Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has an idea of what to expect when the Wildcats open the season Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
Even though Kentucky and Southern Mississippi haven’t met in three decades, the Eagles, winless in two tries against the Wildcats, will have a familiar look, especially on offense.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops will face former offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, now at Southern Miss, Saturday/small>
Southern Miss has most of its talent intact from last year’s 9-5 squad, including quarterback Nick Mullens, but will have to emulate that success with a new coaching staff, which includes former UK offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson.
“We had to watch quite a bit of film because we had to go back and watch our offense and then had to watch quite a bit of theirs as well,” Stoops said. “(We) just (had) to study their personnel and their quarterback. I (had) to go back and watch Southern Miss to see their personnel and see the plays that they ran extremely well a year ago and see what they will carry over. Coach Dawson will incorporate some of the plays and plans that they have done really well a year ago.”
Stoops hasn’t gotten caught up in the hype surrounding Dawson’s return to Commonwealth Stadium and added he’s also not concerned with the emotional ties, either.
“I don’t have any emotions with facing him at all,” Stoops said. “I have respect for Shannon Dawson or I wouldn’t have hired him. We had as good a split as you can have. He’s a professional. He handled it the right way. I certainly tried to handle it the very best I could. I think any time a situation doesn’t work out, and you’re the person who left, I don’t know. I don’t want to put words in his mouth. I’m sure it’s different for him than it is for me.”
Like Stoops, Dawson isn’t dwelling on the past and said he’s “fine” with facing his former team in his Southern Miss debut.
“It’s just another game to me,” he said. “I mean I treat them all the same.”
Stoops hopes the Wildcats use the same approach and avoid a hot start, followed by a late letdown during the second half of the season.
“I think it is always important to come out of camp with some juice and being able to play,” he said. “There is a fine line that we talk about all the time with all the reps and the practices and the stress that you put them under during camp and just having that good balance and being able to come out play fast in your first game. That is an awfully lot of practices that you put in before your first game, so we have to be smart in how we manage it.”
During the off-season and during fall workouts, Stoops said his team has taken on a heavier workload, especially on offense. The Kentucky coach added the Wildcats adjusted well to offensive coordinator Eddie Gran’s style and said they are “mentally much more focused” going into the opener.
“I think we are a much more disciplined football team and much more focused,” he said. “That comes from all the things that I have talked about all year of putting them in more stressful situations and pushing them harder so they have more maturity about them. It is nice to play with a football team that has some experience and has some maturity about them. That is the biggest difference between this year and years past.”
Stoops added starting signal caller Drew Barker has been consistent since winning the quarterback battle last spring and has gotten a positive response from his supporting cast.
“I am very pleased with what he’s done,” the Kentucky coach said. “I’ve talked about it less than we have in the past. But my message has been the same. I’ve been pleased with his progress. I’ve been pleased with his poise. He’s been accurate. I think again it’s a reflection of the guys around him as well.”
Game tracker: Southern Miss at Kentucky, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. TV/Radio: ESPNU; 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter
