Mark Stoops Sees More Quality Football in the Trenches

The Kentucky offensive line battles in the trenches at fall camp, via Aaron Perkins, KSR

Big Men lead the way at Kentucky. Offensive line play has defined success, or lack thereof, throughout the Mark Stoops era. After failing to pass muster, this offseason has been dedicated to repairing the Big Blue Wall. A couple of weeks into fall camp, it’s clear the Kentucky offensive line is moving in the right direction.

Following the first scrimmage of the preseason, head coach Mark Stoops was asked which unit his shown the most progress so far. They’ve been incredibly demanding of the offensive line, and the big guys continue to answer the bell.

“We have to be one unit there. We have to be cohesive and have some depth,” he said. “I feel like we’re getting there.”

The coaching staff tested the offensive line in the first scrimmage. The top two running backs were on the sideline, yet the Cats stuck to the run game to test their salt against a defense that was pinning its ears back. Stoops saw his offense get some hard yards at Kroger Field.

“We need to improve on the offensive line and we need to run the ball like we used to. I saw some of that today and it helped us mix things up a little more.”

Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning

By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.

Stoops added, “In obvious run situations, we have to be better. It’s third-and-one or fourth-and-one, it’s a high percentage of run, and we have to be more effective than we were a year ago. I feel like we’re making strides. Across the board, I feel better about it.”

It can be challenging to tell if the offense’s success on the ground was because of poor play from the defense. Today’s game-like setting makes it a little bit clearer on film.

“It’s good in a scrimmage situation, just to see the complete operation and just see what is real pressure and what’s not. We’re out there getting so many reps in practice, sometimes that is hard to judge, whether it was a true sack or not. I think we gotta continue to watch it. Anytime during camp, you want to see one side do well because they’re doing something exceptional, not because the other side’s inept.”

Stoops said, “I’m starting to see more quality football.”

Quality football. What a novel concept. We didn’t see it on many Saturdays in 2024. The building blocks for successful Saturdays in 2025 start now. Kentucky has the right mindset to ensure they’re ready on Aug. 30.

“They’re very much the type right now to just keep their mouth shut and play ball.”