What Will it Take to Fix the Cat Football?

[LonnyDemaree]

At the end of a disappointing football season there are a plethora of issues that the fans point to as the reason. Maybe by design, given the policies of media and fans non-viewing participation of practice, we are left to educational speculation of what's going on over at the Nutter Practice facilities.

At the beginning of the season the scheduled set up to be promising for a successful football year. There were eight home games that turned out to be not as daunting as was once thought. Quarterback Patrick Towles was back after having been through the SEC wars. He had been out to California to work with quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. Locally he had worked with quarterback guru Donny Walker, and nationally Towles had been to the Manning (Peyton, Eli, and Archie) clinic in Thibidaux, Louisiana. To say he was he hadn't put in the work and dedication would be a gross miss-statement.

So the thought here being that great, accurate, quarterbacks are born and exercises like the aforementioned are there to help acquire the acumen it takes to manage and or make game-winning plays. So what was the issue with Patrick Towles lack of improvement in what he could master. Some say it could be that he and Shannon Dawson weren't on the same page offensively. Dawson said that anywhere he's been he has never put in an offense instantly that ran smoothly. He said it's always the second year. This wasn't an opinion as of late - this was his statement back several weeks ago.

Mark Stoops contention was that for Towles to look good there had to be people around him playing well. Does this explain the touchdown to interception ratio being the worst since 1994? His high school numbers gave a wrong picture of his passing proficiency. When Highlands came the Lexington, Kentucky to play Lexington Catholic the powerful Bluebirds and then senior Patrick Towles had their way with the Knights winning big. That particular night Towles threw the ball only about 12 times and they were dinks and dunks. When we interviewed then head coach Dale Mueller I asked him was it in his game-plan to throw the ball? He replied yes but we took what they gave us. Sounds like a honest response however given the stats Towles had been putting up the Cats fans that packed the stands wanted to see him air-it-out. Things that make you go ummm.... That night and perhaps many nights the 6-foot-5, 225-pound quarterback had his way running the ball. Just a little curious thing in this writers mind. Having been to Boyle County and thrown 11 completions of 26 passes in the season's opener.This is a long held curiosity and my red-flag went after the LexCath event.

Though not a popular opinion we have long felt that at UK a mobile quarterback is what is needed. Why mister writer? The shortcoming at UK has been not having a big, strong, talented offensive line to block for a spread offense with conventional concepts. So the Wildcats have to be fully versatile in it's approach to putting the ball in the end zone.

As the age-old cliche on defense goes it's not the X's and O's, it's the Jimmy's and the Joe's. This meaning big, fast, and athletic in order to shut offenses down.

Offensive Coordinator

When numbers like the 10-touchdown passes posted this season the lowest since 2005 it's thought the offensive coordinator needs to be replaced. There may be something to that line of thinking however that would the third offensive coordinator for this group of players. The Wildcat football team has been down that fruitless road before. The program needs to avoid that at all cost because the players don't need to be put in the position of learning another new system and it's verbal Jargon.

Mark Stoops is out on the road as I write this column and perhaps he is beating the bushes looking for that mobile quarterback - ala Ohio State that has the kind of line I'm speaking of; Auburn when they won the national championship and defeated Alabama; TCU presently; Louisville presently; LSU presently; and the like. Until UK can field the kind of offensive line they need to be far more versatile in their approach.

[Darrell KSR]

I hear the frustration in your words that the fans are experiencing, Lonny. Thanks for the summary.

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[dan_bgblue]

Definitely appreciate sharing your insight. It appeared to me that there was more wrong with the team than there was right with the team. Some of that surely was because of the players having to learn a new offensive scheme, but to be completely candid, I never did divine what the plan for the offense was throughout the entire season

[catmanjack]

UL's OL gave up over 40 sacks this year so is Lonny saying they were good or bad and that's why Jackson ran the ball?

[catmanjack]

The game plan was missing, one game the TE get 6 catches I bet he didn't have 5 catches in the other 11 games.
I also don't agree to keep the bad just because it would be the third OC for this group.

[ajp40505]

It's going to take a better than average coach who has some head coaching experience. I've seen enough in 36 games to know that Mark Stoops is not the guy. Mitch will give him at least 2 more years, and probably 3. The hope and promise that Stoops and his staff have been selling to recruits is going to stop working. By the time Mitch pulls the trigger our talent level will be back to Mid American Conference levels and we will start this exercise all over again.

[anderwt]

It's going to take a better than average coach who has some head coaching experience. I've seen enough in 36 games to know that Mark Stoops is not the guy. Mitch will give him at least 2 more years, and probably 3. The hope and promise that Stoops and his staff have been selling to recruits is going to stop working. By the time Mitch pulls the trigger our talent level will be back to Mid American Conference levels and we will start this exercise all over again.

Yup...the mistakes that were made in year 3 were eye opening from our coaching staff. The stat that blows my mind was, I think at one point, UK had been outscored 42-7 or 49-7 in the last two minutes of the first half during a 4-5 game stretch when the wheels were coming off. Stoops isn't the guy...But he has a great agent, cause the buyout will keep him here two more years.

[catmanjack]

Great agent or non savy football AD