Mark Stoops takes HBC’s zingers in stride
Steve Spurrier has taken his fair share of swipes at Kentucky.
There were comments about the Cats' impressive punter talent and how wins over Clemson are lessened somehow by Kentucky beating the Tigers, too.
Most recently was a compliment of sorts that the South Carolina coach zinged offhandedly on his Fox Sports Atlantic coach's show on Sunday night.
Spurrier noted that Kentucky "has athletes now. They're not the same slow team they used to be."
UK's Mark Stoops seemed unfazed by past or present comments directed at his team by the Head Ball Coach.
"He's just having fun; he's like that," Stoops said of the South Carolina coach, who is good friends with Stoops' brother Bob.
The Stoops family vacations near the Spurrier family in the summers, too.
"Some of the things he says (are) true, and some people don't like hearing the truth," Stoops continued. "He's a very honest guy, and as a coach, you respect that. He calls it the way it is."
The Kentucky coach said he tries to emulate the South Carolina coach in that way.
"A lot of times, I try to do that," Stoops said. "If we get our butts beat, I say it the way it is. Don't try to make excuses. It is what it is.
"That part of it, if you'd really know him, you really respect what he's saying. Some of it is just having fun and throwing barbs, I'm sure."
Black (out) is back
Kentucky is planning its first black out of the Stoops era on Saturday night against South Carolina.
On Monday morning, the official UK Twitter account encouraged all fans to wear black to the game.
"7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday! Be there. Wear black," the tweet said.
Several players also tweeted similar messages.
Kentucky's first-ever black football uniform came out for the Mississippi State game on Oct. 29, 2011. It was a black uniform with blue trim and a blue helmet.
The gear came out again, but this time with a white helmet, when Kentucky ended its Tennessee losing streak on Nov. 26, 2011.
For his part, Stoops would not confirm if the players are planning to join the fans by wearing all-black uniforms to the game.
"I'm not sure yet," he said.
UK has not worn the same uniform combination yet this season. The marketing staff took pictures of players in various combinations this summer, which has led to a lot of different looks on the field.
"We could look at it and just see what we want to do with that particular week," Stoops said. "It is good to change it up. I think our players like it. It's good for recruiting. It's been good for us to spice it up a bit."
Wide outs headed for red-shirts?
Sophomore wide receivers Alexander Montgomery and Jeff Badet have missed the first four games while nursing injuries, a torn anterior cruciate ligament late last season for Montgomery and a broken leg/eye injury for Badet.
Stoops listed both of them as "doubtful" for the South Carolina game.
The Kentucky coach was asked when they would be moved into red-shirt range this season.
"We're in that range right now because we're better," he said of the wide out spot. "We're better at that area. If we're not 100 percent, then the other guys can handle it. We need them back. We want them back. We need them both back at 100 percent."
Mosier, West could return
The official depth chart released Monday has red-shirt freshman Nick Haynes as the starter against South Carolina with Cole Mosier and Zach West, who are both injured, behind him.
But Stoops made it sound like both Mosier and West will be available to go against the Gamecocks.
"We were very close last week with Cole and Zach" healthwise," Stoops said. "We anticipate that they'll be out there sometime this week and helping us."
Overall the coach sounded pleased with Haynes' effort despite a slow start from him at left guard against Vanderbilt.
"So he was a little shaky at first, but he settled in good and played a good football game and really battled," Stoops said.
With so many injuries, the offensive linemen have been asked to play significant numbers of snaps as of late. "Those guys are really battling hard," Stoops said. "We need to get some guys healthy, and we'll be close."
Quick hits
For the second time in a month, a UK offensive lineman was honored with the league's Offensive Lineman of the Week honors.
Former Bryan Station standout Darrian Miller was the latest honoree. He graded at an 89 percent in UK's win over Vandy with four knockdown blocks and no sacks or quarterback pressures.
Kentucky center Jon Toth won the honor after the opener against UT Martin. UK's Garrett Johnson was named Freshman of the Week for his performance against Florida.
■ The Kentucky game against Louisiana-Monroe will be played at noon on the SEC Network, the league announced on Monday.
This story was originally published September 29, 2014 at 10:15 PM.