It doesn't sound like Barion Brown will be Kentucky's full-time punt returner

Kentucky trailed by six points with just under three minutes to play. Desperate for a big play, Mark Stoops went back to the well that worked in 2018.

Six years ago, Lynn Bowden‘s number was called to return a punt at Missouri. He took it to the house, providing “new life for the Wildcats,” as Tom Leach famously said on the broadcast of that improbable 15-14 comeback victory.

Looking for something special, Barion Brown went back deep to field the incoming punt. The school record-holder for kickoff return touchdowns had only 10 punt returns over his first two seasons at Kentucky. This was his 2024 debut and he made the most of it, returning the ball 16 yards to cross midfield and put the ball in Vanderbilt territory.

Unfortunately, a block-in-back penalty negated the positive return. Nevertheless, it was the best punt return of the year. It begged the question, will Barion Brown become the guy returning punts moving forward?

“It’s always a part of it. I think it’s also a part of what we can handle,” Mark Stoops said Monday. “He does a lot and he gets really amped up, you know what I mean? He’s got to come out on certain plays because he’s exhausted too with what we’re putting on his plate, and his comfort level with catching it and all the things. It’s always a possibility.”

Mark Stoops doesn’t want to put too much onto Barion Brown’s plate. I would argue that Barion Brown should want more on his plate.

If he did not return that punt against Vanderbilt, he would have exactly 36 touches in six games this season: nine kickoff returns, seven rushing attempts, and 20 receptions. That is six touches per game. I won’t pretend to know Kentucky’s NIL budget, but I’m sure Barion Brown is one of the higher-paid players. Six touches per game isn’t enough for one of your higher-paid players. He wants to get paid to play on Sundays and his best chance at doing that is as a return specialist. That includes punts along with kickoffs.

The other side of the coin that I’ve failed to illustrate clearly so far is that Ja’Mori Maclin has not been a great punt returner. It’s his first time fielding punts. That is why the ball has bounced to the turf on multiple occasions, costing Kentucky valuable hidden yards that could have been saved with a fair catch.

Maclin has eight returns for 39 yards in six games. Even if it’s only a dozen more touches for Barion Brown over the next six games, I like his chances to take one of those to the house. This team is desperate for more points, but it doesn’t sound like they’re going to consistently try to get them from Barion Brown and the punt return unit.