Translating the Kentucky Football Competition Cliche

We all know Mark Stoops likes to get back to work. The Kentucky football coach is demanding for consistency this fall camp. The offseason mission for this program is to regain its competitive edge.

You’ve heard that coach-speak before. But what does it actually look like? The BBN got a firsthand encounter during the Wildcats’ Fan Day open practice.

On the first play of the team period, tight end Josh Kattus and defensive end Tre’vonn Rybka had to be separated. The tone was set. That is a directive from Kattus’ position coach, Vince Marrow.

“If you look up in his room, it says on the front panel of the door, he emphasizes this every single day, it says, ‘No Soft Crap.’ That’s obviously censored,” tight end Brenden Bates shared after pracitce. “He emphasizes it everyday in film. If he sees any type of softness going on, he will nip that right in the bud. We just go out there and be as physical as possible.”

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Evidence of Competition at Kentucky Football Practice

During the second of two team periods, Kattus was mixing it up again, this time with the two most outspoken leaders of the UK defense. The tight end got Octavious Oxendine to the ground. JJ Weaver picked up his teammate, then plotted his revenge. He got it on the following play, derailing Kattus, and the EDGE let him hear about it. A few plays later Kattus faked a block on Weaver, then slipped out for a wide open touchdown reception.

For folks who aren’t used to the back-and-forth, it looked pretty gnarly. Is there animosity between Wildcats? Trouble in the locker room? Not at all.

“It’s amazing. I’m not gonna lie,” Oxendine said. “He’s actually my locker partner, so when I go back in there, he’s going to be sitting right next to me. There’s no bad blood, nothing like that. It’s just football. We go out here compete, just have fun. It’s great that you can go out here and have brothers that you know you’re just competing. It’s strictly for the football and the fun of it. Once we get off the football field, we’re right back to being brothers.”

Trash talk, scrums and fights in football aren’t inherently bad. As long as lines are not crossed, it’s just the manifestation of the competitive energy within the program. Kentucky’s football players want to win every single time they take the field and they’re willing to do whatever it takes.

“If you don’t like to compete, you can’t play football,” Ox added.