NFL offense is big part of recruiting pitch for Kentucky in transfer portal

On Sunday evening, the Los Angeles Rams will host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. The winner will advance to the Super Bowl.

For head coach Sean McVay, this could be the second time in four seasons that the 36-year-old offensive savant has taken the Rams franchise to the Super Bowl. Unsurprisingly, many folks in football want a piece of that success.

McVay owns a 55-26 record since taking over in 2017. Quickly, McVay has built a robust coaching tree. Former assistant wide receivers and quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor is now the head coach in Cincinnati and has the Bengals one win away from the Super Bowl. Former offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur is 39-10 with three NFC North titles in three seasons as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Elsewhere, former defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, and pass game coordinator Shane Waldron is the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks.

Last year, Mark Stoops decided that he wanted Kentucky to install this NFL offense that was having so much success. Therefore, assistant quarterbacks coach Liam Coen was brought to the SEC.

After one season, the Wildcats saw drastic improvement as the offense finished No. 24 overall in SP+’s adjusted rankings. The unit averaged over 31 points per game for the first time since 2010 and finished in the top-25 in yards per play (No. 21), yards per rush (No. 16), rushing yards per game (No. 25), third down conversion rate (No. 5), and red zone touchdown rate (No. 8).

Coen brought an NFL playbook to Kentucky, and it paid major dividends. The Wildcats ended the season with a 1,000-yard running back, 1,000-yard receiver, and a quarterback who accounted for 32 touchdowns.

The combination of NFL success and proof of concept is starting to make waves on the recruiting trail. Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson says both factors helped him make the move to Kentucky.

“So when I first started to talk to coach Coen, he talked about the NFL offense and NFL terminology,” Tayvion Robinson told reporters on Thursday. “In the recruiting process, there’s a lot of sells and pitches that coaches will give to you, but it’s insane when you actually sit down and watch the film how much alike is offense is to the Rams. So when you see the type of season Wan’Dale [Robinson] just had this year breaking single-season reception record, touchdown record, and you see Cooper Kupp winning the triple crown — what more do you want?

Kentucky certainly seems to have the best of everything on offense right now. The Wildcats have production on the field, draft success, and that is all giving the program solid recruiting success. On Friday, 2023 blue-chip receiver Shamar Porter decided to join the program. Kentucky is a hot item right now.

However, the scheme must be flexible. Everything won’t always work to perfection, and Kentucky must adapt to personnel.

“It was really important — I would not step into a system I didn’t feel would translate or fit my abilities. One of the things coach Coen talked about was that we’re going to play to the strengths of the guys that we have,” said Iowa quarterback transfer Deuce Hogan. “So there’s the system, and then there’s the person.”

“We watched kind of what the Rams do, and then we watched with like Will [Levis] being such a talented guy — the ability to incorporate him running the football. Just really play to his strengths. It was kind of a one-two punch.”

At Kentucky, Coen has established a track record and credibility with recruits in just 12 games. The success of McVay and the Rams certainly plays a part.

“Liam’s has changed the culture around here and brought an NFL offense,” said Robinson.