Liam Coen and Devin Leary Have Working Relationship to Build Game Plans

Vicky Graff Photo

Whether it is Ball State or Alabama, it takes pregame preparation and transfer quarterback Devin Leary is glad he gets to do a lot of that with Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen — a former NFL assistant coach and offensive coordinator.

“It definitely helps now that I’m a graduate, so I’m not spending a super amount of time on campus (in classes) as I was in the past. Now it’s really cool being able to kind of hang at the facility with coach Coen and watch how he comes up with certain plays and how he sees the game going about in certain ways,” Leary said.

“I make it a priority to just kind of sit in the room as much as I possibly can, spend as much time in this facility as I can and try to be an extended coach out on this field for all my teammates.”

Leary makes his Kentucky debut Saturday when UK does host Ball State in a game where the Cats are a big favorite. Coach Mark Stoops says he wants his offense to avoid sloppy play and show how productive it can be.

Leary and Coen go over potential plays and Coen actually takes Leary’s input and makes changes if needed.

“It’s really cool, honestly, to pick his brain when we’re watching an opponent or scouting a certain team to see how coach Coen sees their defense, or what he thinks will work versus them or how he wants to specifically attack them,” Leary said.

“It’s been a good process. Kind of bridging the gap between the two of us and some of the things that we’ve done in the past. He’s pretty dialed into this game plan,” Coen said.