Kentucky’s Mark Stoops Backs Offensive Coordinator After Loss to Florida

Kentucky’s Mark Stoops Backs Offensive Coordinator After Loss to Florida

Kentucky’s recent 48-20 loss to Florida has raised questions about the team’s offense, but head coach Mark Stoops is standing by offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. The Wildcats’ defense, usually strong, struggled against Florida, allowing five completions of over 40 yards. Yet, Stoops focused more on the offensive issues that have plagued the team all season.

“It feels like we’re constantly shooting ourselves in the foot,” Stoops admitted after the defeat. While Kentucky’s defense had its own problems, it was clear that the offense has been a bigger concern. In every SEC game this season, Kentucky has failed to score more than two offensive touchdowns, and they’ve only managed one first-quarter touchdown all year. Despite moving the ball well at times, the offense tends to stall in the red zone, as shown in their recent game, where they failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at the 2-yard line.

Bush Hamdan, who took over as offensive coordinator this season, acknowledged the inconsistency, saying, “It starts with me.” Many fans on social media seem to agree, calling for changes after Hamdan’s slow start with the team. However, Stoops defended his coordinator, recognizing that constant turnover at the position has been an issue for Kentucky. The team hasn’t had the same offensive coordinator for two consecutive seasons since 2020. Stoops emphasized, “I have a lot of confidence in Bush. It’s tough, but we’re not going to point fingers.”

One challenge for Kentucky’s offense is the frequent changes in leadership. Junior wide receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown, for instance, are playing under their third coordinator in three seasons, and they’ve also worked with three different starting quarterbacks. Hamdan, who had success at Boise State last season, hasn’t been able to replicate those results yet. His Boise State offense averaged 436 yards per game, while Kentucky is currently averaging just 320 yards per game.

A part of this drop can be attributed to the tougher competition in the SEC compared to the Mountain West Conference. Additionally, Hamdan didn’t arrive in Lexington until shortly before spring practice, which gave him limited time to work with the offense. Most of the players were recruited to play in a different system, which adds to the challenge of building a cohesive unit.

One of those players is quarterback Brock Vandagriff, a former five-star recruit who transferred from Georgia. Vandagriff has had a rough start, completing only 12 of 26 passes for 165 yards in the game against Florida. He also threw two interceptions, though both bounced off the hands of his receivers. Stoops didn’t place the blame solely on Vandagriff, stating, “It’s not ever on one person. We need to play better as a group.”

Despite the struggles, Stoops doesn’t seem likely to make a quarterback change. Backup Gavin Wimsatt, a former starter at Rutgers, hasn’t shown much improvement in his limited playing time, completing only 46.7% of his career passes. Freshman Cutter Boley, who made his debut in the Florida game, also had a tough outing, throwing a pick-six on his first play and missing multiple open receivers.

The offense did get a small boost from Ohio State transfer running back Chip Trayanum, who played for the first time this season after recovering from a hand injury. Trayanum rushed for 26 yards on seven carries, but even his performance didn’t add the explosive plays the Wildcats have been missing.

Despite the offensive struggles, players and coaches remain hopeful that a breakthrough is coming. Trayanum said, “We have our moments and our peaks. We just need to stay consistent.” However, with back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and Florida, frustration among fans is growing. Many are calling for changes, especially with the team’s eight-year bowl streak in jeopardy.

Stoops, though, remains cautious about making any drastic moves. He understands that constant turnover has contributed to Kentucky’s current situation and seems reluctant to make more changes in an attempt to fix things. Instead, he’s focused on getting the offense back on track without creating further instability.

In the end, Stoops’ vote of confidence in Hamdan shows that he believes the team’s offensive issues can be solved internally, without another shakeup. The question now is whether the Wildcats can turn things around in time to salvage their season.