Mark Stoops has a big job on his hands as the new Kentucky football coach.
He’s got to get the Wildcats out of the losing habit they cultivated the past couple of years and get back to the business of winning football games and going to bowls.
It is tough enough to convince the team that’s 7-17 the last two years that they can win again, but on Monday that job just got bigger and tougher.
Senior defensive tackle Donte Rumph, who had 11 starts and 36 tackles last season, was injured in practice and may be facing surgery. Rumph was to team with Mister Cobble in anchoring the Kentucky defensive front, but his injury leaves a huge hole in what was expected to be strength for the Wildcats.
“He may be out for a while,” said Stoops. The Kentucky head coach felt like the 6-foot-3, 323-pound Rumph had been the Wildcats’ most consistent player on defense this spring.
“It’s a big loss. He may be out for a while,” said Stoops.
“For a while,” Stoops means the rest of spring ball and his availability for the season could be in doubt.
With Rumph out, the coaches scrambled to fill the void. Tristian Johnson moved into Rumph’s place on the depth chart. Christian Coleman and Patrick Graffree will also jump in the mix.
“We’re just going to have to fill that void for the rest of the spring until (Rumph) gets back,” defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said. “Tristian’s stepped up so far these last two practices and has been giving us all he’s got.
“He (Rumph) was consistent and was playing extremely well. He’s a leader; he’s a senior; he’s been there. So we’re just going to have to fill that void for the rest of spring until he gets back.”
Rumph has appeared in 34 games in three seasons, starting 18.
“Other guys have gotta step up now,” said defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh. “You’re going to have a drop-off, but the thing of it is: can you still function and will ballgames? Johnson is not going to be the same kind of player Donte is, but he’s going to be functional for us to get through a game and do some things.”
Stoops evaluated just where the Wildcats are at this point of the spring despite the setback of Rumph’s injury.
“We need depth. But we’re no different. I don’t mean to demean our team here, because everybody will say that in the spring,” said Stoops. “We’re just thin. We’re thin, we need numbers. And I bet you if you asked any team in the conference, they’d say the same thing.
“Defense (was) some good, but some of that’s just because the offense missed assignments and different things like that. Overall, we got some good work in. We’re going to have a real good physical practice on Friday with the scrimmage. We’re going to put the ball down and see where we’re at.
“They just don’t understand the sense of urgency that it takes to win at a high level yet. Some of it’s just simple things — playing high, not finishing plays — and some of it’s not being focused enough to get the call, get lined up and thinking about things before they happen. It all goes together,” said Stoops.
“We’ve got to continue to make the players we have better. We’ve got to continue to put them in position to be successful. And we’ve got to continue to recruit,” Stoops said.
“We’re about where I thought we would be, and sometimes as you can see from the assistant coaches, from myself, from different people, it’s frustrating. We’ve got a lot of work to do. But nobody’s discouraged, nobody’s down. We just have a long ways to go.”
Kentucky will hold its annual Blue/White game on April 13.