the quarterback, you could bring your defense to another level?
BRAD WHITE: Yeah. We have talked about it since I’ve been here. They all tie together. It’s funny ‑‑ there were times last year when we would get plenty of pressure, we would miss a sack ‑‑ the South Carolina game jumps to mind. We had two opportunities on the very first drive to get off the field on the first down. One we lost leveraging and coverage, something that we shouldn’t have done. It should have been off the field. We were walking into a sack. And then number two, we had a missed sack which, led to a third down conversion. There were breakdowns on all sides last year at times, and that’s why it’s so important that they work together. Obviously, really excited about the front that we return because, like anything else, I think people’s interceptions, turnovers, sacks, a lot of times they come in bunches. It’s not always super consistent. But from purely statistics, and that is what it is, this was the defensive line and what they did last year was the second most sacks since I’ve been here, only behind the Josh Allen year, so they were disruptive upfront. Obviously, when you return those guys this year we need to keep that production going up front, and then you mix in being able to play sticky and stick year and coverage at times and being able to make some plays on the back end and then when you have a chance to be at the quarterback, you’ve got to be able to finish.
Q You’ve got two kids that are Silver and Walker?
BRAD WHITE: Yes, we got Silver, we got Walker, we got Oxendine we’ve got Rybka. I think, obviously, everybody in this room understands the impact that Deone has on a football game. I think people don’t necessarily realize how well guys like Keeshawn Silver or Tre Rybka played last year. How well Ox played. The jump from two years ago for Ox to last year, and this year his weight is back up to where it was when he was ‑‑ before the injury and is as powerful as ever. You know we have Khalil Saunders who makes big plays for us and he is big and athletic. This is as good as a cumulative front as we have had, and then you throw in young guys, and a guy like Jerod Smith in there, and Kendrick Gilbert coming back off of injury from last year, where he was ‑‑ he was a freshman coming off of a shoulder, he was stronger, he already made some flashes in some of these early practices. So you have depth there, and you can roll these guys, and keep them fresh, so that is exciting, and then, obviously, the position we haven’t talked about is that outside linebacker position, and to be able to return JJ who ‑‑ there are times that he can just dominate a game and take over. He understands that this is the year that he needs to do that consistently. It can’t just be one or two games. We need that consistent force, presence, from him and then we will see who can rush opposite him.
The KY Press 