Mark Stoops Wants to Avoid Having Devin Leary Feel Pressure That Will Levis Might Have Last Season

Devin Leary (Vicky Graff Photo)

Maybe now I understand a little bit more about why Kentucky coach Mark Stoops did not take quarterback Devin Leary to Southeastern Conference Football Media Days in Nashville.

The North Carolina State transfer has been projected to be the SEC Newcomer of the Year in one preseason forecast and comes to UK with far better statistics than Will Levis did when he transferred from Penn State to UK.

Levis was the second pick in the second round of the recent NFL draft and led UK to 10 wins in 2021 and seven wins last season. However, his numbers were not as good in 2022 and he was also injured part of the season.

Stoops told Cole Cubelic and Greg McElroy on  the “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning podcast” that he felt Levis — who did come to SEC Media Days in 2022 —  had “so much on him” last year that it might have impacted his play.

“So many people talked about him and he maybe felt a little pressure to live up to all those expectations and in my opinion, Will did. He’s a fantastic player, but we failed a little bit around him and that’s on me, that’s on the staff to protect him, to put him in a position to be successful and all those things,” Stoops said.

Leary has not had the same spotlight on him yet and not bringing him to Nashville avoided having him pressured more.

“What I love about him is he’s just one of those guys. I mean, he’s from New Jersey, just kind of puts his head down. He just goes to work,” Stoops told Cubelic and McElroy.  “He has the leadership qualities that you’re looking for, but it’s really not forced.

“He just goes out there every day and really works extremely hard. He’s a ballplayer and all of our guys have really responded well to him.”