Why Kentucky football’s spring game might not be the showcase you’re used to seeing
If you were hoping to gain a significant look at the Kentucky football team’s new offense in next week’s spring game, it’s probably time to lessen your expectations.
UK coach Mark Stoops opened a portion of Saturday’s practice to reporters but unlike in years past when media were instructed not to shoot video or photo during team periods but were allowed to remain on the field to observe, reporters were ushered back into the practice facility when it came time for the scrimmage portion of practice.
With injuries on the defensive line mounting, a desire to keep the intricacies of the new offense a secret for opponents, and the fear of other teams possibly scouting backups that might play in the spring game with hopes of pushing them into the transfer portal all factors, the April 13 spring game is likely to be a game in name only.
“We were down eight D-linemen that can’t participate,” Stoops said. “What happens is I put everybody else at risk. If I go full tilt and O-linemen are playing against freshmen, we’re going to get more injuries. So, can’t do it. We’ll have some format and it will be open, we’ll have practice and thud it and fill some time.
“Everybody can see what we’ve been doing, which is fine, but it won’t be your typical (scrimmage). There’s no way I could divide it and have two teams. Even going offense against defense to the ground, I just don’t have enough bodies.”
While reporters were not present for the scrimmage portion of Saturday’s practice, Stoops acknowledged afterward that the offense struggled to operate cleanly when coaches were moved to the sideline rather than stay on the field to correct any alignment issues before the snap.
“Whether it’s this offense, last year’s offense, any of it, the process, getting lined up, the motions, anything, it’s got to be second nature to us,” Stoops said. “Then we’ve got to go play and play at a high level and beat people. So, there’s a balance there of how much we’re feeding them, how much they can handle.
“I think it’s easier when (practice) is segmented, they know what’s coming and know what we’re working on. When you put it all together, it goes fast.”
With almost five months until the 2024 season opener and only nine spring practices in to Bush Hamdan’s tenure as offensive coordinator, it is not a surprise that the offense still has work to do to master the operation.
After operating almost exclusively out of the huddle the last three seasons, Hamdan is transitioning the Wildcats to a no-huddle offense to increase tempo and maximize the number of plays per game Kentucky can run from his pro-style scheme. Add in a host of new transfers in key positions, including starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff, and the offense has faced a significant transition this spring.
“I’ve really stressed with our guys three things: the urgency that each day they come out here with, the communication and what that’s got to look like with how fast we will play at certain times, and then the focus on doing your job,” Hamdan said earlier this week. “I think those three things, certainly with the schemes that we feel we are going to be implementing right now, that are going to carry us throughout the year is really what the focus is.”
Asked about Vandagriff’s progress Saturday, Stoops again pointed to the need to improve communication and the efficiency of the offensive operation before acknowledging the burden of that task is shared among all positions and not just the responsibility of the quarterback.
Coaches and players interviewed this spring have been high on the progress of junior wide receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key and highlighted the early impact of freshman mid-year enrollee Hardley Gilmore, but the open portion of Saturday’s practice offered few chances to see their connection with Vandagriff.
The depth issues on defense, many of which are the result of offseason surgeries, have provided opportunities for younger backups to gain more reps, but those opportunities might also add even more reason to limit access this spring. Other coaches around the country have also acknowledged spring games bring the risk of schools mining your roster (through rampant transfer portal tampering) for players that might be currently blocked on the depth chart.
“Sometimes where guys feel buried on the depth chart, they may feel like they’re a three, but there’s really good players and in a year they may be a one,” Stoops said. “I tell them the same thing I would tell my own son: Don’t worry about anybody else, put your head down, go to work and get better every day. I know we all say that, but in today’s world I think that’s not always the reality. We preach it, we talk to them, but it is life. It is the way we’re dealing with it sometimes now.”
So, what should fans expect from the spring game?
Stoops is stressing fundamentals to both his players and in his public comments to reporters. Multiple times through the first three weeks of spring practice a player or coach has noted many of the miscues that led to close losses last season were a result of a fundamental error.
So, the spring game figures to be closer to a normal practice where those skills are the main focus.
“We’ve got to be dialed in,” Stoops said. “I’m still extremely encouraged. I love this team, but we need to be better.”