Angry Stoops has had enough of the Defense's "Bullcrap"

by:Nick Roush09/21/16

@RoushKSR

[caption id="attachment_207604" align="alignnone" width="722"]UK Athletics UK Athletics[/caption] After providing updates on the status of Drew Barker, Mark Stoops became unhinged, disgusted with the defense's performance.  The defense started the week strong, but laid an egg today. "I thought we practiced the way we should practice yesterday.  And I thought we absolutely regressed today and that's our problem.  That's our problem.  Until we get it changed, we're gonna have the same darned results that we have in that stadium, which is bullcrap.  Until we grow up and get a mentality about us, and have some guys step up and get tougher, then we're gonna have the some bunch of crap. "Some guys need to grow up in a hurry.  We have no idea what it takes to have concentration from the beginning of the week, through the end (of the week) and through a whole game.  You get the picture?  We're not real tough, we're not real smart, and we've got a long way to go." Stoops wasn't finished. "I'm not pleased.  It's frustrating.  You try to teach, you try to coach, you try to educate and sometimes all that don't work.  The truth is the truth.  If we're so fragile that we can't handle the truth, we're not gonna win very many games." D.J. Eliot didn't have the same steam rolling out of his ears as Stoops, but he echoed the same sentiment. "We're immature.  I don't know why we can't just lock in and go to work everyday.  We just can't take it serious everyday and it's disappointing," Eliot said. What makes it even worse is that today is the last day of fully padded practice this week.  They cannot respond tomorrow by popping pads.  They must respond mentally. "The intensity that we're looking for tomorrow is the focus, the communication, the alignment, the execution more than it is the physical strain that you get in practice," Eliot said. The players feel the frustration from the coaches. "It's very frustrating because we know the potential of our defense.  We're just still not meeting that expectation."  Derrick Baity only knows one way to fix it: "Everyone just hone in and do your job."

Other Notes from Practice

--  Gunner Hoak is still a redshirt player, but if Stephen Johnson goes down, Hoak is preparing as the backup.  Stoops said Luke Wright is also available if needed. --  Johnson was not available for interviews today, but he did spend extra time after practice working on touch passes into the end zone with Kayaune Ross. --  True freshman defensive lineman T.J. Carter has earned early reps on the defensive line.  He still must improve his technique and footwork, but believes he's adjusted well to the different alignments in UK's front. However, that wasn't the most interesting part of today's interview.  Carter used to swing a sword in middle school as a fencer.

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