2023 Kentucky Football Position Previews: Wide Receiver

Kentucky’s fall camp is right around the corner. Before the Cats officially begin the 2023 season in August, KSR is taking a closer look at the roster and analyzing each position group. Personnel, storylines, questions, and one bold prediction will be included.

Next up in the series is a group of wide receivers that some believe is the deepest to ever suit up in Lexington. Once the weak link of the offense, the receivers have come a long way, but can Scott Woodward’s group live up to expectations in 2023? Let’s dive in.

KSR Position Previews: Quarterback, Running Back

The Starters

Barion Brown — A True Freshman All-American, the former Top 100 recruit from Nashville was sensational in his debut, both as a pass-catcher and in the return game. He took a kick to the house and tallied 50 receptions for 628 yards. Those marks led the team and set new UK freshman records. He also caught four touchdown passes.

Dane Key — Brown did not break all of the UK freshman receiving records. This Lexington native scored six touchdowns, surpassing his peer to set the new school record. He finished his freshman campaign with 37 receptions and 519 yards.

Tayvion Robinson — The Virginia Tech transfer was a significant offseason addition in January of 2022, but things did not go according to plan after Liam Coen’s unexpected departure. Robinson had two 100+ yard receiving games in the first month of the season, then only 148 total yards the rest of the year. Things went haywire in the final months of Rich Scangarello’s tenure. Now the slot receiver gets a second chance by playing for the man that inspired him to commit to Kentucky.

The Rest of the Wide Receiver Room

Dekel Crowdus — The former four-star prospect from Lexington had an up and down offseason entering year three at UK. He made strides in the spring, then was arrested for DUI during the summer. The speedster caught four passes for 82 yards in 2022.

Shamar Porter — The 6-foot-3 outside wide receiver from Nashville Ensworth was the highest-ranked player in Kentucky’s 2023 recruiting class. One of the most physically gifted athletes on the team, he looks like a player that can immediately contribute to an SEC football team.

Anthony Brown — John Legend’s nephew is the latest Springfield High School (Oh.) prospect to join the Kentucky football team. Even though he’s slight in stature, last fall he caught 83 passes for 1,626 yards and 20 yards en route to the Division I State Championship Game. Brown enrolled this spring and could be featured in the rotation as a true freshman.

Brandon White — A shifty slot receiver, the former track star is entering his second season on campus.

Ardell Banks — Another big freshman wide receiver, this 6-foot-3 pass-catcher has top end speed that can force the pass coverage to over-extend.

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(Dane) Key Storyline: Can the Stars avoid Sophomore Slump?

Every Kentucky football fan is talking about how great the wide receivers are, but what if they aren’t? It’s the 1,100-pound elephant in the room that nobody is talking about, except their coach.

When given the chance to compliment Dane Key or Barion Brown this spring, Liam Coen did not. In fact, he publicly tried to humble his young stars at every opportunity. The tone is, “You haven’t made it yet.” If either gets a sense of entitlement, the rest of the SEC will catch up.

Last year we saw the blueprint for a slump. Brown almost single-handedly won Kentucky the Ole Miss game. A week later he tried to do everything against South Carolina and it was abundantly clear he was pressing. The same thing happened at his Nashville homecoming. He spent more time getting in hand fights with Iowa defenders than getting open. Key is not immune to criticism either. For as great as he was against Missouri, essentially willing the Wildcats to a win on the road, he made one play a week later against Vanderbilt when the Kentucky offense desperately needed its playmakers to step up.

From the NFL to Pop Warner, it’s no secret that the wide receiver position is a sensitive group of guys. That is a nice way to avoid calling the players Prima donnas, a direct contrast to Mark Stoops’ “blue collar” mentality. If not handled with care by their coaches and teammates, a sophomore slump is a possibility. Can Devin Leary and Scott Woodward maintain this upward trajectory for Kentucky’s ascendent stars? The success of the Wildcats’ 2023 season depends on it.

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One Big Question: Which ‘other guys’ will emerge?

If they cannot avoid a sophomore slump, is there another wide receiver that’s ready to step in and contribute? Of the freshmen, Anthony Brown is best positioned to play immediately. Even though Tayvion Robinson had a public mea culpa this spring, he still effectively quit on his teammates last fall. If things go awry again in the slot, there’s an opportunity for Brown to step in and play. After spending time around the team this spring and summer, my biggest takeaway was about Brown. That guy is just always around. It seems like a simple thing, but his want-to is an intangible you can’t coach. That’s why despite his small size, I got a feeling people comparing him to Wan’Dale Robinson won’t look foolish down the road.

I would love to put Dekel Crowdus among this group, but he has to prove it. The kid has the talent, but is he mature enough to consistently perform at a high level? It’s now or never.

Even though I previously mentioned it, Shamar Porter does not look like a freshman. If he can play through contact, they won’t be able to keep this wide receiver off the field.

Bold Wide Receiver Prediction: Barion Brown is an All-SEC pass-catcher

We all know Liam Coen as the “Sean McVay” guy. Well, he was also a Mark Whipple guy. You probably don’t remember Whipple from his time with Coen as the head coach at UMass, but you may remember how he helped Jordan Addison win the Biletnikoff Award with more than 1,500 receiving yards at Pitt in 2021.

Just like Whipple, Coen knows how to get the ball into the hands of his best players. That’s how Wan’Dale Robinson broke Kentucky’s Air Raid era single-season receiving records. Barion Brown is going to be targeted a ton, and unlike Robinson, he will not be the focal point of the defense. Kentucky has too many other available weapons. It should open the door for Brown to put up some of the best numbers in the SEC this fall. They probably won’t contend with Wan’Dale’s records, but they’ll be good enough to earn postseason All-SEC honors.