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All we heard from Kentucky coaches and players all summer was how talented North Carolina State transfer Devin Leary was.
We heard about his incredible accuracy and catchable ball that receivers really liked. We heard about how well he was processing information before the snap and then keeping his eyes downfield.
Based on what he did at North Carolina State before his injury midway of the 2022 season, many thought he might be the first 3,000-yard passer under Mark Stoops at Kentucky.
Five games into the season, Leary is 5-0 as a starter. However, he’s not yet completely won over the Kentucky fan base despite the record.
Leary has completed 82 of 143 passes for 1,129 yards and 10 scores with five interceptions. That’s a higher interception rate than he had at North Carolina State. His completion percentage is down.
Against Florida he was 9-for-20 passing for 69 yards and one score. He did not have an interception. He also had receivers drop several passes and had one pass deflected at the line.
“I thought he missed some things early and we didn’t help him again,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “We had a couple of catches we should have made and that might help his confidence, too.
“He definitely, late in the game, missed one. It was through traffic, the third down conversion, third and three and four. I think it was a poor throw, and I don’t know what happened.
“I don’t know if it was deflected. I don’t know his vision. But we can’t have that because we had guys open.”
That’s about as close as Stoops will come to criticizing a player, especially after a win, and it just shows the expectation level for Kentucky football now that a starting quarterback could be 5-0 and have a fan base and coach not totally happy with his play.
6 Responses
Winning is all that matters to this fan. No matter how pretty or ugly. Just Win! It’s pathetic how some fans are narcissists that think they are entitled. This fan appreciates the coaches and players that have elevated the Cats from laughing stock to respectable. GO CATS!!!
We have been winning in spite of Leary’s lackluster performance, thanks to the defense and the run game. The best way Leary can help us is to get rid of the ball quickly even if it is mostly check downs. He has to keep his interceptions and/or sacks to 3 or less for us to have a realistic chance to win in Athens.
As the O line improves, we will see his numbers pick up. I think we are not being patient with him and with media hype we expected a "Mahomes" type start. He will continue to grow and as long as we win, does it really matter where the numbers are? As long as turnovers stay low and we are moving the ball
Not impressed with Leary so far but totally inpressed with the 5-0 start, the defense as a whole and the growth shown by the Big Blue Wall against Florida!!!!! As important as the GA game is I think the 2 games that follow it especially the Mizzo came are equally as big. Win or lose against GA whe have to beat Mizzo the following week at home! !
Keep up the good work! ! Go Blue or Stay Home!
Leary is continuing to get comfortable with this new system after 4 years at NCS. It would be a little unrealistic to expect the same efficiency at this point. Hopefully, and I think he will, he’ll continue to improve as the season goes on.
A little more accuracy and nobody says a peep.