Kentucky football’s Liam Coen has Wildcats watching the L.A. Rams’ fast start
It’s Friday before the Kentucky-Florida game Saturday night and what might the UK offense be doing?
Watching film of the Los Angeles Rams’ offense.
After all, offensive coordinator Liam Coen came to UK from the Rams, where he was assistant quarterbacks coach. But it’s not just the offense that the Rams ran when Coen was in L.A. that current Wildcats are studying these days. It’s also what Los Angeles Coach Sean McVay and his offense is doing right now on the way to a 3-0 start, including a 34-24 win over Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs last Sunday.
“Each week I talk to Sean after all our games, all their games,” Coen said this week. “So happy for those guys and what they’re doing. So many good friends and such a good organization, to see them have the success they’re having right now is so good to see.”
So good that Coen wants to actually see it on film and show it to his players.
“Each week we watch all their stuff,” Coen said. “We show their film to our players like every Friday, in terms of it’s not just about them. These are similar concepts, here’s how we can find the details and get everything sharp on plays that we run on game day. It’s been really nice to see them to have the success and for us to have the ability to watch that tape.”
Has it helped?
“Every time that we’ve done that type of deal, you do see improvement in details,” Coen said. “They see those guys run the same plays and they want to do it, we’re striving, the standard is that. I don’t care that they’re the NFL, that’s the standard. That’s what we’re trying to get accomplished. The guys who really do care and see things the way they’re supposed to be seen, they take those details and put them into their own game.”
UK wide receiver Josh Ali is one of those players. Ali returned to the Cats for a “super senior” season in part to play in Coen’s offense. What does he look for in those Rams film sessions?
“Really, every little thing, because everything we run comes from them,” Ali said this week. “Just the way they run their routes, the speed that they play at, what they do after the catch, stuff like that. It’s given us that peek of it of how guys play in that offense at the next level.”
Does Ali pattern his game after one of the Rams’ receivers?
“I like the way Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp play,” he said. “They’ve been in the National Football League for awhile now and I run some of the same routes that they do. That’s what I try to do. I watch their film the night before a game or so just to see my steps and the speed I need to go at to make sure the timing is right. I know it’s not going to be exactly the same, but it’s just something to look at to get a good picture of how the offense is executed.”
SEC total offense
Average yards per game for Southeastern Conference offenses this season:
1. Ole Miss 635.33
2. Florida 541.00
3. Auburn 484.25
4. Missouri 483.00
5. Arkansas 480.00
6. Alabama 465.50
7. Georgia 454.50
8. Kentucky 440.75
9. Mississippi State 426.25
10. Tennessee 422.25
11. Texas A&M 396.00
12. LSU 377.75
13. South Carolina 321.25
14. Vanderbilt 284.50
