Josh Ali says it is up to receivers to show quarterback Will Levis he can trust them in a game. (UK Athletics Photo)
It’s no accident that Kentucky quarterback Will Levis targets Wan’Dale Robinson a lot each game.
“A lot of things are set up for Wan’Dale,” Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen said after Robinson was targeted on 14 of Levis’ 28 throws at Mississippi State and had nine catches. “Other guys did step up. It is not necessarily all set up that way but they do have chemistry.”
Coen said Levis “feels confident” throwing to different receivers but it is also about “when opportunity comes” and who makes the play.
“We do need a little bit more of a balance and need to get other guys involved and not let teams key in on 1 (Robinson) as much,” Levis said.
First-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel understands why UK targets Robinson so much.
“They’re going to target him, or try to target him, just because of his skillset. Extremely fast, reliable as far as catching the football. Creates a bunch of explosive plays,” Heupel said.
“He’s able to do that with some short and intermediate passes, screen game, and then some isolations out on the outside. He’s somebody that we’ve got to know where he’s at the entire game.”
Levis said Isaiah Epps and DeMarcus Harris made catches at Mississippi State and that he needs to get the tight ends more involved against Tennessee Saturday night.
“Getting Josh (Ali) back (from injury) was huge. He gives you a calming presence and a guy who can make plays,” Coen said. “We are a little thin at the receiver spot and he (Levis) has to trust guys to be in the right spot at the right time.”
Ali, who had a 74-yard punt return with his first touch after missing two games, said receivers have to gain Levis’ trust for him to not target Robinson so much.
“You have got to gain Will’s trust and when he throws it you have gotta catch it or make a play,” Ali said. “If he is panicking, he has to trust everybody on the field to make a play.”
Here could be the key, though.
“If you are not making it happen in practice, he will not throw it to you in a game,” Ali said.
5 Responses
Unless the play is specifically designed to go to Robinson, hit the open man for crying out loud! UK will not beat Tennessee if they don’t. It will also force UT to worry more about other receivers. I still say, run the football more than throw the football Cats.
In theory you’re correct Larry. On the other hand, if TN sets up to stop the run and makes Levis beat them with his arm (that’s what I would do) KY is going to need more than C-Rod & company running the ball. Somehow I’m getting the feeling that KY does not have a cohesive run/pass strategy. I’m not close enough to the team or practices to understand if it is practice performance or personnel issues driving this. It could be something as simple as a disagreement with the coaches. Stoops can be a stubborn man as he has shown in the past. This is not a criticism; just an observation. What ever it is, they had better get it worked out before Saturday 7:00PM…
62% off all plays this year have been running plays. Add to that the number passes that are lateral rather than vertical, and UK’s offense is one dimensional yet again.
The promise going into this season was for a balanced offense, but it has not happened.
In recent years, Eddie Gran got the blame for this.
Where’s Dekel Crowdus???
Still hurt as far as we know