Mark Stoops believes rotation is "fairly ironed out" to close fall camp

Two weeks and two scrimmages down, Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops likes where things stand with the Wildcats as fall camp comes to a close. The holes that needed to be filled were filled and the staff is strong on both sides of the ball.

Now, it’s time to build on that momentum as the team leaves camp in the past and looks ahead to game preparation. Opening kick is just 12 days away, after all.

“I feel good about the team,” Stoops said Monday at the Louisville Alumni Kickoff Luncheon. “We addressed some areas from a year ago that we needed to improve.”

Upgrading offense, staying consistent on defense

The Kentucky offense was a disaster under then-coordinator Rich Scangarello, who was ultimately replaced by Liam Coen following his one-year hiatus with the Los Angeles Rams. Then came a home run in the portal with the addition of star quarterback transfer Devin Leary. Factor in much-needed improvements on the offensive line and Stoops is happy with the offense overall.

“Certainly getting Devin Leary in the transfer portal was a big get. He’s been very impressive,” Stoops said. “We have some young wideouts that are growing up and getting better. I think we needed to address the offensive line, that’s quite obvious. And I think we’ve made some definite improvements in that area. … Getting Liam Coen back as our offensive coordinator, that’s a big get. He’s made a big difference, brings a different energy and he’s very creative. We’re excited to have him back.”

As for the defense? Well, that unit was a force as is under defensive coordinator Brad White. It ranked No. 12 overall in yards allowed per game and No. 13 in points allowed last season — Nos. 2 and 3 in the SEC, respectively.

More of the same is expected in 2023.

“The rest of the team, we’re looking for constant improvement. We’re looking to get better in each and every area,” Stoops said. “Defensively, we’ve been strong and fairly consistent with Brad White leading the charge there. I’m feeling pretty good about that unit overall.”

Looking ahead to Kentucky’s season opener

Fall camp is over and the in-season practice schedule has begun. No more scrimmages to help carve out the foundation of the depth chart with major position battles. That process is in the rearview mirror.

Now it’s about the details and preparing for Ball State on September 2.

“We’re working through (any remaining roster questions),” Stoops said. “There are still some positions where you can play multiple players until one person takes it over. But for the most part, we have things fairly ironed out.”

Is there anything left to learn about this group before the season opener?

“We have a good idea (about what we have). You’re going to need depth anyway,” he added. “Playing at noon in the opener, more than likely it’s going to be a warm day. You’re going to have to play multiple players and we’ll see that depth early. We’ll take it from there and see who plays well.”