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Mark Stoops talks Deebo Samuel, Kroger Field crowd in final press conference before South Carolina game
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Kentucky is fresh off an upset of Mississippi State at home, and currently are sitting as the No. 17 team in the country at 4-0. Next up for the Wildcats, another home SEC matchup in South Carolina.
Here is what Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said in his final press conference before Saturday’s game.
On South Carolina WR Deebo Samuel:
Just a dynamic guy. Very explosive. A complete wide receiver, he does a lot of things well. Plays very unselfish, very hard, and makes tough catches. Good player, really good player.
On this week of practice:
It’s been a good week, just like I expected, you know we had a lot going on over the weekend with the late game and I had them a little busier than normal on Sunday and had a few things going on early in the week but they have been great.
On the line of scrimmage impact in this game:
I think it’s a big part of this game, definitely a big part of this storyline. It goes with out saying now, you know with the line of scrimmage. With the way both teams can run the ball, with numbers the way they are, its definitely going to be a lot on the perimeter this week. Who makes explosive plays, who defends explosive plays, its a big piece of the game.
On adapting to South Carolina’s up-tempo offense:
It will help if you get off the field, so hopefully we will play good and get effective and get some stops because if they get rolling it puts a lot of pressure on you. We practice it, we practice against our offense with it and the guys have been good but we have to execute to be effective trying to get them behind the chains. When they go that fast they’ll try to steal some off you.
On the importance of big games on recruiting weekend:
It’s very important. It has been a great atmosphere and it’s been very good recruiting and we have had some officials and plenty of unofficials as you know. So we will continue to have the same, but yeah definitely, when you get off to the start we have and get the environment like that its a big piece of recruiting for sure.
On the difference in not being the underdog:
I know we have a mature enough team to worry about ourselves. As I’ve mentioned to you 100 times, if they need some little piece of it to motivate them so be it, but thats not all of us and thats not the majority of the team. The team takes pride in the way they play and all the work they put in the offseason and so on. So it’s about our preparation and what we do, the emotion usually goes out the door pretty quickly. The most important is how excited you are to practice on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
On what impresses him about South Carolina QB Jake Bentley:
Just the maturity, confidence. He’s got some weapons, so he could be confident with those guys he’s got around him. He’s got some players and they’re a really talented offensive team and you can see they’re more physical with Eric Wolford, their offensive line coach there and I know his mentality, they’re doing a really good job.
On the Kentucky crowd:
It makes a huge difference. I thank them and I can’t wait to see them there again this Saturday. I know our team is excited and has worked really hard to go and execute and play a really good game.
We have seen Kentucky get off to some fast starts in recent years, and fizzle out around the midway point of the season. This test could tell us whether or not the Wildcats are for real, and will compete to finish 2018 near the top of the SEC East.
The Gamecocks and Wildcats kick off at 6:30pm EST Saturday, on the SEC Network.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Lucas is a digital reporter for 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, and a high school play-by-play broadcaster. Lucas has been covering SEC football for Saturday Down South since 2018.
