Liam Coen confirms availability of Devin Leary vs. Alabama
Kentucky faces a major test this weekend, playing Top 10-ranked Alabama. But fortunately for the Wildcats, it will be with starting quarterback Devin Leary available.
Offensive coordinator Liam Coen confirmed Leary’s status to the media on Tuesday. Leary had been dealing with an eye issue since a win last Saturday when he left the contest early.
“Just want to start off with, Coach [Mark] Stoops wanted me to lead off with: Devin will play this weekend. He’s fully available and will be ready to rock,” Coen said.
The Crimson Tide and Wildcats are slated for a noon kickoff on Saturday.
The outlook was promising for Leary after hurting his eye over the weekend
Leary exited the contest against Mississippi State in the third quarter and coach Mark Stoops revealed postgame that the quarterback was having an issue with his eye.
With a big matchup coming up in Week 11 against Alabama, Stoops was again asked about Leary’s status in his Monday press conference. He seemed to indicate that whatever the issue was has cleared up and the QB will be good to go against the Crimson Tide.
“I already commented on that once, so I’ll stay away from it,” Stoops said. “He was having a hard time reading on the wrist band at that particular moment. He can read it now.”
Stoops revealed postgame with SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang that Leary “took a shot” and got something in his eye that made it difficult for him to see. Kentucky scored 21 points in the first half on its way to a 24-3 victory as Leary finished the game with 13-of-22 passing for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Kaiya Sheron entered the game in place of Leary to close out Saturday’s win against the Bulldogs. He ultimately didn’t get many reps as he completed two of his three passing attempts for five yards. Sheron would be expected to step in as the starter if Devin Leary faces a setback with his injury and isn’t able to go.
Saturday’s victory was big for Kentucky as it snapped a three-game losing streak and reached six wins to earn bowl eligibility for the eighth straight season. Lear has been a big part in getting the Wildcats there with 1,905 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions thus far. His best performance of the season came in Week 9 against Tennessee in which he threw for a season-high 372 yards to go with two touchdowns.
Things won’t get much easier for Kentucky next week, however, as it runs into an Alabama team that has won seven straight games. After that it will close out the regular season with a pair of games against South Carolina and Louisville.
Kentucky has not beaten Alabama since 1997 and the Crimson Tide lead the all-time series 38-2-1. They’ll face a tall task to change that and hand Alabama its first conference loss of the season, but having a healthy Leary will certainly help.