Devin Leary honored by kind words from Kentucky teammates since transfer

Devin Leary may be a new kid on the block at Kentucky, but he’s taking over as the team’s veteran leader.

As a student-athlete, he’s got all the leadership qualities. Leary’s an elder college player at 23 years old and already has a college degree. He’s also tremendously talented an has received nothing short of rave reviews as the QB1 in Lexington, with many around the program noting he throws a more catchable ball than former QB Will Levis.

The talent and experience to lead is there. Now, it’s a matter of earning his teammates’ trust. Luckily, Leary says the squad is taking to him quite nicely in that respect.

“I’m definitely honored to just be welcomed by these guys in the first place,” he said of his fellow players when meeting with the media recently.

The Kentucky QB then went on to explain the challenge of spending so much time at one school before trying to come in and take over a new team for one final year.

“You know, it definitely was new for me to transfer, leaving a school that I’m an alumni of and coming in and trying to be the quarterback here,” Leary said. “You know, it could be challenging, it could be something that’s looked at as a huge challenge, but something that I truly embraced and something that I really wanted to take on.”

Despite his accolades back at NC State, Devin Leary knew he needed to come in and prove himself as a leader this summer because he’s with a completely new group of guys. The best way to do that, he says, is by simply being himself.

“You know, my job, like you said, was to earn the respect of the guys by just being me. I think that was the biggest thing, just making sure that every single day they know what to expect out of Devin Leary. Because I’m just going to be myself every day. And now being able to have a relationship with every one of the guys in the locker room is pretty special.”

Now that he’s earned the respect of the team, Kentucky has a real leader on and off the field with its transfer QB.

Fans will hope he can replicate his efforts with the Wolfpack, where Leary was superb. He was especially great in 2021, when he was upright for the whole season and put up 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He’s also got career TD-to-INT numbers of 62-to-16 through his four years.