Proven playmaker Devin Leary a really big get for Kentucky

Mark Stoops won't compare Will Levis and Devin Leary but the UK coach is very glad to have Leary coming to Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Mark Stoops had a lot of reasons to be happy Wednesday but he was almost giddy when he talked about the addition of quarterback Devin Leary.

Wednesday was national signing day and UK added 17 high school players and six transfers but clearly the star of the day was Leary, a highly sought after transfer from North Carolina State.

“I mean anybody and everybody that was in the quarterback market, was after him. We really feel like we hit a home run with him,” Stoops said.  “Again, I told you, I feel confident with the quarterbacks that we have on campus, but this gives you a one-year transfer free agent, if you will, to come in for a year and really bridge that gap, let our guys continue to grow.

“The quarterbacks we have on campus, I’m excited to watch them play in this game (against Iowa in the Music City Bowl). They really worked hard, are doing some good things. I’m excited to watch them.”

Stoops said with Leary only having one year of eligibility, it should be a confidence boost from redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron and true freshman Destin Wade.

“It kind of shows to the quarterbacks that you have on campus that we believe in you, that you’re going to have a bright future,” Stoops said.

Maybe, but no way was UK going to pass on Leary.

“With Devin, it brings in a proven guy with a lot of snaps under his belt with the play-makers that we have in place. It’s a really big get for us,” Stoops said.

Big get? It might be a huge get. He made 26 starts for North Carolina State and despite being injured twice in his career, he was the No. 1 quarterback in the transfer portal and could be the perfect replacement for Will Levis — who transferred from Penn State to become a two-year starter at UK.

“It’s really not fair to compare people. You have two talented players, two very good players. Different situations the way they came in,” Stoops said. “With Will coming, primarily used as a running quarterback, not really seeing him throw that much. Will came in and really proved himself that first year.

“With Devin, he has quite a few more snaps on tape. Much different in that aspect. Devin has clearly more experience and more snaps under his belt. They’re already different in that area.

“They’re both very good players, very talented in their own right. That’s all I can say at this point.”

Stoops said there were a lot of quarterbacks interested in playing at Kentucky but he’s glad to have Leary.

“There’s some very talented guys out there. We were fortunate that so many were interested in us,” Stoops said. “For myself even, that gets to be a little bit of an awkward situation because I have such respect for those guys. There’s so many really good players, really high interest in us. You had to juggle that.

“As I hope you all feel, I really try to be very honest and transparent with everybody. That gets tough in that situation, in that free agency, if you will.”

Stoops admitted he felt “relieved” when Leary committed.

“We felt confident that he was high on us, but he still had another visit to make. He was very strong,” Stoops said.

Stoops respected the way Leary went about his transfer decision.

“He wanted to go on the visit, wanted to go home, wanted to sit down and look his parents in the eye, have a conversation, then call me. That’s exactly what he did,” Stoops said.

“I always have great appreciation for people as detailed and thorough, very much process-orientated as he is. He’s already on football. He’s getting after it. He’s the type of guy you’re looking for.”