Notes from Mark Stoops' interview with KSR

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="607"] @jennyhg76[/caption] We've always said Mark Stoops is infinitely better at the microphone when he is chatting with KSR. That was the case again this morning when Coach stopped by All Sports in Fayette Mall for an interview before his team begins fall camp on Monday. He was loose, energetic and undoubtedly excited to see the fans in attendance, plus he sounded pretty excited about kicking off his season in a couple of weeks, too. Below you'll find a rundown of his comments; you can hear the audio of the entire interview on the website later today. ***** Enough with the basketball questions. Stoops understands basketball is king in Kentucky and he has said many times that he embraces Coach Cal's program, but today he admitted that, for the first time, a question about UK basketball annoyed him recently. He was at the ESPN Car Wash in Bristol, fresh off SEC Media Day, and the first question he got was about basketball. Stoops said he was tempted to respond with: "Really?!" "We're all starving for a good football program." Feed us, Coach. Let's eat. Big Blue Nation is famished. Bud Dupree and Za'Darius Smith are 'difference-makers' on the ends. Stoops said his two DEs are as good as anybody in the country. The interior guys will be decided by committee, but he feels very good about his defensive line. He foresees three or four guys who will play well at the defensive tackle spots inside his superstars, who he says are as good as any of the NFL talent he had at Florida State. The secondary was a letdown last season. After Matt complimented the secondary's effort, Stoops told him, "Wow, they didn't play as good as I wanted them to." He expects that group (his expertise on defense, he says) to be much better in 2014. He expects a substantial step up at wide receiver. "I don't mean to be funny or cute here, but we were not very good," he said of last year's receiving corps. "We are going to drastically improve there, because all of the guys were first year guys in the program. Four of the top five guys were first year guys in our program. Three of them were true freshmen." He said Ryan Timmons was good with the ball in his hands but that's all he could do last year. They had to create ways to get him the ball because he played lost. But now Timmons and the others know the offense, they know what they're doing, and they know how to play wide receiver. He's really looking forward to getting Josh Clemons on the field. Headlined by transfer Braylon Heard and returning leading rusher JoJo Kemp, Stoops feels great about his backfield. He called Heard a guy that can make some home run plays, and we all know what Kemp is capable of. But Stoops is also really excited to get Josh Clemons in the mix. Regarding Clemons' arms, Stoops said, "Our strength and conditioning coaches want to take pride in that, but that's called genetics." Wow. The quarterback update is there is no quarterback update. We've known the deal since the spring and Stoops is tired of talking about it. The staff will decide some time in fall camp before the opener. Does he have a relationship with Bobby Petrino? "I do not. No." But he plans to keep playing Louisville, even if the SEC goes to nine games. He is surprised by how quickly they found recruiting success. He knew it would come, but Stoops admitted to surprising himself by how quickly they've gone up against quality teams for recruits and winning some of those battles. The new football complex will be "incredible." Stoops is very excited to get everything in one centralized location, a new 100,000 sq. ft. football facility that will house their offices, dining room, players lounge, weight room and locker rooms. "It's going to be incredible." "Never look back, believe me." Get ready for a new attitude on the football field in 2014.