National Media midseason grades for Devin Leary, Kentucky

We are six games into the season, which means the national media is rolling out midseason grades for every team in college football. We’re saving our grades for next week since it’s Kentucky’s bye week, but it’s always fun to hear what the outsiders think of the Wildcats. So far, the reviews are pretty kind.

While we all may be a little down following the blowout loss to Georgia, CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee thinks the Cats are performing above expectations this season, giving kudos to the offensive line and Ray Davis. He gives Kentucky a “B” grade and says the Cats are “fully capable” of getting to a New Year’s Six bowl.

The 24th-ranked Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season last week at Georgia, but that shouldn’t take away from the incredible work coach Mark Stoops and his staff have done in 2023. The offensive line has recaptured its magic after a disappointing 2022 and transfer running back Ray Davis has emerged as one of the league’s top rushers. The SEC East might be out of reach, but this team is fully capable of earning a New Year’s Six berth. Grade: B

Barrett Sallee, CBS Sports

Nothing wrong with a B, but it’s worth noting that Sallee gives Missouri, Kentucky’s next opponent, an A thanks to its explosive offense, going as far as to say the Tigers could upset Georgia. Kentucky’s secondary will have its hands full on Saturday.

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ESPN grades Devin Leary’s performance

While the Big Blue Wall and Ray Davis definitely deserve kudos, Kentucky’s offense has yet to reach potential. The passing game has shown flashes of promise this year but Devin Leary and his wide receivers have been mostly inconsistent. Leary has been particularly bad in SEC play, completing only 45.9% of his passes.

Despite these struggles, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and Tom VanHaaren gave Leary a B- for his first six games as a Wildcat.

After a torn pectoral muscle ended a 2022 season that began with NFL aspirations, Leary came to Kentucky to get on the Will Levis plan. He picked the same school and the same offensive coordinator — Liam Coen, who returned to UK after a season with the Los Angeles Rams — who helped Levis blossom following his transfer from Penn State. Leary has had mixed results so far, struggling with his accuracy in a win over Florida and a loss to Georgia (completing just 19 of 45 passes combined). He finished with only 69 passing yards against Florida. Leary has yet to recapture the form of 2021, when he had 35 touchdowns and five interceptions while passing for 3,433 yards at NC State.

ESPN

That’s a pretty kind grade. In hopes of acing the second half of the season, Leary says he’s focusing on the little things.

“Honestly, just making the layups, making the easy throws, getting back to just playing the way I’ve always played, not thinking too much,” Leary told the media Tuesday.

“I put a lot on myself. I’m my biggest critic and I always tell the offense that it starts with me. It starts with how I’m managing the game, how I’m operating the offense. And honestly, there’s no excuse for it to be one step off or one yard away from a catch. It’s my job to give those guys a chance and make sure that we can make plays and that just didn’t happen on Saturday in some instances. So I just got to be better.”

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Ray Davis, Deone Walker named Midseason All-Americans

Midseason All-American Teams are also rolling out. Two Kentucky Wildcats have earned kudos for their play thus far. Yesterday, Ray Davis and Deone Walker were named Midseason All-Americans by Pro Football Focus. Davis was on the third team, while Walker received honorable mention. Davis was also tabbed to the Reese’s Senior Bowl Midseason All-American Team.

Through six games, Davis leads the SEC with 653 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 91 carries. He also has four receiving touchdowns and 182 yards on 13 catches. He currently leads the nation in scoring (12.0 points per game), total touchdowns (12), and total points scored (72) and ranks fourth nationally in rushing TDs (8), ninth in rushing yards (653), and 11th in rushing yards per game (108.8).

I’m biased, but Davis gets an A+ from me.

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