UK is ‘waiting’ for Transfer Receivers to Produce

Kendrick Law (UK Athletics Photo)

Kentucky’s offense has continued a two-season trend of not being able to score touchdowns this season and has the worst passing attack in the Southeastern Conference averaging just 159 yards per game.

Even by coach Mark Stoops’ standards, that’s a low number and UK’s least productive passing offense since the 2020 season when the Cats averaged about 120 yards passing per game.

Is it a lack of protection, lack of decision making/execution by the quarterbacks or lack of receivers who can get open? Or is it a combination of all those things or maybe even something else?

Remember UK’s 2024 top receivers, Barion Brown (LSU) and Dane Key (Nebraska), both transferred. Brown was UK’s big-play threat but the perception was maybe he was not the best off the field for team chemistry and needed to leave even though several sources close to Brown and the team told me he wanted to stay.

Not saying Kentucky whiffed in the transfer portal, but it has been hard for receivers to get open and that’s no secret.

The five transfer portal receivers have been targeted 39 times this season by quarterbacks Zach Calzada and Cutter Boley and have 19 catches. Alabama transfer Kendrick Law has been targeted 19 times and has 13 catches for only 110 yards — about 8.5 yards per catch.  Eleven of his catches have been behind the line of scrimmage, so he has not exactly been a downfield threat.
Nebraska transfer Hardley Gilmore, who played at UK in 2024, had 14 targets with six catches for 97 yards — 16 yards per catch.

Troy Stellato, JJ Hester and Ashton Cozart do not have a catch and have been non-factors in UK’s offense. Cozart has not even been on the field and Stellato has been injured the last two games and not played.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops was asked at his press conference Monday what was going on with his receivers. His response really did not provide a lot of answers.

“The older guys have worked really hard and have been very consistent through practice and give us the best opportunities,” Stoops said. “We’re waiting for all those guys to emerge.

“With guys coming back off injury and different things, we need them all to continue to progress, and we just haven’t had the consistency that we’d like. Hardley is a guy, he gets in there in the games and he plays really hard and can do some things for us and we need him to continue to come along and mature because he can definitely make some contested catches for us as well.”

Waiting for guys to emerge? That’s not good four games into the season. Remember in spring practice and again in the preseason true freshmen receivers Montavin Quisenberry and DJ Miller were constantly being praised as playmakers. What about giving them a chance to emerge? What could it possibly hurt?
 
Law was being counted on to be this season’s Barion Brown even though he was not overly productive at Alabama. Stoops counted on his speed and elusiveness to put some sizzle in the UK offense but it just has not happened.

“We targeted him quite a bit this past week (in the loss at South Carolina). We’re trying to get him the ball,” Stoops said. “We know he’s one of those guys. H’s a big and strong guy. He’s very physical and he’s hard to bring down.

“He’s definitely a guy that can make some plays for us, we’re trying a lot of ways to get him the ball along with some of the other guys.”

Too bad none of the ways UK is trying seem to be working and it certainly will not get any easier at Georgia Saturday afternoon.