After hearing for the last week and a half about the pace with which Kentucky is practicing under Mark Stoops, the media got a chance to see it up close.

On Wednesday, Stoops opened the Nutter Field House to the media for the entirety of UK's Wednesday practice, the sixth of the spring. Those in attendance saw an energetic coaching staff lead a still-learning team through a two-hour-plus indoor session. There were positives, there were negatives and everything in between, but it all happened with speed and enthusiasm.

"Both sides had some good and had some bad," Stoops said. "I thought the offense did some really good things early and then the second half of the practice they dipped a little bit."

The big news from Wednesday, however, was an injury sustained by senior defensive tackle Donte Rumph. Rumph had been UK's most consistent player on the defense according to Stoops, but went down with an unspecified injury on Monday. The injury is being evaluated on Wednesday.

"It looks like it's fairly a significant," Stoops said. "He may be out for a while and he may require some surgery. We'll see."

Further details on the injury will be released later, but the Wildcats will go about the business of trying to replace Rumph in the meantime.

"He was consistent and was playing extremely well and he's a leader," defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said. "He's a senior and he's been there, so we're just going to have to fill that void for the rest of the spring until he gets back."

Stay tuned over the next day or two for more on UK's open practice. Until then, here are video interviews with Stoops and Eliot.

Stoops



Eliot

Within a day or two each of practice this spring, offensive coordinator Neal Brown takes to Twitter. After reviewing film, Brown tells his 13,000-plus followers which of his players performed well.

His reasons for the exercise in transparency are twofold. First, he wants to keep fans up to date since Kentucky's first five practices have been closed to the public. Second, it's for the players. He wants those who are performing well to receive recognition and those who are not to strive for it.

Thus far, he's named between four and eight players each day and will almost certainly do the same at some point on Tuesday. When he does, you can rest assured that at least a one of two of UK's running backs will be on the list.

Whereas other positions on the offensive side of the ball lack experience and depth, the UK backfield is flush with both. Because of that, the backs are shouldering more than their fair share of the load as Brown looks to revitalize the Wildcat attack.

Led by their new coach, the UK running backs don't mind.

"I like it," running backs coach Chad Scott said. "Give us pressure. We like it. We'll respond, I promise you."

That doesn't mean Scott's unit isn't a work in progress though.

Just as it has for every other positional group, the installation of Brown's offense has presented challenges. The responsibilities and priorities in UK's quick-strike attack are radically different than anything the running backs have ever dealt with before, which has caused plenty of fits and starts, even for the veterans.

"Really the experience, it's gonna come in handy in the latter part of spring ball and going into the season, but now the offense is totally different," Scott said. "Even these guys that are experienced, it's an adjustment period for them."

Raymond Sanders and Jonathan George combined for nearly 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground last season. With all the football they've played at the Southeastern Conference level and their pass-catching ability, the two seniors were expected to stand out early. That's proven to be the case a third of the way through spring practice, particularly for Sanders.

"Raymond Sanders has looked the best so far," Brown said. "He's changed his body. Really pleased with how he's handled himself. He's matured, and he's done well not only rushing the football, but in the passing game. He's well ahead of the rest of them in blitz protection."

In spite of his 5-foot-8 frame and the fact that he is listed as at least 13 pounds lighter than any of his fellow backs, Sanders has emerged as the most consistent blocker of the bunch, a key role in Brown's pass-happy scheme. In fact, that might be the biggest area of adjustment. UK's backs are responsible for making protection calls at the line of scrimmage, which requires smarts and, just as importantly, a willingness to speak up.

"We make the protection calls, which is something totally different," Scott said. "Now we're asking them to be communicating more and communicate loudly and it's something that's totally different them."

Different as it may be, Sanders is doing his best.

"I make mistakes just like everyone else, but I try to limit my mistakes and make sure I have everyone else going as far as running backs," Sanders said. "I just try to pick guys up and execute and make sure I'm doing the right things on the field."

Outside of blocking ability, Scott says the most important attributes of a running back in this system are "lateral agility and quickness" - words the former UK running back used more than once in speaking to the media on Monday. Sanders certainly fits the bill.

"I think he has it all," Scott said. "I think he's really the total package. I think he's done a great job taking care of his body to put himself in position to be as good as we need him to be."

"I definitely feel like this offense is a great fit for me," Sanders said. "Catching out of the backfield, speed sweeps, there's a lot of different things that coaches are integrating that can get me in space and get me in alleys where I can hit the seam or make some moves on guys."

As good as Sanders has looked early, his emergence shouldn't discourage any of the other running backs. George, sophomores Josh Clemons (who has returned to practice after redshirting last season with a meniscus injury) and Dyshawn Mobley and redshirt freshman Justin Taylor are all getting roughly an equal share of practice reps.

Brown's offense may have a reputation for throwing the ball, but anyone who minimizes the supposed impact a running back can have hasn't watched closely enough.

"You might think, 'Hey, how do they fit within our offense?' " Scott said. "It's a spread offense, but it's a downhill run game. We still, in all our run game, we try to find a way to get our shoulders squared and run downhill."

Take last season at Texas Tech for example. Three Red Raiders rushed for at least 450 yards, led by Kenny Williams, who received All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors after racking up 824 yards.

Williams' strong 2012 also serves to dispel another notion about UK's new offense: that big backs have no place in it. Williams is listed at 5-foot-9, 219 pounds, which suggests that heftier Wildcat backs George, Clemons, Mobley and Taylor can excel, provided they can move.

"That's something that even the bigger guys, when we first came in, the bigger guys kind of struggled with, kind of muttering under their breath, 'Man, we're not going to fit. They're looking for a smaller guy,' " Scott said. "We're not. We're looking for guys that have got great lateral agility and quickness."

Scott believes all of his backs have that kind of ability, even though it might not come as naturally as it does for a player like Sanders. He says the key for them will be spending time away from practice honing their craft. And in turn, that will be the key to the unit as a whole fulfilling expectations.

"We like the pressure," Scott said. "It is pressure, but it's a good problem to have. It's a good kind of pressure. Just respond to it. Prepare yourself well and respond to the opportunity when it comes."

During Kentucky's fifth practice of the spring, the Wildcats - if they hadn't met him already - were introduced to angry Mark Stoops. Looking for more of a sense of urgency out of his players, Stoops didn't pull any punches.

"I tell them the truth," Stoops said. "I'm always going to try to tell them the truth. There's not games with me, where today's on my calendar to get after them. That's not it. If they need getting after, if they need it, they're going to get it."

It was the defense that drew Stoops' ire, with the offense taking advantage. It's been a back and forth between the two sides of the ball thus far in spring football. For that reason, offensive coordinator Neal Brown knows his unit will be in for a test the next time out.

"We'll see what we're made out of on Wednesday because the defense is going to be amped up," Brown said. "We got after them pretty good, and our guys have got to rise to that challenge Wednesday."

Video of Stoops' and Brown's complete post-practice comments below:

Stoops



Brown

Running backs coach Chad Scott


Defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh

Bud Dupree knows all about the history Mark Stoops and D.J. Eliot have with defensive ends.

He doesn't need to be told about what Bjoern Werner and Cornelius Carradine did the last two years at Florida State. He's keenly aware of the 44.5 sacks they combined to register in 2011 and 2012 and where the pair stands in the latest NFL Draft projections.

Needless to say, he likes what he's seen.

"My eyes light up when I see that," Dupree said. "Hopefully they have two first-round picks this year."

The 6-foot-4, 254-pound junior has spent the first three practices of the spring at the same defensive-end spot where Werner and Carradine starred the last two seasons. It's early, but the coaches like Dupree just as much he likes his coaches' track record.

"Bud Dupree is extremely athletic for his size," Eliot said after practice on Friday, UK's first in pads. "I think he's got a chance to be a very good defensive end. Fundamentally right now, he's not where he needs to be, but he's working on it every day."

Dupree spent most of his freshman season at defensive end in UK's hybrid front. As a sophomore, he moved primarily to linebacker, totaling 91 tackles, 12.5 for loss and a team-best 6.5 sacks. His versatility is forcing Stoops and Eliot into a decision on where he will play in a new 4-3 base scheme.

He is listed at defensive end only in UK's spring guide and has worked there exclusively thus far. Dupree, though, isn't sure just yet whether end is where he will play in the fall. So long as he's in position go after the quarterback, Dupree doesn't much care.

"Whichever, I don't care," Dupree said when asked of his preference between end and linebacker. "I want to have sacks though."

Considering FSU's defensive ends combined for 26.5 sacks last year and the linebackers had just three, end seems to be his likely landing spot. Dupree's performance so far this spring only serves to strengthen that idea.

In three practices, Dupree and his fellow linemen have been the standouts on UK's defense. The linebackers and backs have shown flashes, but the line under Jimmy Brumbaugh - with ends Za'Darius Smith and Farrington Huguenin and tackles Donte Rumph, Mister Cobble and Tristian Johnson - has been impossible to ignore.

"I think the defensive line is doing a really good job," Eliot said. "They've got some veteran players up there, so they have some guys that are used to game action. So far, they have caught my eye."

As experienced as many of those players may be, Smith has a leg up even though he's never played a down at the Division I level. The 6-foot-6, 257 pounder played last season at East Mississippi Community College, the same junior college where Brumbaugh coached last season.

"Za'Darius is doing a nice job," Stoops said. "I noticed him a few times out there, had some nice plays today. He's doing good, and he's ahead. He knows Coach Brumbaugh's techniques and how we want to play fundamentally defensively, so he's doing a nice job."

Dupree went so far as to call Smith a coach on the field.

"Z, he's a very physical guy," Dupree said. "He knows a lot more than we do because he was with Coach Brumbaugh already at JUCO. He's ahead, he's the line leader and just calling the drills and he's showing us things Coach Brumbaugh taught him."

What Eliot hopes, though, is that it won't take the others long to catch up. Florida State succeeded with a defensive system that relied on simplicity to put players in a position to make plays. Eliot wants players to eventually know their roles so well it's not even necessary to think on the field.

"I hope as a coach that my scheme is never hard for the players, so I hope that's accurate (that the scheme is simple)," Eliot said. "I think our guys are picking it up pretty quick. Our philosophy is we want to be multiple, but we want to be simple for the players."

Dupree isn't completely up to speed just yet, but he understands what Eliot is talking about.

"It's very simple," Dupree said. "We've got a lot of schemes, but it all pretty much flows in the same category. We just know what to do when we line up and not think too much."

Eventually, Dupree wants to reach the point where the only thing on his mind during passing plays is to get the quarterback. If he can do that, Dupree can picture himself and his teammates shaking hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell just like Werner and Carradine will in a little more than a month.

"Maybe that will be me and Z in the future," Dupree said. "And Farrington also."

Kentucky held its third practice of the spring on Friday and new head coach Mark Stoops liked what he saw. The effort has been there at each of the first two practices, but the Wildcats are building familiarity with their new offensive and defensive systems and it showed.

"This was the best we've looked," Stoops said. "I felt we had a sense of urgency out there. We put the pads on and guys were flying around a little bit."

Also, defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot talked to reporters for the first time this spring. There's a long way to go, but Eliot believes players are about where he expected on his side of the ball.

"We're playing effort and guys were moving around, flying around and making plays, but we weren't always making our assignments," Eliot said. "We had too many missed assignments today, so we've gotta improve on that tomorrow."

It wasn't originally in the plans for UK to practice on Saturday, but Stoops and his staff decided that with good weather in the forecast, the Cats could use the work. A practice after the spring game was originally scheduled, but will be cancelled due to Saturday's added session.

Here's complete video of Stoops' and Eliot's comments.

Stoops



Eliot