Saturday’s season opener against Southern Miss is a night the fans inside Kroger Field will never
forget. Despite the numerous rain delays and adjusted game format, the Big Blue Nation set the
tone for one of the most exciting seasons in Kentucky football history. When asked at his
Monday press conference, Mark Stoops said the fans were “incredible… to hang around and wait
for us two hours plus and give us a lot of inspiration” helped the team come out with energy after
the long delay. After praising the fans, Stoops detailed what he saw in the season opener and
what the fans can expect this weekend when South Carolina comes to Lexington.
Bush Hamdan Has Stoops’ Trust
With all the strange things happening off the field, one stretch of the game left Kentucky fans
shocked at what they saw on the field. The traditional run-first style was abandoned on the
team’s lone drive of the second half as Brock Vandagriff threw three deep passes in a row before
eventually connecting on a 46-yard pass to North Texas transfer Ja’Mori Maclin.
“I loved it,” Stoops said, “I loved the way he attacked it.”
A similar confidence was expressed for Brock Vandagriff after the game. “I thought he played
like I thought he would play,” Stoops said describing his new quarterback’s play, “I had a lot of
confidence in him going into the game, and I think he delivered.” It was obvious Stoops trusts
the leaders of his offense, and if the pieces continue to gel like they did on Saturday this offense
could be one of the best he has had here.
Plenty of Problems to Fix
On the surface, it is hard to find things to be upset about from Saturday’s win. The offense was
on pace to score north of fifty points, and the defense forced multiple turnovers while holding the
Golden Eagles to just five rushing yards. Despite the box score looking clean, Stoops made sure
to note his team has plenty of work to do if they want to reach their full potential. When
discussing the defensive backs, Stoops said “they can’t watch the game when they’re out there
playing ball.” The former defensive backs’ coach wanted to see more discipline from his
secondary instead of allowing their eyes to lose focus on their responsibility.
Offensively, the Big Blue Wall caught most of the heat following their matchup with a
respectable USM defensive line. While discussing the improvements Lexington native Jager
Burton made in the offseason, Stoops challenged the whole line to finish every play to the very
end. The head coach wanted to see more consistency out of Jager saying there's “still a play or
two that he needs to finish better… but there are a lot of guys that I could say that about.”
Overall, Stoops was pleased with the way the line played and is excited about the unit they can
become as they continue to get more familiar with the new offense.
South Carolina Presents Unique Challenges
In year four under Shane Beamer, South Carolina is bringing a team with potential game-
wreckers on both sides of the ball. Everything starts on the ground with Arkansas transfer
running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, but Stoops focused more on quarterback LaNorris
Sellers impact on the rushing game. Sellers was described as “a very good football player… with
a lot of attributes” by the Kentucky coach, with his biggest impact coming on the ground. A
dual-threat athlete like Sellers provides a unique weapon to this Carolina offense, and Stoops has
made sure his team is aware of the ways Sellers can change the game on the ground.
The strength of this South Carolina football team is the edge rushing duo Kyle Kennard and
Dylan Stewart. Kennard is a “mature, older player” who put up 4.5 tackles for loss last weekend,
while the true freshman Stewart was described as a “big time player” who can be “very
disruptive” for opposing offenses. Stoops pointed out how quickly these two can change a game
and the focus players like Kennard and Stewart demand from opposing teams.
Stoops Asks BBN to Bring the Same Energy
Mark Stoops was very complimentary to the fans for the energy and perseverance they showed
against Southern Miss. Just like he is for his players, Stoops is calling for the fans to keep
bringing it against as his team kicks off conference play. Stoops started his press conference
calling for the fans to “show up again” before closing his comments with one final message to
the fans:
“I call on them this week, we start league play, and we need this place electric.”
Be there, and be loud.
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