Vicky Graff Photo
Devin Leary’s Kentucky debut was not quite what UK fans envisioned or what Leary would have hoped it would be even though the Cats beat Ball State 44-14.
The North Carolina State transfer quarterback was only 8-for-20 for 144 yards in the first half with an interception. He was just not on target with many of his throws despite having teammates and coaches praise his accuracy since he arrived in Lexington in January. The second half he completed 10 of 11 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown to Dane Key — more Leary-like numbers based on his performances at NC State.
“We got the win. It’s definitely been a little while since I was able to play in a game, but I’m happy to walk away with a win,” Leary said.
However, he didn’t sugar-coat his own performance.
“A lot of guys understand that we left a lot of plays out there. Ball State came out ready to play, as we expected. They did a lot of good things. They were coached really well and had some good players out there,” he said. “(Our) defense balled out. Our defense played really well, had some explosive plays, and scored a touchdown, so shout out to those guys.”
“Offensively, we did some good things and then we did some things that we can’t do and we understand that. Obviously, the win is really good, but at the same time, there is so much that we can correct and so much that we can get better at. In a sense, we have to get back to the drawing board, but also appreciate winning because winning is still hard at the end of the day.”
Leary was injured early in the 2022 season and this was his first game back since his shoulder injury and shoulder surgery. He refused to blame being rusty for his shaky first-half performance.
“It kind of hit me though as we were running out (to the field). It’s been a little while since last October and going down,” Leary said.
“I wouldn’t say I was nervous. I felt really prepared coming into this game, but a couple of throws got away from me a little bit. It felt good to be at Kroger Field and to be playing in Blue.”
3 Responses
I would love to see this young man light it up. UK is 1-0, and that is good. Now quit talking so much about how great you are, and go ball on Saturdays in 2023! UK is better on offense than they showed on Saturday against BS.
One may hope UK is better than they showed, but I have found that teams are what they show, not what they say.
Well maybe so, but I hope not. UK is 1-0, and week 2 looms ahead, Indeed the entire schedule which will not be easy trucking for this UK squad. Leary needs to settle down, and do what he has shown he can do at this level. That did not happen this past Saturday which did not backup the pregame talk concerning his skill set. It happens now and again. The low number of offensive plays UK was able to run hurt them because of the game’s flow.
I also think this UK football program runs it’s mouth to much before games, both coaches and players, telling the world how great they are. IMO these players would be better off avoiding trips to podiums during game prep week for interviews. Let the coaches man the podiums. Players need to just chill, and let their talking show out on the field of play and be ready. I love 30 point wins, but that one? It is what it is.