Dan Mullen excited by Devin Leary at Kentucky

Kentucky landed a heavy-hitter out of the transfer portal this offseason in veteran quarterback Devin Leary, and the Wildcats are expected to be just as good, if not better than they were in 2022.

Former college football coach and current analyst Dan Mullen set his expectations on Leary for the 2023 season, and how far he can take the Wildcats in his lone season in Lexington.

“Devin Leary was an exciting player at NC State, and now he’s at Kentucky,” Mullen told Matt Barrie. “Kentucky is that sleeper team a little bit. They play a style — they play good defense under Mark Stoops. They’re physical, they can run the ball. Now they have a bit of a gunslinger at quarterback. Can they come up and make a big jump? I’m excited about that one.”

Leary headed into his final season with the Wolfpack as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year. Injuries halted his season, but finished his four-year career with NC State having thrown 6,807 career passing yards and 67 total touchdowns.

Thanks to his body of work, Leary was tabbed one of the top quarterbacks to watch in college football this season. The incoming transfer is one of 35 players on the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. 

On the field, he gets to enjoy the services of wide receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown as his main targets this season. As true freshmen, the two went on to combine for 87 receptions, 1,147 yards and 10 touchdowns — nearly equal to half (2,406 yards and 19 touchdowns) of Will Levis‘ stats in 2022.

They’ll certainly make Leary’s job easier, and he’ll enjoy the depth that Levis never could with the likes of Tayvion Robinson, Dekel Crowdus — barring any discipline for his offseason arrest — and rising freshman Anthony Brown.

On top of that, the Wildcats are also returning their top three tight ends from a year ago as well. While Jordan Dingle, Josh Kattus and Brennan Bates combined for 328 yards and four touchdowns, they’re expected to play a more productive role in UK’s offense.

Leary will kick off his Kentucky career at home inside Kroger Field on Sept. 2 against Ball State. The SEC Network will share the national broadcast, and UK has opened as 26.5-point favorites, according to Caesars Sportsbook. Kentucky’s first real test will be on Sept. 30 against Florida during Week 5.