Film Room: Devin Leary

The big fish has been caught. The eagle has landed. Kentucky has found the program’s new QB1 after NC State transfer Devin Leary committed to the Wildcats on Tuesday.

For numerous reasons, this is a very large recruiting win for the program as the Wildcats will follow up first-round prospect Will Levis with a likely draft pick just one year later. Once again, reported Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen will be working with an NFL quarterback in Lexington.

Now it’s time to see what Devin Leary (6-1, 215) will bring to the table.

The former four-star recruit who set numerous high school records in New Jersey and started 26 games for the Wolfpack is leaving the ACC for the SEC. Under offensive coordinator Tim Beck for the last three years, NC State posted a 17-4 record in games Leary started as the QB flashed toughness, vertical accuracy, and quick processing skills.

Let’s step into the KSR Film Room to see how the super senior will help the Kentucky offense in 2023.

When rolling the tape, the first thing that stands out about Devin Leary is that he is a quarterback that loves to throw the go ball. However, it isn’t a power arm that is creating completions. Leary is not afraid to let his receivers make plays and is very good at delivering both back-shoulder throws and 50/50 balls.

On both types of throws, Leary constantly produces excellent ball placement giving his receiver a great chance to finish catches and create explosive plays. The quarterback does a good job keeping the football away from the defender and a large chunk of NC State’s explosive plays with Leary came on these types of throws.

The big plays are great but what helps separate Leary is his quick decision making. The veteran quarterback is a good processor who gets the ball out on time and with accuracy.

In double overtime against Clemson, Leary first looks to his left before making his way over to the right. The quarterback goes through his reads while remaining calm in the pocket. Leary moves his feet towards his target and then fires a lofted throw with some juice behind it to the back corner of the endzone. That is enough to hit his receiver in the hands between two defenders for the game-winning touchdown giving the Wolfpack the biggest win of the Dave Doeren era.

You see touch consistently from Devin Leary.

The quarterback does a consistently good job of allowing his targets to win on routes by throwing on time with good accuracy. This also plays out in the RPO game.

Offensive coordinator Tim Beck allowed Leary to make many decisions on the fly and the quarterback consistently delivered. In the red zone, No. 13 makes the correct read and fires a dart on a glance route between two defenders for a touchdown. The quarterback can deliver a fastball with accuracy when called upon.

However, quarterbacks are not always going to be clean and will be asked to succeed in tough situations. Devin Leary has shown good pocket movement skills during his NC State career and was not afraid to hold his ground.

Louisville brings a six-man pressure but Leary does not panic. The quarterback sees the middle safety come on a blitz and throws to the spot vacated by the extra rusher in the middle of the field. Leary delivers the throw with accuracy to move the chains and create a scoring opportunity for the offense.

Devin Leary should give the Kentucky offense a high floor

Devin Leary will be returning for a sixth year of college football in 2023. The former four-star recruit will turn 24 at some point making him one of the oldest quarterbacks in college football next season. There is an obvious level of experience that comes with that.

Leary has played over 1,800 snaps and has seen a lot of defenses. During his time in college football, the quarterback has proven to be a good processor that gets the ball out on time with accuracy and has enough power in his right arm to create explosive plays on vertical throws down the sideline. The quarterback is not a statue in the pocket and can extend plays but is not a huge run threat. However, that is just fine.

Kentucky’s newest quarterback delivers the football with accuracy to all three levels, consistently makes good decisions, and flashes strong football IQ on tape. That should allow the offense to succeed in the passing game next year as new offensive coordinator Liam Coen needs a distributor that can get the ball to Barion Brown, Dane Key, Tayvion Robinson, and Jordan Dingle. Leary gets rid of the ball fast which should help a rebuilding offensive line and the quarterback can make accurate throws to take advantage of schemed up shot plays.

There is a lot to like about the new QB1 in Lexington. Kentucky has added an instant starter that can succeed at making the right reads and correct throws within the structure of an offense. The Cats will ask Leary to be a point guard by getting the ball to the offense’s playmaker in space and on-time.

That could result in the ACC transfer becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC next season.