Mark Stoops talks Kentucky Wildcats Football

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Q. (Question regarding run versus passing.)

COACH STOOPS: That’s going to vary week‑to‑week. We always want to be close to 50/50. You look at UT Martin, they were very balanced a year ago as well. They want to be balanced. Any defensive guy will tell you that, the most difficult offenses to stop are the balanced ones.

Q. (Question regarding UT Martin quarterback Dylan Favre reminding Coach of Dylan’s uncle, Brett Favre.)

COACH STOOPS: He does. He’s a good football player. Split time last year. They’re both good football players. 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 (laughter).

Q. One running back I haven’t heard about is (Josh) Clemons. Is he in a similar situation as Maxwell Smith? Injury really set him back?

COACH STOOPS: It did set him back. Part of it, he’s worked extremely hard. Really appreciate Josh, the work he’s done. He’s had some tough luck. We’ve tried to be very smart with him and he can only handle so much throughout spring and through camp.
We tried to just practice him every other practice to save his legs and save his knee. He did get into a live scrimmage, and honestly he got tweaked up there in that scrimmage. There’s that fine line of getting him game‑ready and not.

With him being on the sidelines, I’m sure it gave reps to those young guys that are very talented and very good football players.
He will have a role. We’ve got to continue to push for that and get him in there. He’s a big, strong guy that has some unique skill sets that can help us. We’ve got to try to use him.

As at any position, we’ll see how things go. We’ll see who emerges and who really plays well.