Jamarion Wilcox (Vicky Graff Photo)
Being “creative” in the run game has been a boost for Kentucky’s struggling offense even if the Cats have not been able to get on the perimeter as much as coach Mark Stoops would have liked.
“So just not being predictable and that’s what we go back to the week before and winning the pre-snap of all the different eye candy — shifts, motions, you could tell we were much more efficient in this game than we were the week before,” Stoops said.
“And that’s part of the things I keep on harping on, was our focus, our discipline, our execution. It’s focus, disciplined execution that’s going to put you in position to win those games. And we did that much better in this game.”
Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum, who was expected to be UK’s starting running back, will miss his fourth straight game with a broken hand when Kentucky hosts Ohio Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats have relied on Demie Sumo-Karngbaye as the No. 1 running back and he’s been a dependable, power runner.
“He definitely had to put in some work because he was a little bit in-between a year ago. We had Ray (Davis) and we used Demie in the slot some, we used him in a variety of ways, and this year we knew we needed a full commitment from him to be a great running back and I think you’re seeing growth there,” Stoops said.
“Jamarion Wilcox also ran very hard (against Georgia). You saw a guy that has the talent that you’ve heard me talk about, and you know we’ve been leaning on him for the accountability piece and doing things right all the time. He really improved, had a great week of practice, and I’m proud of him the way he stepped in and competed as well.
“Demie had some tough yards and really played well. Again, give the O-line credit because I think there was a lot of improvement in that area.”
True freshman Jason Patterson was UK’s No. 2 running back the first two games but did not play against Georgia due to an undisclosed injury and may miss this week, too. That made production for Wilcox a priority.
“We had to put that pressure on because we needed him, so he had to respond in a positive way,” Stoops said about the redshirt freshman. “I think he has. It’s consistency we’re looking for. He has the ability, and he’s got to continue to grow, so he knows all the protections, all the nuances.
“Again, there’s a ton that we do pre-snap. There’s a lot going into it, and he’s just got to continue to be in tune with those things. But I’m happy, I’m proud of him and happy for him that he responded and really had some tough runs against a very good defense. So, I was happy for him.”
3 Responses
It’s ironic for Stoops to even mention the very aspects of the game which has been missing throughout his tenure…
“And that’s part of the things I keep on harping on, was our focus, our discipline, our execution. It’s focus, disciplined execution that’s going to put you in position to win those games. And we did that much better in this game.”
FOCUS has been lacking at the start of nearly every game, and as we know, oft times an entire game (re: SC wallops UK for 60 minutes).
Understand that Patterson is probably out with undisclosed injury. Is there anything more disturbing than that non disclosure? Will the real Barion Brown, if there is one, please step forward this year!
Teams figured out if you don’t kick it to Barion Brown then you really don’t have to worry about him. If he gets the ball thrown to him he drops its 40% of the time. We need to go all in on running the football. These same offensive lineman have been here for years now. They haven’t been goof at pass blocking with any of these starters. They cannot pass block. They are to slow. We need to put all our plays on running the football. Maybe play Brock for a quarter and Gavin for a quarter. I’ve never seen a coach that’s so conservative he won’t change even if it means losing the game. We had another coach here with a giant ego that used to do the same thing. Now he’s coaching at arkansas. Stoops never doesn’t anything different to try and win the game. Brock obviously doesn’t have enough time to throw the ball 75% of the time. The other 25% of the time the receivers either don’t get open or they drop the pass. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out. Why not run the ball 80-90% of the time and then when the defense cheats and loads the box throw it over top of their head for a big gain. Gavin fits this team better as the starting quarterback. We need someone who can run away from the defense. Not run into it. Brock is a ok runner, but Gavin is much better and adds another dimension to the running game. He also has a good arm. He has to be just as accurate as Brock is. I watched the Kentucky Georgia game again and he was throwing the ball 15 feet over the receivers head at times. I get it you don’t want to throw a interception. He next throw he tries to hit Dane key on a long slant and there was a Georgia defender on both side of Dane I was asking myself why would you throw it into double coverage and Farrier was wide open in the flat. You can tell that Brock has never started a game. Its been awhile since he has actually played the game of football in something other than practice. I think Brock would be a decent quarterback if the line gave him some time. I just don’t think its going to happen.