Old School Fred Farrier Surprise Standout at Kentucky Fall Camp

Stonks are soaring for Fred Farrier. Buy them now while you can. To be candid, when I workshopped a UK player comp to the new wide receiver, I did not anticipate hearing so many rave reviews about the former Franklin County Flyer. After Tuesday’s practice, nobody received more effusive praise than Farrier.

“Fred’s probably been one of our most consistent wide receivers throughout camp,” said offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. “He runs precise routes, makes plays on the ball, is tough on the perimeter. We’re extremely fortunate to have him.”

Before Hamdan’s final fall camp media scrum ended, he was asked which players earned more publicity than they received through the first few weeks of practice. Farrier was the first player that came to mind, thanks to his toughness and consistency.

“There’s so many distractions these days. There’s NIL, and am I the starter? You still kind of got a couple of old-school throwback guys, whether it’s by choice or not, they just come to work out here and get that done. I’d say he’s one of those guys,” said Hamdan.

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An “Old School” Wide Receiver

What does it exactly mean to be an “old school” wide receiver? If you ask Jeff Piecoro, it’s being an “outside blocker” for Jerry Claiborne. Barion Brown sees it differently.

“It’s probably because he don’t talk much. Fred’s a dude who just does his job and gets out of there. He’s there for us,” said Brown. “That’s probably why, he just doesn’t talk much, nothing crazy.”

A receiver that doesn’t talk much? I’m just as shocked as you are.

It’s not that Farrier is just a quiet kid. He brings the same work ethic every day to practice, and when opportunities present themselves, he makes the play.

“One, he’s an unbelievable kid,” said wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts. “He comes out here. You’re not going to hear too much from him. He might not speak the whole practice, he might not speak in meetings, but he comes out here, he wants his teammates to do well and then he just works his butt off.

“Every rep is like his last rep. He wants to make a play, whether it’s a block, whether it’s a catch, he just wants to do right all the time. And he’s doing a really good job on special teams as well, so I’m glad we got him.”

There’s a lesson to learn from Farrier’s ascendence in this training camp. God-given talent matters in this sport, but the right mentality and work ethic can be the ultimate difference-maker. No. 13 isn’t just wearing a jersey on the sideline. He’s going to make splashy plays this fall for the Kentucky Wildcats.