Mark Stoops lists first impressions of Clemson
Mark Stoops hasn’t had much time to grind the tape on Kentucky’s bowl opponent, Clemson. But from what he does know, the Tigers will present plenty of challenges.
Stoops’ main takeaway on the Tigers, he said after Kentucky’s first bowl practice, is that Clemson’s roster resembles and plays like the SEC teams that the Wildcats face most weeks. And in that regard, there will be lots to prepare for.
“Obvious a very good football team. Very consistent. They’ve been winners and won a lot of games for a lot of years, so credit Dabo and his staff. Very talented football team. You look at them and they are a team built like just about everybody we see in the SEC. Very talented, very physical, very good team,” Stoops said.
And Stoops, like most coaches prepping for a bowl game, have just begun to dig into the opponent as they’re wrapping up a whirlwind few weeks of transfer and high school recruiting.
“And me, personally, just starting to dive into them because I’ve been pretty much all over the place and on the run, still managing our team, our roster in recruiting and recruiting the portal and recruiting high school guys. So it’s been a crazy, busy time. But it’s always exciting and keeping you on your toes. So good to get out there today and blessed with a beautiful day in December for us to get out there and have a great practice today. So, just getting back into it as far as the practice and went really well, so excited about this opportunity,” Stoops said.
Stoops explained further how busy this time of year can be for coaches
Along with preparing for a bowl game, coaches are also trying to finish their recruiting class from high school and deal with the transfer portal this time of year. That, as Stoops broke down, provides a massive challenge.
“This part of it, it’s pretty much 24/7,” Stoops said. “It does kill me once in a while, when guys I’ve known for 10 years and good friends of mine that are in town and I love them, they are dear friends – ‘Hey coach, you wanna go do this?’ Like don’t you understand I’m busy 24/7 right now? Like literally, right now it’s 24/7.”
Stoops also lamented that more people don’t realize just how busy this stretch is for coaches, assuming that things die down when the regular season ends.
“Everybody thinks it stops right after the season, [but] probably the busiest time of the season is between now and December 20th when we get a little break before Christmas. Between now and December 20th it’s 24/7.”