Devin Leary ready to lead Kentucky to clean, complete game
Kentucky is 3-0, but as we’ve discussed ad nauseam, the jury is still out based on the competition they’ve faced and the number of mistakes they’ve made. On Saturday, SEC play starts and the schedule starts to get real; in turn, Devin Leary wants to see the Cats elevate their play across the board.
“It’s good to sit here at 3-0,” Leary said on The Paul Finebaum Show on Tuesday. “At the end of the day, there’s still a ton of room for improvement, and honestly, we’re still looking to put together a complete game, all three phases of the game. But from week one to week three, there’s been improvement but still a lot of work to be done.”
Despite a somewhat sloppy start to the season, Kentucky ranks second nationally in points per play (0.755) and 13th nationally in yards per play (7.58). Leary is fourth in the SEC in yards per game (285) and yards per attempt (9.0). He has completed three passes of 50+ yards, the most in the conference. Competition must be factored in, but clean up the mistakes and it’s hard not to be excited about this offense’s potential.
“There’s a lot of new guys here, a different coordinator, us learning a new system, so it’s good for us to still work through a couple of growing pains early on,” Leary said. “Now getting into SEC play, that’s not going to be acceptable and it’s time to really turn things up for sure.”
In a separate appearance on SEC Radio on Sirius XM, Leary went more in-depth on the offense, noting that the errors they’re making in games aren’t happening in practice. Through three games, the Cats racked up 22 penalties for 166 yards, an average of 55.3 yards per game. Add in drops by receivers and turnovers and you can see why “clean up mistakes” is the most frequently used phrase of the season.
“Honestly, for me, the thing I’m most looking forward to offensively is us putting it all together,” Leary said. “Each and every week, there’s improvement but at the same time, there are so many plays we’re leaving on the field. There are so many execution errors that we don’t do in practice.
“We get it done in practice. We do a great job of competing against our defense but when it comes to game day it’s kind of — I’m looking forward to us having a completely clean game, us executing like we do every day in practice. Guys just doing what they’re coached to do and I truly think that’s coming; I truly do.”
Love for the Big Blue Wall
Kentucky’s offensive line definitely has some mistakes to clean up, but Leary jumped at the chance to praise the Big Blue Wall.
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“My relationship with all those guys is awesome. They don’t get as much credit as different skill players on the offense or when guys score, their name isn’t usually called but they’re usually the first people in the end zone as well to help celebrate. That doesn’t go unnoticed here.
“This offseason, guys have stepped up. Kenneth Horsey, Eli Cox, Marques Cox transferring in. Those guys took it personally to rebrand the Big Blue Wall and what Kentucky Football’s all about. So I’m super proud of those guys and I have a great relationship with all of them.”
Leary on Vanderbilt, Early Kickoff
Saturday will be Leary’s first SEC game (as Kentucky’s quarterback, at least. NC State played Mississippi State back in 2021). Vanderbilt may be one of the weakest teams in the league, but Leary said the Commodores’ defense still presents challenges.
“Definitely a fundamentally sound team. I think they do a lot of great things, especially defensively. They throw a lot at you. But at the end of the day, we have to do our job. Like I said, early on, we’re looking to still looking to put together a complete game of Kentucky Football in all three phases. We know it’s going to be a great opponent, a good challenge for us to kick off SEC play but we’re excited to get on the road and go out and get a win.”
Saturday is also the second Noon ET kickoff of the season, an exercise the Cats will repeat next week vs. Florida. Kentucky’s wakeup call could feel even earlier in Nashville, which is on Central Time, but Leary said he actually prefers early games.
“Honestly, it’s sometimes a little bit better, not spending too much time in the team hotel. Just kind of not being super anxious throughout the day. Waking up, make sure you get a good breakfast, good meeting, and just being able to kick off football as early as possible. I don’t think it’s as big of a difference or a challenge.”
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