Mark Perry, shown with his son, Beau, at Kroger Field, is glad to be helping out as quarterbacks coach for the Taxslayer Gator Bowl
If you have ever watched Vince Marrow on the sideline of a Kentucky football game you know he seldom, if ever, stands still. So how will he manage calling the offensive plays in Saturday’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl? Can he stay focused on just play calling and not all the other things he normally does during a game?
“Vince is such a relationship driven guy. He knows all the players and recruited a lot of them,” said Mark Perry, the quality control assistant who is working as quarterbacks coach for the bowl game. “He is up and down the sideline encouraging, motivating, talking to everybody. It is fun to watch him work
“I think he will be more focused on calling the plays. He may roam when we are on defense but on offense he will dial in and do his job.”
Marrow has been working with the entire offensive staff to put a game plan together for North Carolina State — a team Perry says likes to bring pressure and plays with confidence and discipline.
“We are just kind of putting the plan together as a staff. We see what we can get done in practice with the big picture being the bowl game,” Perry said. “Vince will be in charge of the offense in the game. He’s open to ideas to where we can put the best product on the field for this bowl game, too.”
Perry expects to be on the field so he can talk directly with the quarterbacks and help with game operations. He also knows that could change by Saturday.
Perry normally would help scout opponent tendencies and maybe self scout the Cats. He would help coaches with whatever they needed and also communicate regularly with the high school coaches in Kentucky.
“They have enjoyed having me here as someone they can call,” Perry, a veteran Kentucky high school coach, said. “We have a lot of great coaches in the state and a small part of my week is just touching base with them. I enjoy that.”
But being back on the field coaching in preparation for the bowl game has also been fun.
“It has been awesome. I have enjoyed being out there and watching them improve and play confident and fast,” Perry said. “It has been a good time for myself to be out there and be active.”
What about the tight ends? How excited are they to have their position coach now calling the plays for one game?
“You know the tight ends are going to catch the ball or get their chances,” Perry said. “They are definitely fired up. That position group is a good group. You look at Keeton Upshaw and Justin Rigg a lot but Brenden Bates is a really good player, too. That is a definite positive for us going into this game that they are going to be very active.”
