Jalen Geiger (Vicky Graff Photo)
One of the most underrated college football awards in my opinion is the Comeback Player of the Year Award chosen by the College Sports Communicators with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization with the winner honored at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl.
Kentucky had the winner in 2020 — Kenneth Horsey — and 2021 — J.J. Weaver.
Now the Cats have three players on the early watch list — quarterback Devin Leary, running back Ramon Jefferson and safety Jalen Geiger. All three are coming off injuries and all three could turn out to have a huge impact on this season.
Obviously, Leary is the marquee name here. He transferred to UK in January after spending four seasons at North Carolina State where he went 17-9 as a starter. He threw for 6,807 yards — sixth best in NC State history — and completed 60.2 percent of his passes — fourth best in school history.
Leary led the team to a 5-1 start in 2022 by completing 118 of 193 passes for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns. North Carolina State was a top 15 team but he tore his right pectoralis major — a muscle in his chest.
Geiger was hoping to be an impact player for Kentucky last season and had three tackles in the season-opening game but then tore his patellar tendon in his left knee against Florida. That forced him to miss the rest of the season. Geiger is also very active with community service work and that could impact voters if he has the type of season defensive coordinator Brad White thinks he could.
Jefferson is the most intriguing possibility. The 210-pound New York native played two seasons at Sam Houston State where he ran for 1,907 yards in 22 games before transferring to UK for the 2022 season. However, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after just two carries in the season opener and did not play again. If he became a high level contributor for Kentucky, his story might resonate nationally.
