TRANSCRIPT: UK football head coach Mark Stoops Nov. 2 practice report

Kentucky+head+coach+Mark+Stoops+talking+to+his+team+from+the+sideline+during+the+game+against+Missouri+at+Kroger+Field+in+Lexington%2C+Ky.+on+Saturday%2C+October+7%2C+2017.+Photo+by+Josh+Mott+%7C+Staff.

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops talking to his team from the sideline during the game against Missouri at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, October 7, 2017. Photo by Josh Mott | Staff.

Kernel Sports Staff

Stoops: Okay, it’s been a solid week of preparation, just anxious and getting ready here to get going. You guys love my Thursdays, don’t you? What do you want me to say again, you know? It is going fast, I’ll tell you that much.

Did Stephen [Johnson] start to practice more today and yesterday?

Stoops: He did. He was good all day yesterday, and he was good today.

You all haven’t exactly started fast this year…

Stoops: No.

…is there anything you can do to try to prevent that?

Stoops: No, I mean, we talk about it, we work, we start fast in practice. Both Tuesday and Wednesday we do tempo and offense against defense and go super fast in practice. I don’t know, we just need to concentrate and focus and make sure we’re running good plays on either side of the ball and try to get off to a good start.

Is there anything you can attribute it to, or is it one of those things you’ve just got to deal with?

Stoops: No, I can’t. If I could, then I would try to rectify that. But again, we’ll just make sure we have the best plays we can and try to get some drive starters going on offense and defensively, just get a stop.

Mark, you guys talk all the time about Stephen [Johnson] just winning games and making plays, can you see that in any player in the recruiting process, that kind of quality, or do you have to wait to kind of get that?

Stoops: I think you can when, in certain situations, and when you’re watching a lot of film, and seeing guys come from winning traditions in high schools. But it’s not always the case. I think just getting to know these guys and being around them, you kind of get a feel for who they are.