‘Fancy’ new offense catches attention, but UK focusing on fundamentals this spring
Terminology, formations, schemes. When it comes to Kentucky’s offense in 2021, one thing is certain.
“Everything’s going to be new,” Mark Stoops said.
Stoops spoke during a news conference Monday ahead of Kentucky’s first spring football practice, scheduled for Tuesday morning. That’ll be the coaching staff’s first opportunity to work with players using an actual football since the end of last season. Newly-minted offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been able to install some basic principles and lay the groundwork since joining the program in late January, but the next five weeks will show just how quickly returning players and newcomers adapt to the change in philosophy.
A “fancy” new scheme gets fans and media chattering, and it excites players, but Stoops wants his players focused on fundamental work in the coming weeks. Their offseason conditioning — the ground level when it comes to the fundamentals — was “remarkable,” and individual walk-throughs with coaches have been encouraging.
“Obviously, there’s so much big-picture things to get in and to get done and to install, but fundamentally you’ve always got to get better every time you take the field,” Stoops said. “There’s a lot to do but it’s an exciting time.”
Much attention’s been given to Kentucky’s makeover on offense, but its defense must replace five starters, including an anchor on the defensive line (nose guard Quinton Bohanna), a potential first-round pick at linebacker (Jamin Davis) and a multi-year starter at outside linebacker (Jamar “Boogie” Watson). That side of the ball also will look to return to form in terms of pass-rush production after sliding back considerably last season from where it’d been the years prior.
Stoops isn’t sure how, or if, seeing a new look in practice will correlate to an improvement in the pass rush. Ultimately, getting better boils down to the individual level.
“Each guy that takes the field this spring has to take it upon themselves to get better each and every day,” Stoops said.
New coach
Stoops during his new conference confirmed the hire of a new running backs coach, John Settle, who spent the last six seasons at Wisconsin, his second stint with that program.
Settle succeeds Jemal Singleton, who was on the job less than a month before the Philadelphia Eagles picked him off of Stoops’ staff. He addressed the media briefly following Stoops’ availability.
“You want to try to take advantage of opportunities when opportunities come, and this here was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Settle said.
Settle, a former star at Appalachian State, played six seasons in the NFL, including one with Washington’s 1991 Super Bowl championship squad. He was the first undrafted free agent in league history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
His coaching career started with the Cleveland Browns under Bill Belichick in 1995. He was running backs coach at Fresno State from 1999-2005 before his first stint with Wisconsin from 2006-2010. He coached running backs for the Carolina Panthers (2011-2012) and Browns (2013) before a season at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014. He rejoined the Badgers in 2015.
Over the last decade, Settle has coached Jonathan Taylor, Corey Clement, Dare Ogunbowale and James Conner, all currently on NFL rosters.
He also will be co-coordinator of UK’s special teams along with safeties coach Frank Buffano. Kentucky did not have a special-teams coordinator in title last season.
“If you ask anyone that watches enough, probably the fastest way to lose a ball game is to mess up on special teams,” Settle said. “So my philosophy is to be sound in all phases.”
Depth
Kentucky has four scholarship quarterbacks on its roster — junior Joey Gatewood, sophomore Nik Scalzo, redshirt freshman Beau Allen and true freshman Kaiya Sheron — and a fifth on the way this summer in Penn State transfer Will Levis.
One of them will be the Wildcats’ new starter, but Stoops didn’t offer any hints as to how the reps would lean out of the gate.
“It’s a competition just like every other position out there,” Stoops said. “We’ll see how it moves forward.”
Counting walk-ons, Kentucky has 106 players on its roster. The return of nine seniors and addition of 12 mid-year enrollees has numbers at a higher level than normal, but that’s a good problem to have with so many spots up for grabs ahead of the first kickoff in September.
The most high-profile addition was Wan’Dale Robinson, a former four-star recruit who played at Nebraska the last two seasons.
“You don’t need to watch much film or watch Wan’Dale very long to see how talented he is,” said Stoops, noting that Robinson’s work ethic matches his talent. “… You always want to bring guys into the program that are going to affect people in a positive way.”
Luke Fulton could provide an immediate boost at linebacker, a position where the development of depth is urgently needed heading into 2021. He’s a redshirt freshman who arrived by way of Michigan State, from which he was suspended last fall.
“We went from a great strength there to being a little bit low on numbers, so I think it was an opportunity for each of us,” Stoops said of Fulton, who played at his high school alma mater. “I’m excited about seeing what he can do. We’ve only seen him in the weight room and out there doing some conditioning, but he’s a big strong, smart guy.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 2:18 PM.
