Dane Key (Vicky Graff Photo)
Receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown were terrific as freshmen in 2022 but did not make quite the expected big jump last season that the players or Kentucky coaches expected.
New offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan is the third offensive coordinator in three seasons that the two receivers will be playing for but he likes what he’s seen from both so far.
“They’ve got a level of experience. They have played for some great coaches, some great systems, so a lot of it just comes down to ‑‑ we used to call this scheme and now we are calling it that scheme,” Hamdan said. ‘Guys like that, what they never lose is the technique and the fundamentals and the experience. That always stays with you even with the change in the coordinator.
“So excited about those guys. There is a level of maturity in this league, right? From one week to the next just staying the course, we are going to rely on their experience in that position with some of these younger guys who are extremely talented.”
Hamdan is also expecting major contributions from North Texas transfer Ja’Mori Maclin, who played under Hamdan at Missouri before transferring to West Texas for the last two seasons.
“He is in that category with Dane and Barion for a guy who has been through a lot,” Hamdan said. “That’s a 20‑, 21‑year‑old college ballplayer who has seen it at different levels. Played a lot of football.
“We have been extremely impressed with his route running ability, his ability to make guys miss. He is a guy that is just chipping away at it, but he is certainly the next guy we are looking to get the ball to.”
4 Responses
Watch out for Anthony Brown Stephens too. If he catches the ball on a slant up the middle he’s gone. Plus he’s very shifty. I think Farrier also carved himself out a little row. Gilmore is going to be special. Gilmore only needs a sliver of space and he’s gone. He’s got a very strong upper body to and can stiff arm his defender with the best of them. I think Barion or Dane leave after this year and enter the draft. Idk who yet but one of them will. Whoever has the more productive year.
It does appear that this may be the best group of mail carriers that we have had in a long time. The question continues to be….do we have the delivery vehicle to get it to them? We still haven’t had the recruiting team to bring the big stars to Lexington. There are not too many fans or arm chair QB’s that hate UT more than I do but look at the talent the Heuple machine continues to bring to K-ville. They have a good 4* coming in for 25 and last week signed a 5* for 26. The rich keep getting richer and look at the complimentary players that are wanting to join the studs. Meanwhile we have had to settle for the trans market and hope for the best. Leary did not match the hype, but we have to be hopeful that the Brock will live up to his recruiting ratings. Overall I have been very satisfied with the coaching/recruiting job Stoops has done over his time here, but I continue to be negatively influenced by the times he has snatched defeat from the jaws of V. More often than not during the last few years we have had the talent to beat UT yet failed to have the mindset that we could achieve with the game on the line.
Ja’Mori Maclin played at North Texas not West Texas.
Thanks Brett