Versatile UT-Martin could challenge UK football

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By Annie Dunbar

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UK football head coach Mark Stoops is confident heading into the Cats’ first home opener since 2007, and he believes the matchup with University of Tennessee-Martin will show everyone how far his team has come.

The SkyHawks, who finished with a 7-5 overall record last season, 5-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference, return ten starters. Head coach Jason Simpson, who has been with the SkyHawks since 2006, runs schemes on both sides of the ball that will keep the Cats on their toes. Simpson’s offense, which returns four starting linemen, is versatile enough to cause problems for UK.

“They do a little bit of everything,” Stoops said. “They can put an extra tackle in and play him at tight end. They may try to get big and run the ball a little bit. They’ve done that certain games. They get into what we call a 20 personnel look, like our offense, like a lot of people do, that H back off, do a variety of things. They get into a little bit of the quarterback run game stuff. There’s a lot to prepare for.  It will be good for us.”

On Saturday’s opener, the SkyHawks will likely start Dylan Favre under center, who split reps last season with junior Jarod Neal. Favre has been compared to his uncle, NFL great Brett Favre.

“They’re both good football players,” Stoops said. “So you could certainly see the talent there. Some of those throws and plays he makes are fun to watch. I just hope I don’t see those next week.”

However, one of the biggest tasks for the Cats will be getting through preseason All-American senior linebacker Tony Bell. Bell had 80 tackles and 10.5 sacks last season. Stoops compared Bell’s play to UK’s Bud Dupree.

“He’s a great linebacker, but he’s a great pass-rusher as well,” Stoops said. “Like Bud in that area. Bud is an outside backer, obviously much bigger. But he’s like Bud in that he’s comfortable on his feet, got great instincts, he’s an extremely good passrusher. He’s a mismatch for some people on the edge.”

The SkyHawks’ defense is hard to predict but according to Stoops, that will help the players learn how to adjust in game-time situations.

“I think they’re the type of team, it’s a little unknown,” Stoops said. “They might get out there and try to pressure the heck out of us, or drop (several in coverage). They’ve shown both, where they’ve been conservative and drop eight guys into coverage a bunch, or they can blitz the house and come after you. I imagine we’ll see a bit of everything.  It will be good for us to see how we prepare and respond to that.”

Stoops believes that he has prepared his team for a multitude of different situations on the field but is anxious to see how his players will respond.

“I know our fans are ready to go,” Stoops said. “We need to do our part. I know we’ll have great support. We need to go out there and start fast and play good football, play with great energy, play with great discipline, make it exciting for the fans.”