Mark Stoops Fumes Following Kentucky Spring Practice

It was only a matter of time until Angry Mark Stoops returned. The sixth spring practice of 2023 fell far short of the Kentucky head coach’s expectations. He did not hide his emotions well when speaking with the media following Saturday’s practice.

“I’m a little pissed off today,” he said. “I don’t have a lot to say today. I’m a little frustrated, a little disappointed, a little pissed to be totally honest with you. It’s been lackluster the past couple of days.

“I visited with you yesterday. Yes, it was a great day for Kentucky football. I loved the Pro Day. Proud of those guys and love each and every one of them that trained yesterday, getting a shot at the NFL. that was fantastic.

“Guys right now, I don’t know if they think they can just roll out of bed and be good or whatever, but it’s not the same. We need to get back and play the way our brand was made and that’s by being tough and being physical on both sides of the line of scrimmage, being able to run the football. Grateful for what we have but I just feel like we got a bunch of guys that are entitled and don’t work extremely hard. They think it’s going to happen and are waiting for the next guy to make it happen. I’m not real pleased.”

When questioned further, Stoops said, “I don’t know. No excuse. Bullshit, whatever it is.”

The sentiment shared by Mark Stoops is not something new. Friday afternoon he reminded his talented young athletes that they need to play with a chip on their shoulder.

“Listen, they have a lot of work to do,” Stoops said Friday. “I love our players, you know that. I like to speak very highly of them, but let’s not blow things up until they really produce on the field on a consistent basis. That’s where we need to take our program to another level.”

Looking for Leaders

“We got no leaders right now,” Stoops said. “I’m not going to single out anybody right now while I’m pissed, because I don’t want everybody to read between the lines like it’s just them. It’s the whole group.”

It’s still pretty easy to read between the lines. On Thursday defensive coordinator Brad White commended the emerging leaders on the defense, singling out JJ Weaver, Octavious Oxendine and Zion Childress in particular. The other side of the football has a ton of talent, albeit young players who shined early on, but are still not taking the daily strides Mark Stoops demands from his football team.

“I like to be a player-led team, but we’re not. So we gotta step in. We as a coaching staff better lead, because this group can’t.”

Pissed Off Mark Stoops Doesn’t Forecast Long-Term Problems

We were due for an afternoon of Angry Mark Stoops. While today’s brief press conference might have featured more colorful language than some of his previous public tongue-lashings, taking two steps backwards during a lengthy camp is not a new phenomenon. These players are human. All their friends in the NFL were back in town on a Friday night. They woke up without their foot on the gas. It happens.

Mark Stoops did not specifically single out individuals, but he’s clearly sending a public message to a few who are not meeting his expectations. This should light a fire underneath their tails to return to spring practice next week with a different mindset. He wants his players to be tough. Right now he’s giving them some tough love.