Kentucky is quickly becoming trendy sleeper team in SEC East

The college football season is so close that we can almost taste it. The countdown clocks have almost evaporated, and prognosticators are making their final predictions. Throughout the SEC footprint, Kentucky is becoming a popular team.

When the topic of a sleeper team comes up, Kentucky is often one of the first teams mentioned. There is real optimism for the offense following the offseason additions of offensive coordinator Liam Coen and quarterback Devin Leary. There is a strong belief that UK will again have one of the better defenses in the SEC under Brad White.

ESPN’s Chris Low is one of the many who believe Kentucky could surprise some teams this fall.

“I think Kentucky probably is the most slept-on team in the conference based on what they did in the offseason,” Low said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Friday. “People forget — when they start talking about quarterbacks in the league — what Leary was at NC State. With the combination of Liam Coen coming back as coordinator and adding Leary, I think a lot of people sort of forgetting about that.”

“The offensive line — Mark thinks they’re going to be better — and I think they will be better. They’ll be as salty as ever on defense.”

The positive preseason momentum keeps building for the Wildcats. Expectations are quickly building for Leary, and many like the potential Coen-Leary partnership could have in 2023. If the offensive line takes real strides, this offense could cause some issues while the defense has legitimate top-25 expectations this season.

With a back-loaded schedule, the opportunity will be there for Kentucky to stack wins early in the season to create some big games in October and November. Many believe that UK could be the best team in the East not named Georgia this season.

“I expect them to jump back up there and be a team in the East that’s a tough out every Saturday,” Low said.