Kentucky is committed to making passing game work

The passing game is an issue for the University of Kentucky football program. Throughout the entire decade-plus that Mark Stoops has been in charge of this organization, the throw game has consistently performed below expectations. Quite often, the Wildcats have had one of the worst passing offenses in college football and the SEC. In a year where everyone wants to talk about reaching the next level, the biggest key factor has often been glossed over.

For Kentucky to continue its growth as a program, the Wildcats must find a way to cultivate an offense that can thrive by throwing the football. This program needs the throw game to be a strength and not a hindrance. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen has now been hired twice by Stoops to fix it. The first step was to get better results in recruiting. Coen and the offensive staff have checked that box. Now Kentucky needs results on the field.

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After seven games in 2022, the passing game is growing through some major growing pains. NC State transfer Devin Leary has not adjusted well to the scheme change, a young wide receiver room is struggling, and the passing cannot find a rhythm. Despite having one of the most explosive traditional run games in college football, do not expect the Cats to get run-heavy like previous offenses in Lexington. Stoops is committed to making this current vision of the offense work in Lexington.

“When we’re behind the chains we are very inefficient. We need to execute better. We need to be able to keep people off balance. We want to grow as a program,” Stoops told reporters on Monday. “You’ve heard me talk about it. We’ve discussed this. We can sit there and second guess ourself and look at that last time we took the field.”

“We can sit there and run the ball maybe 20 more times and have a better chance to win the game, but are we really growing as an organization? Are we really winning and becoming the team that we want to become? We’re never going to stop working at that.”

The easy answer for Kentucky football over the next five games would be to get run-heavy and try to win football games playing ground-and-pound. There will always be an element of this with a Stoops football team, but it cannot be the program’s entire offensive identity. Kentucky has to find a way to truly scare defenses with the passing game. The Wildcats believe in Coen, this current pro-style scheme, and feel good about the skill talent this program is currently attracting. Now the results on the field need to follow.

Kentucky has made a commitment. Now we need to see the payoff.