Liam Coen: Let Chris Rodriguez Eat!

Photo by UK Athletics

Chris Rodriguez is hungry. Liam Coen is prepared to feed him the football in 2021.

“Chris Rodriguez needs to touch the ball as many times as possible.”

The BBN agrees with Coen’s statement wholeheartedly.

Mark Stoops brought in the Sean McVay disciple from the L.A. Rams to revitalize the Wildcats’ stagnant passing game. Much of the focus has been on a new aerial attack, but in Coen’s introductory press conference the new offensive coordinator frequently used the phrase “marrying the pass with the run.” To blend the two effectively, it means getting the ball to Rodriguez in more than one way.

“It’s my job and our job as an offensive staff to find different ways for him to touch the football, as opposed to turning around and gibing him the ball,” Coen said. “That’s something that’s new, being able to free-release from the backfield and catch the football. It would be hard for me to say right now how many touches a game each guy would like to get, but I do know we want to try to get Chris over 25 touches a game for sure.”

Last season Rodriguez never had more than 20 touches in one game, despite a 65.5% success rate on run plays with only five resulting in negative yards. This fall those touches will come in different forms in the running and passing game. Coen can utilize his rushing skills with inside and outside zone schemes, and use him to catch passes out of the backfield as a check-down or by running routes, a skill he must develop this spring.

“The toughest thing (so far) would probably be the routes out of the backfield. That’s one of the things we’re doing more of,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a part of the game. Obviously, you watch a lot of NFL you see those guys catch the ball out of the backfield a ton. For me, I like it. I didn’t really do it a lot in high school, so now you gotta get used to it.”

It’s one of a few new aspects Rodriguez is implementing into his game this spring. He’s also changing his diet, substituting fast food for vegetables and protein to get quicker. He can feel a difference in the way the offense operates. Rodriguez just wishes the BBN could see the new-look offense before the season kicks off in September.

“Obviously, it’s a bummer,” he said, “but that’s not my decision. I just wish y’all could see the new offense that we put in. I like the way everybody’s running around. Everybody seems excited to come to practice.”