Mark Stoops is relaxed, confident entering football season

The football season has arrived which means a plethora of media appearances for ninth-year head coach Mark Stoops. The Kentucky program appears to be in great shape heading into 2021, and Stoops is not hiding from what could be a big season.

On Monday evening, KSR tuned in to the first radio show for the head football coach in 2021.

There were many takeaways, but it was hard for Stoops to hide his excitement for his ninth team in Lexington.

Relaxation

Mark Stoops turned 54 years old over the summer and has almost reached a decade in Lexington. The former defensive coordinator at Arizona and Florida State is on the verge of becoming the winningest head coach in program history. With a new-look offense and experienced defense, the head coach is feeling good about this upcoming season.

“We’ve been hard at it,” Stoops told Tom Leach on Tuesday evening. “We’ve been working, our team’s been working hard and I’m excited about just getting back to normal. Having a football season and not having a 10-game SEC schedule. I like this football team, I like our staff, and I like what I do.

There are around five million reasons for Stoops to like what he does, but something just appears to be different about the program heading into September. Stoops, his staff, and players feel very confident about what Kentucky football could accomplish this fall. Now the games just need to get here.

“I’m so fired up about the season,” said Stoops.

Clean football

On KSR’s Monday Huddle this week, one of the major talking points was the goals for this Saturday’s game against ULM. The Warhawks enter with a brand new staff, but all signs point to this being one of the worst teams in college football this season.

Due to this, Kentucky must focus on itself this week. While doing that, the Wildcats must limit mental errors. Playing a clean game on Saturday is currently a major point of emphasis for the head football coach.

“I feel like we have been honing in the past couple weeks of just getting cleaner — getting that operation cleaner,” said Mark Stoops. “It does help — not that over any one particular quarterback or anything — but as you narrow it down and have the same voice in the huddles, and getting more reps. Just reps alone help quarterbacks.

“I feel like it’s getting cleaner. We’re getting closer to game-ready.”

Thanks to having a ton of senior starters, the Wildcats have high expectations for this year. Kentucky is hopeful to get off to a hot start. To accomplish that, the coaching staff is shooting for the team to play a clean game with not many errors on Saturday at Kroger Field.

Tight end praise

With the new offense, comes new hope for the tight ends. Like clockwork, Mark Stoops was asked how much the position will be used in the new offense. The head coach has faith in the position, but one player has really caught his eye heading into the year.

“Brenden Bates, I believe, is one of the best players we have on our team,” said Stoops. “A complete tight end.”

“He’s got a lot of pop to him. He’s very sudden — can make explosive blocks and can run and catch.”

When Kentucky goes to 12 personnel, Bates will be the second tight end in the game along with Justin Rigg. Don’t be surprised if the Cincinnati Moeller prospect becomes a threat for the Wildcats this fall.

Quick hitters

• After praising the newest batch of Wildcats at Monday’s press luncheon, Mark Stoops gave the class of 2021 some more props on Monday evening. The head coach loves what the group brings to the table and specifically brought up three defensive players — linebackers Martez Thrower and Trevin Wallace and defensive lineman Kahlil Saunders.
• Stoops also did not hide his excitement for Penn State transfer Will Levis. The head coach believes Levis is ready for the spotlight and has been a “natural leader” since arriving in Lexington this summer.
• After missing time with a back injury during fall camp, new punter Wilson Berry appears ready to go. “He’ll be out there this week ready to roll,” said Stoops.
• In the opener, Stoops believes it can be easy for players to try and do too much. Adding this in with a new offense, Stoops wants his players to relax and take things one snap at a time on Saturday. There will be ups and downs but Kentucky wants to establish the run to create “efficient runs that set up big plays”.
• Oh, yeah. The head coach loves Josh Paschal and credits the redshirt senior for his work ethic and consistency. Don’t be surprised if the former blue-chip recruit becomes an All-SEC performer.
• The prep for ULM has been unique due to the newness of Terry Bowden’s first coaching staff. To get ready, Kentucky has been watching tape of Rich Rodriugez’s offenses at Arizona and Ole Miss. On the other side, Clemson tape is running to prepare for first-time coordinator defensive coordinator Zac Alley. The 27-year-old spent eight years as a student assistant and graduate assistant working under Dabo Swinney and defensive coordinator Brent Venables before moving on to Boise State.