It is no secret that Kentucky football has been reliant on the running game for much of the Mark Stoops era. Since the days of Benny Snell Jr., passing the ball for a chunk play has been almost a rarity. Guys like Snell, AJ Rose, Chris Rodriguez, and Ray Davis are all super-talented backs, but a run-heavy offense is not going to help Kentucky take that next step.
Mark Stoops sees that, and he thinks it is time for his team to “grow as a program”. That is why there has been such a heavy investment into the passing game, with Liam Coen returning as offensive coordinator, and a substantial NIL investment in bringing in Devin Leary and returning the receivers.
During Monday’s teleconference, Stoops mentioned how being a run-heavy team has worked in the past, but that won’t necessarily be the case in the future. “We want to grow as a program. We can sit there and second guess ourselves and look at that last time we took the field and say, ‘Hey, we could sit there and run the ball maybe twenty more times and have a better chance to win the game, but are we really growing as an organization? Are we really winning and becoming that team that we want to become?’”
It is promising to see Mark Stoops looking at the picture, and refusing to run back his comfortability in running the ball. While it is frustrating to watch Kentucky football put up disappointing performances against Georgia, and especially Missouri given Kentucky had won 7 of the last 8, it could be necessary growing pains given the major shift in offensive philosophy. Then again, you can’t continue to force it if it going to cost the team wins.
Cleary, Stoops has noticed that in order for his team to take the next step, they have to create a foundation to be able to succeed in throwing the ball. Take Nick Saban and Alabama for example. For the longest time, they were also a ground-and-pound style offensive team, but when Saban saw things going south, he made adjustments. It seems that Coach Stoops is doing the same here, which is positive news.
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