Evaluating Devin Leary's showing at the Manning Passing Academy

QB Devin Leary is a major talking point around Kentucky’s football team after transferring in from NC State this offseason. Now, after coming off a noteworthy performance at the Manning Passing Academy, On3’s JD PicKell believes that he’ll be crucial to the Wildcat’s success this fall.

PicKell broke down some of the top storylines coming out of last weekend’s MPA at Nicholls State University in a recent edition of ‘The Hard Count’. He said the bar is high for Leary considering he’s taking over for Will Levis but that his overall bar that needs to be hurdled is lower considering how badly that the UK offense struggled last season.

“The reason that I want to talk about Devin Leary is because there was so much buzz around Will Levis last year. How talented he is, his arm strength, and all that,” PicKell said. “(But), y’all, Kentucky averaged like 19 points a game. That’s not very good.”

PicKell noted that he gets all the went wrong with the offense in Lexington last season. Levis was injured, their offensive line was brutal, and their exciting receivers were still very young. All of that was then compounded by a highly unsuccessful offensive coordinator switch from Liam Coen to Rich Scangarello.

With all that said, PicKell believes that Leary has an opportunity to be more successful with Kentucky’s playmakers. If he is, UK could end up being a significant factor in the SEC in 2023.

“If Devin Leary is able to be more efficient with distributing the football, if he’s able to do a better job not turning the ball over? Will Levis doubled his interceptions last year,” explained PicKell. “If they’re able to protect him better? They got some dudes now that gotta see the football.”

“Dane Key? A lot of people are excited about him. One of the best kept secrets in college football at the wide receiver position. Barion Brown? Freshman All-American for us here at On3. Tayvion Robinson? They’ve got some dudes now that can giddy up and go,” PicKell said. “So if Devin Leary is able to be that more effective asset for them at the quarterback position? And be consistent? Kentucky is gonna be dangerous. Kentucky’s gonna make some noise.”

2022 was a genuine disappointment for Kentucky considering the spotlight on them and Levis heading into the season. With several offensive fixes made, though, PicKell thinks Leary’s addition could make a very notable difference in the bluegrass this time around.