Ohio receiver Anthony Brown stayed loyal to Kentucky despite a late push by Georgia.
Can Liam Coen create the same magic with Kentucky football in 2023 that he did in 2021?
Kentucky will find out now that Coen has officially been confirmed as the UK offensive coordinator again after spending the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Rams.
Kentucky ranked fifth in scoring offense (32.3 points per game) and eighth in total offense (425.2 yards per game) in the Southeastern Conference, including fifth in rushing offense at 199.5 yards per game, during Coen’s one season as Mark Stoop’s offensive coordinator.
Quarterback Will Levis was sixth in the SEC in passing yards with 2,826 in 2021 while Chris Rodriguez (1,379) and Wan’Dale Robinson (1,334) were second in rushing and receiving yards for the 10-3 Cats.
The offense was never quite the same last season and Stoops fired Rich Scangarello, who came to UK from the NFL just like Coen did in 2021. Now Coen is back to reignite the play calling and offense even with Levis and Rodriguez gone.
How valuable is Coen’s return?
Receiver Anthony Brown of Springfield, Ohio, is probably the most dynamic playmaker in UK’s 2023 recruiting class. He committed to UK early because of what he saw from Coen’s offense but his high school coach, Maurice Douglass, admits his star player “might have got a little bit apprehensive” about his commitment during the season with the way UK’s offense struggled.
He visited Georgia, which just destroyed TCU to win its second straight national title, when the Bulldogs played Florida.
“That weekend might have been the only time he had serious doubts about Kentucky,” Douglass, a former UK defensive back, said.
Now comes the Liam Coen Effect.
“He knew Kentucky was inexperienced on the offensive line and once it leaked out Coach (Coen) was coming back it made it easier on him,” Douglass said.
He didn’t stress about the departure of Levis.
“Knowing (North Carolina State transfer quarterback Devin) Leary was coming in … they had told us all the possible candidates who were very interested in coming to UK,” Douglass said. “But just having Coach back helped a lot. He had reassurances that (receivers) coach Woody (Scott Woodward) would be there and he leans on him.
“That Georgia-Florida week was his only week with any doubt. They were No. 1 in the nation and were telling him where he would fit in their offensive scheme. But he’s a loyal guy, almost loyal to a fault. However, once he knew Coach (Coen) was coming back everything was fine.”
One Response
Bring Coen back was essential. Adding Anthony Brown to the Barion Brown/Dane Key combo will give the offense scoring potential. Picking up Leary at QB gives us a seasoned guy to run the offense. Davis at RB was good get with Smoke’s departure. If Goodwin and Rogers do indeed leave, that will be big holes to fill on both sides of the line. Maybe the addition of Boyles, Cox, and Silver will help do that. Our O line was pathetic last year and will definitely need a lot of work. Hopefully, Dunn and Hardaway will have breakout years in the secondary. Stoops will need to work his magic to pick up a few more pieces of talent on both sides of the ball and then let Coen fire this team up to play to win instead of playing not to lose.