Mark Stoops disappointed in performance of Devin Leary

Kentucky QB Devin Leary hasn’t exactly been what those in the bluegrass would have hoped this season after he transferred to Lexington in the offseason. Following his latest outing this weekend, Mark Stoops expressed a bit of agreement in that opinion considering how his quarterback played.

Stoops had some critiques of Leary on Saturday night following UK’s 38-point loss at No. 1 Georgia. He first closed any idea that the health of his QB1 as being the issue as there’s not been anything he has seen yet that would suggest that’s the case.

“I mean, yeah, I believe he’s okay. I would have no reason to believe he’s not,” Stoops said.

That’s when Stoops’ comments took a more negative turn as, frankly, he described himself as “disappointed” in Leary’s play. The fact of the matter was that, to him, his vision and accuracy were not where they needed to be in Athens against the Bulldogs

“Yeah, I was a little disappointed myself,” admitted Stoops. “Usually I don’t say a whole lot during a game to a quarterback to not get him off, you know? But there’s no excuse to not hit some of those passes. I mean we got some guys wide open.”

Leary’s sixth appearance as a Wildcat was his worst in a spot where they needed him most. He completed just 10 of his 26 pass attempts for a completion rate of 38.5%. That percentage is by far the worst of the season and one of the worst in his collegiate career.

Those led to just 128 passing yards, the second-fewest of his season, and a pair of touchdowns.

To be fair, playing between the hedges against one of the nation’s top defenses is a challenge for anyone. When you look at it as part of Leary’s overall body of work, though, Stoops isn’t in the minority when it comes to hoping for better from Leary moving forward.

Stoops discusses lack of discipline vs. Georgia

From unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to false start to hitting unsuspecting players — Kentucky put on a clinic of what not to do against the No. 1 team in the country on Saturday. The result ended as a 51-13 tail-whipping by the Georgia Bulldogs.

Kentucky’s lack of discipline was on full display this weekend. That’s why Mark Stoops did not mince words after the loss.

“I just didn’t have them ready for that moment. The moment was too big for them. We didn’t play very well, we didn’t play very disciplined, we didn’t play very tough. We didn’t get it done,” Stoops said postgame. “It’s not coach speak but we, as a staff and I, have to do a better job of getting them ready and getting them prepared. That’s a very good football team. I know some guys on their staff. They’re putting it together and they played a complete game tonight.”

“I saw a lot of missed tackles, I saw them making us miss. And then I saw also us uncharacteristically undisciplined with dirty eyes,” Stoops continued. “I also complement them with the way they were creating some plays that we all look at and say, ‘How in the world does a guy like [Bowers] get so open?’ Well, some of it they’re creating, they did a nice job and they got us bad vision.