If you want a feel for how Kentucky coach Mark Stoops thinks this season might go, then just check out the jovial mood he was in during his first pregame press conference this week.
Often coaches can be tense just a few days before the first game. They are not only hesitant to reveal information about their teams, but they are sometimes overwhelmed with game preparation and worry.
Stoops certainly did not downplay Toledo, UK’s opponent Saturday, or make any outlandish predictions about the season. However, he was able to laugh and even get off a few one-liners that had everyone laughing.
After talking about the importance of having his team not get overly excited for the first game and leave too much emotion in the locker room, Stoops was asked if he remembered playing in his first college game and what he was like.
“Well, I don’t really remember. I was probably holding onto my ass,” Stoops laughed and said before media members erupted in laughter, too.
What about the big expectations many fans have for this team after last year’s 10-win season? Could that carry over to the team where it might forget games still have to be won on the field?
“That’s part of what they pay me for, get ’em ready to go,” Stoops said.
How about freshman kicker Chance Poore? How much confidence does the coach have in him as the full-time kicker?
“He hit a 56-yarder (field goal) the other day at practice, so … I mean, I’m not saying I’m going to go for it at 56, know what I mean?” Stoops joked.
Other than the one-liners, Stoops also gave a lot of reason for optimism that Kentucky won’t have the drop from a 10-win season in 2018 that many have predicted because of the loss of several key players off last year’s team. He noted the “good hunger, desire to get better” the players have had during preseason practice.
“They competed every day. I want them to put their heads down, kind of submit to what we’re doing, just buy into it, walk away from the distractions. There’s a lot of mental preparation that goes into it during camp,” Stoops said. “I felt like there was really good focus and energy.”
It also helps to have Terry Wilson back at quarterback for a second season. He guided UK to 10 wins last year — something no UK quarterback had done since 1977 — and Stoops says he’s been impressed by the work Wilson has done since last season ended.
“He’ll have an opportunity to go out there and show that Saturday,” Stoops said. “But he can’t do too much either. He just has to play within himself. We have a lot of other people around him.”
That could be the biggest reason for optimism at UK because Stoops likes everything Wilson has around him on offense despite the loss of all-time leading rusher Benny Snell, three-year starting tight end C.J. Conrad and two starting offensive lineman — all four players are in NFL training camps.
“The strength of our team is always going to be the team. You heard me say that a year ago. It’s not a fancy cliché, it’s the truth. You got to have a good team. You’re going to win as a team and lose as individuals,” Stoops said. “If we go out and play as individuals, we’re going to lose. That will always be the case. This is the ultimate team sport here. We got to have all guys on the same page all the time or you’re not going to be successful.”
Stoops knows openers do not always go smoothly — think back to losses to Western Kentucky and Southern Mississippi. However, he thinks when things do not go as planned his team can call on past experiences to avoid panic.
“We have a game plan, but things change. You just have to keep your poise, adapt and overcome whatever situation you’re in,” Stoops said Monday. “We had some great examples of that a year ago where it looked pretty dismal. We stayed with it and found a way to win.
“Be the same way with the opener.”
And that’s a one-liner for players and fans to remember if things maybe don’t go smoothly immediately on Saturday.
