Substitution, tempo issues are not a new problem for Kentucky football offense

When discussing the woes of the Kentucky football offense, the feeling of déjà vu is strong.

If you felt like you’d seen this problem before when the Wildcats looked confused as players constantly ran on and off the field between plays in the first half of Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss, that is because you have.

“We’re constantly trying to get people involved and mix personnels almost every play,” UK’s offensive coordinator said. “Well, that slows down the operation. So, we can play with tempo without going no-huddle by just staying in a personnel grouping for more than a play at a time. Let the guys settle in, letting them play a little bit more within that personnel grouping, that will also allow us to get more comfortable and play with a little bit more tempo.”

That quote is not from current UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. It’s from former offensive coordinator Liam Coen almost two years ago to the day.

Kentucky was two games into the 2023 season when Coen gave reporters that quote after a Tuesday practice. The Wildcats had won their first two games, but after a closer-than-expected 28-17 win over FCS Eastern Kentucky, grumbling about the offense’s plodding pace had intensified.

The difference between then and now is the constant substituting in 2023 was mostly criticized because it led to the ball being snapped so close to the playclock expiring rather than actually resulting in penalties and burned timeouts like it did Saturday against Ole Miss.

Kentucky used all three of its first-half timeouts when it could not get the proper personnel grouping on the field and lined up in time.

With no timeouts left, the issue popped up again on the final drive before halftime just as the Wildcats had reached the edge of kicker Jacob Kauwe’s field goal range. This time, Kentucky was flagged for an ineligible receiver downfield when the official ruled one of Kentucky’s receivers had not lined up properly before the rushed snap.

“These are the kind of things that if you are on the hot seat get you fired,” play-by-play man Sean McDonough said on the ABC broadcast after that miscue. “It just does not look like a well-coached football team, in terms of the management and the operation.”

UK coach Mark Stoops seems to have shared fans’ frustration at the miscues.

“It’s really inexcusable, to be totally honest with you,” Stoops said after the game. “There are things where we are trying to get the best personnel we can with certain pays and certain things. We got to be better. We’ve just got to function better.”

Stoops was even more blunt in his weekly postgame radio interview with UK play-by-play man Tom Leach, explaining he told offensive coaches at halftime, “I don’t want to see any more of that. Let’s roll with the guys we have in there and quit all the substitutions and all that.”

Hamdan and his assistants took that direction to heart, decreasing the substitutions and number of times a receiver was directly to go in motion before the snap in the second half, and the operation improved.

But the issues that led the offensive staff to feel like so many substitutions were needed remain.

“We thought a lot of that was going to have to have to be an advantage for us to get off the press coverage and whatnot,” Hamdan said after the game. “And obviously, it’s something we’ll take a look at.”

Hamdan and Stoops acknowledged during preseason camp that no receiver had emerged from the pack to solidify his spot as a go-to option. It now seems apparent that committee approach was not by choice because so many receivers had proven worthy of snaps.

Since no receiver has proven worthy of being on the field for every play, Hamdan has tried to match specific players with specific play calls in hopes of increasing the chances of success. The inability of the receivers to reliably win one-on-one battles with defenders has led Hamdan to go heavy on pre-snap movement in an attempt to confuse defenses.

To make matters worse, when those strategies have paid off with open receivers, Kentucky’s quarterbacks have too often failed to make a quick enough decision to capitalize on the opportunity.

“We have to continue to get balance,” Stoops said Monday. “You know I’ve been saying that for a long time. Last year, end of this year. We have to be better.

“At least we improved the physicality in the run game, the protection is better. We have to create some positive yardage in the pass game. We improved a little bit in this game, but again, we left some out there.”

There was at least one positive in the passing game against Ole Miss.

After not recording a catch in the opener, Alabama transfer Kendrick Law totaled six catches for 44 yards. He had another 37-yard catch-and-run called back by an illegal formation penalty that Stoops questioned at his Monday news conference.

It also seems likely redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley will start against Eastern Michigan. While Boley also missed a couple of open receivers in his brief appearance against Ole Miss, he has the arm talent to boost the passing game if he can make good decisions.

“I think we got to look at from an explosive play standpoint, the ability to get Kendrick the ball quick,” Hamdan said after the game. “I think you saw it today, versus us, maybe taking shots down the field.

“… I think for us, that’s going to have to be our DNA. It really is. We’re going to have to get catch-and-run opportunities, pick our spots like Ja’Mori (Maclin) making that big play on the double move and work to manufacture in the pass game.”

This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 6:15 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription