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Kentucky coach Mark Stoops knows what he wants from offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan.

“We are looking for that balance and you are going to be able to create explosive plays if you are able to run the ball better,” the Kentucky coach said. “That’s just the nature of the beast. I like what Bush is doing. I like the way he mixes it up. He does a very good job of window dressing. He does a very good job of cutting off the defense with deception and with motions.”

Hamdan is Kentucky’s sixth offensive coordinator under Stoops, now entering his 12th season as coach of the Wildcats. Kentucky’s offense ran 714 plays last season and ranked last in FBS. The Wildcats struggled with numerous delay of game penalties, which limited Kentucky’s ability to gain rhythm and tempo within the team’s offense.

“We have to be more physical, we have to be able to get tough yards.    You know, we were at our best or doing some really good things when the entire stadium knew we were going to run the ball and we still ran the ball for some success,” Stoops said.

While Hamdan plans to install a no-huddle scheme, it doesn’t mean he’s seeking a style similar to Josh Heupel at Tennessee and Lane Kiffin’s squad at Ole Miss.

“That is a different style and it’s very difficult to defend and they do it very well,” Stoops said. “That’s just ‑‑ we can’t be that overnight and I just don’t want to staff it with two and three and four seconds on the play clock as well. I like to see more snaps. There needs to be a balance there. We are not trying to be in a complete hurry. We are just trying to be more efficient, get in a rhythm, and get some more plays.’

Hamdan agrees with Stoops and is seeking more consistency.

“We always want to be somewhere in the middle, and what that means is, have the flexibility depending on how the game is going to do whatever it takes to win the football game,” he said. “I think that’s important for all of us to know. … I know everybody wants to play fast.    It always comes back to execution with us. I think the thing that you we want you guys to know is we are going to have the ability to play fast and keep people on their feet.”

Hamdan has an experienced offensive line, a pair of veteran quarterbacks in Georgia transfer Brock Vandergriff and former Rutgers signal caller Gavin Winsatt. Dane Key and Barion Brown are back at wide receiver, while the running back slot will be fill by former Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum. The biggest question mark is the running back position.

“We approach it with a chip on our shoulders,” Trayanum said. “Everybody in the running back room, we take pride in the success that Kentucky has had at the running back tradition. We just make each other better and feed on each other.”