By LARRY VAUGHT
Whether Mark Stoops blamed himself for Kentucky's 28-27 loss to Florida or did not, UK players still have to pick up the pieces and get ready for Eastern Michigan Saturday.
It doesn't matter why UK left two Florida receivers uncovered on two plays that went for touchdowns. Players cannot dwell on that. Let Stoops and the staff figure that out.
Stoops said Monday that "quite a few" players have shown big-time leadership since Saturday's loss.
"It was good to see growth in so many ways. I tried to offset that last Monday about the atmosphere and focusing and seeing what we need to see, and not looking at the big picture. There’s many things we can learn from that environment where we need to execute better. The next time we are in that situation we need to play better in certain situations, all of us," Stoops said.
"We are constantly striving to improve in that area but I also saw great leadership because I saw frustration and guys wanted it so bad that there is frustration in there. Then I saw the guys regroup and become player-led. The leadership comes from the players. That is great to see. That is growth.
"None of us are perfect. You know the guys you would normally think. Courtney (Love) is a guy that automatically stands out. I think all of the guys, Nick (Haynes) is always a great leader, Stephen (Johnson). But, you know the nice thing is you are seeing more and more of them. It’s their team, but we constantly have to teach them to be player led.”
Stoops hasn't denied that the way UK lost because of its own mistakes was "heartbreaking" for coaches, players and fans. Yet he does not want anyone thinking he is not proud of his team. UK had a 27-14 lead and dominated for over three quarters.
"They’re very resilient. They’re very tough. And we’re really playing the game the right way and it starts with our preparation and our mindset and I’m proud of the team in that way. It’s been like that all year and all offseason. It takes an awful lot of work by those players to put themselves into position to play the way they do," Stoops said.
“There are things we can all do better, starting with myself, that hurt that we have to accept responsibility for and we have to do better. That starts with me. If our team continues to play with that kind of edge and attitude and work and prepare the way they do and continue to get better then good things are in store for us as we move through the season.
“We’ll be excited to get back on the field, put that game behind us and begin our preparations because we really don’t have time to sit and dwell on it. It was a long 24 hours for myself, that’s for sure, very difficult for sure. But today is a new day, a new week and a new opportunity so it’s exciting to get back to work.”
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