Raising Arizona: Mike Stoops' eye focused on resurrecting program

The emphasis is on making his players physically and mentally stronger.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- It's hard to believe, but Mike Stoops' first head coaching position at any level is at the University of Arizona.
Considering his most recent training ground as associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the University of Oklahoma, the new position isn't undeserving.
"It's something you work your whole life for," the 42-year-old said during the third "Football Camp of Champions" on Tuesday at Cardinal Mooney High School.
Major difference
The only shock may be going from a school that went 12-2 to one that went 2-10 a year ago.
"We've got a lot back -- 17 starters," he said of Arizona, "so I don't know if that's good or bad, but we'll find out.
"They only won two games, but I think the kids have some maturity and they played against a lot of skilled teams from out west," he added. "Hopefully, we can come into a better situation than we did a year ago."
It won't be as good a situation as his previous job at Oklahoma, where the Sooners lost to LSU in the BCS championship Sugar Bowl, 21-14.
Oklahoma was the 2000 NCAA national champion under Bob Stoops, whose appearance at Mooney's two-day camp didn't materialize because of a late change in plans.
On his own since December, Mike Stoops faces problems that are inherent in a program that hasn't had a lot of success in recent years.
"A lot of it goes back to very basic things: work ethic and attitude," Mike Stoops said. "We [Arizona] didn't earn the right to win because we didn't put forth the effort needed in the conditioning period and because of dedication in the weight room throughout the year; all those things were drastically lacking when we took over."
Priority
His goal, then, is not to get out-worked.
"We put a lot of emphasis on physical training to make us mentally and physically stronger," Stoops said. "We just weren't strong enough to compete in a lot of areas last year and the year before just because we didn't put in the time. I think the kids understand that. Now, they have to work if they want to be successful."
Time constraints and decision-making are two differences Stoops sees since being hired at the school in Tucson.
"You've got to be in a lot of different places and make a lot of quick decisions," he said. "Everyday, somebody needs this or that. That's in addition to representing the program in the public eye."
Even though he's head coach, he expects to be involved, defensively, quite a bit, even if the defensive coordinator is his younger brother, Mark Stoops.
"We'll try to work together as best as we can," Mike Stoops said. "We're putting in a similar system that we had at Oklahoma. My other brother, Bob, and I worked well together, so I'd anticipate that Mark and I would work well together, too."
Mike is confident about his game-in-progress abilities.
"I've always followed the game and its time-management aspect well," he said. "Even at Oklahoma, I was always in step as to what the situation was offensively and what we needed to do to help out. I've followed those things, so that part of the game comes pretty natural to me."
Measuring speed
A major difference from players at Oklahoma is speed.
"We don't have the team speed that we would like," he said. "That is where we're not most efficient right now. But, again, I think our kids are learning the system. At Oklahoma, the program kind of runs itself. Now, we're trying to teach our kids exactly what they need to do in each part of the season. Hopefully, we'll get to that point because consistency is what you want in your program year-in and year-out.
"At Oklahoma, they know what to expect. To our kids, this [offense, defense, conditioning] is all new. These Arizona kids have had three or four defensive coordinators in five years."
What's the best part of the job?
"We won't be playing Oklahoma and, hopefully, not for a long, long time," he said. "The only time we want to play Oklahoma is either in a bowl game or in the championship game."