Tayvion Robinson building serious chemistry with Devin Leary

Kentucky senior receiver Tayvion Robinson was nothing short of terrific in the Wildcats’ 28-17 win over EKU to move to 2-0 on the year. He caught six balls for 136 yards, two of those receptions going for touchdowns. The 5-foot-11 playmaker looks like a brand new player after a quiet finish to his debut campaign in Lexington — he failed to clear the 50-yard mark past October after starting the year with outings of 147 yards, 136 yards and 66 yards receiving in a four-game stretch.

What has led to the breakthrough in his final season of eligibility? Mark Stoops believes maturity and leadership have been clear contributing factors. That’s beyond the physical gifts we already knew he possessed when he transferred to Kentucky from Virginia Tech last offseason.

“You know, he is explosive. He is good in the return game, he had the sweep, he had the explosive play, and I believe set up a touchdown,” Stoops said of Robinson on Saturday. “And he is showing better leadership and just playing really hard. And within this offense, you know, and most guys just have to continue to grind and some days they pop up with statistics.”

He’s certainly done that, sitting comfortably at No. 45 in the nation in receiving yards at 174. That’s good for No. 9 overall in the SEC. His scores were difference-makers for an offense that was looking for a spark — the Wildcats were down 7-0 before his 24-yard catch in the end zone with 42 seconds to go in the first half. An absolute beauty of a throw and catch from Devin Leary to Robinson.

“It was a wheel route. So once I came out of the wheel route, I looked up and saw the ball there. Then I just ran past the DB,” Robinson said of his first score.

It’s part of the connection he’s developing with Leary and the benefit of having a player of his caliber at quarterback. There are no plays off at receiver when you’ve got No. 13 throwing you the ball. Even if you’re not option one or two, there’s a chance he’ll find you.

That’s exactly what happened on the game-tying score before half — one that opened things up for the offense.

“You can’t run a route and not think you’re getting the ball,” Robinson said of playing with Leary. “Sometimes you can run a route and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is going to this guy.’ Everyone is open with Devin. That showed Saturday when he got it to me in the end zone. Dane (Key) was open, but he took the chance and we scored off of it.”

And it wasn’t that Robinson was any more or less open than Key or any of the other pass-catchers. Leary just knew he could throw the senior wideout open for the touchdown. And that’s exactly what happened.

“I became more open as I caught it,” Robinson joked.

The two veterans are clearly developing a connection, Leary finding Robinson on a six-yard slant for a touchdown to open the second half. Factor in star talent like Key and Barion Brown elsewhere — gotta cut back on the drops, though — and the Wildcats are in a good spot going into the meat and potatoes of the conference schedule.

“Yeah, they’re meshing well,” Stoops said of Leary’s growing chemistry with the pass-catchers. “I think, everybody, there’s room for improvement in all areas, certainly. We really pushed on that last week, just being more detailed and more precise between game one and game two. I think we improved in certain areas.”