Mark Stoops sees elite return potential in Barion Brown: "He has it"

Mark Stoops doesn’t just see freshman standout Barion Brown as a solid playmaker, he sees him as an elite one. It didn’t take long for the Nashville, TN native to make that clear in his debut, becoming the first Wildcat to return a kickoff back for a touchdown since 2009, a 100-yard score.

It was an opportunity to show off the track speed that made him a five-star recruit out of high school. Becoming just the first UK freshman to take one back to the house since Kio Sanford in 1994, he clearly made the most of that opportunity.

“I wanted to see that, because a great returner like that needs to trust his speed in that situation,” Stoops said Monday. “Guys that have it, do it.”

Brown caught the ball at the goal line, cut through defenders in the middle of the field, busted wide to the left sideline with just one man to beat. At that moment, the Kentucky head coach knew the freshman standout was bound for the endzone.

That’s what the great returners do. And Stoops believes Brown is destined to be a great one.

“In that moment, when he turned the corner, I had a good feeling it was gone,” Stoops said. “I don’t know who was even in pursuit at that point – watching it live as far as what body type, whether it was a DB, safety, kicker. I didn’t know who was in position on that sideline, but I felt like it was going to the house because the great ones, when they turn that corner in the open field like that – it’s all about the true speed. He has it.”

Brown becomes just the 15th player to score on a kickoff return at Kentucky, 19 instances overall. It’s a big moment, clearly, as the SEC crowned him Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts.

Is that what Stoops expected when he signed the five-star recruit out of Pearl-Cohn (TN) in high school?

“Yes,” the UK head coach said. “Absolutely.”

It was a home run play, but that doesn’t mean it was perfect. He caught the ball high while backpedaling into the endzone, a big no-no for returners. In fact, Stoops had just instructed Brown to avoid that on his previous return.

Then to end the run, he dropped the ball at the goal line, sparking a long review by the officiating crew. A step earlier and the Wildcat newcomer could’ve had a disaster on his hands.

Luckily for him, he didn’t and he has his first career touchdown to show for it.

“When you get the opportunity, you have to make the most of it,” Stoops said. “I told Barion after the first one, ‘Don’t ever catch the ball up there going backward and bring it out.’ Next time (laughter), he catches it going back, goes 100 yards. I said, ‘I told you not to do that.’ He thought I was serious. But he does have to learn, because this week, you catch that a yard or two deep going the wrong way, and we’ll be pinned inside the 20.” 

In his call-in radio show Monday evening, Stoops gave credit to Brown for making something out of nothing even on the first return, fighting for tough yards and making the right read despite the high backpedaling catch.

“The first one he was all anxious and ready to go, of course,” Stoops said. “It was a good kick, made him chase it down and catch it going sideways. He still brought it out. I will say, he made a good run. Told him he better be careful doing that this week in the Swamp. You know, don’t know if that’s a good decision. But he brought it out and had a good run there, got tough yards there. He read the middle read on that return very well and hit it up in there, had some tough yards. He showed he’s not afraid.”

And then return No. 2 came to open the second half.

“He caught it a little high, but it wasn’t as bad as it felt on the field,” Stoops said during his call-in show. “His momentum wasn’t as bad or as negative as I felt like during the game. We watched it on film, he had it a little high, a little off-balance, but it was right at the goal line. So he brought it back, and really once he turned the corner, I felt like he was gone. At that point with the great returners, it’s true speed. You’ve got to have the vision and all that, but once he turned that corner, even if people have angles on you, if you have that kind of speed you can outrun them. It was great to see, a lot of fun.”

The freshman wide receiver told reporters after the game he actually called his shot earlier in the week, predicting a touchdown return in his debut. Going into the game, no Wildcat had run one back under Stoops. The five-star freshman was ready to change that.

“We were talking about that Monday. As soon as he said that to me, I looked at my wide receivers coach and we just started laughing,” Brown said after the game. “… I knew I was going to do it.”

What does Stoops think of Brown’s confidence? He likes it, of course. That doesn’t mean he’s invincible, though.

“I mean, you know how freshmen are,” Stoops said. “I love it, I love him and all of them, but you know, we all get scars sooner or later.”