Stoops sees 'urgency' from leaders, "We will unite"

The Mark Stoops Show served as the first public speaking engagement for the Kentucky head football coach since the Missouri Tigers handed the Wildcats a bitter loss Saturday night at Kroger Field.

The Wildcats got off to a 14-point lead that evaporated by halftime. They mounted a comeback to take a one-point fourth quarter advantage, yet still lost by 17 points. It was an ugly affair that was riddled with penalties as spirit in the stadium eroded. In the team’s first day back together on campus, Mark Stoops saw his leaders step up.

“I saw great leadership, I really did. The players had a great meeting today with themselves that they asked me to have. They did. They’re showing great leadership. They care. They’re working really hard,” said Stoops.

Reading between the lines, that’s a players-only meeting. He tried to avoid that word for a reason.

“Without diving into it too much because I don’t like — sometimes the narrative of a players-only meeting, some people make way too much of that — but yes, to your point, it does take some of the older guys and some leaders, some guys on the team to step up and hold the team accountable. We want to be a player-led team, of course. I feed them information, talk to them till I’m blue (in the face), talk all day long and can give them as much information as possible, but ultimately it’s their team.

“There has to be great leadership and I have seen some of that stepping up right now in a critical moment. And there’s still, even though there’s frustration and disappointment, there is no panic. I think urgency is a good word to use. I think we all need to make sure we use this work week very wisely, and be very urgent to get better.”

Follow @KSRonX, KSR’s official Twitter/X account, for all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news, videos, and content.

Stoops Thanks Fans, Vows to ‘Keep Pushing’

The Big Blue Nation brought its A-game to Kroger Field. The home of the Wildcats was rocking as Kentucky exploded out to an early two-touchdown lead. Stoops just regrets taking them out of the game in the second quarter.

“Two or three or four plays can determine the outcome of a game, you just don’t always know which ones they are. It’s not always the obvious. There’s many game plays in there that were just fractions off. We’re not far off,” said the Kentucky head coach.

“There’s great fans here tonight, and thank you for being here and supporting, you know you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not going anywhere. We’re gonna grind it out. If you want to coach in this league and coach in the SEC, you better be able to buckle down and handle some rough spots and have some thick skin. That’s fine. We’ve been there, last time Liam was here, if I’m not mistaken. In ’21 we lost three straight and ended up with a 10-win season. We want more, and I want to keep on pushing. I can tell you this: We got better today, and if we continue to do that, as a football team, as an organization, we’re going to be just fine.”

Even though this loss did admittedly feel different, there was no sense of panic in the head coach’s voice. He’s been in a similar situation before and he’s prepared to bring the Wildcats together to turn around the 2023 season.

“We will unite, come together and continue to do what we do, and that’s the only thing we know how to do is put our head down and work.”

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. New members can try 1 month for $1.