Why the Ball has Eluded Kentucky WR Ja'Mori Maclin

Kentucky QB Brock Vandagriff and WR Barion Brown were sidelined for the rest of the game. A Gavin Wimsatt interception just dug the Cats into an 11-point hole at Tennessee and hope was in short supply for Big Blue Nation.

That’s when Wimsatt pulled the pin and let a pass sail down the field near the Kentucky sideline. My internal monologue was in disbelief.

“Wow. That ball is right on the money. Can he make that catch? He made the catch!”

Ja’Mori Maclin only needed one hand to reel in the 32-yard touchdown reception, one of the most impressive catches of the 2024 Kentucky football season. No. 9’s work was not complete. Kentucky went for two to cut the deficit to three. Wimsatt scrambled around before he threw it up to Maclin for another outstanding contested catch.

.@GavinWimsatt ➡️ @routerunner9 🤌 pic.twitter.com/4OvFIbVp0x

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 3, 2024

Maclin previously had only four receptions against SEC foes and two of those only went for two yards apiece. The Tennessee touchdown was his longest reception since the season opener against Southern Miss.

“It’s all about perspective and just trusting God’s timing,” Maclin said after the game. “Of course, like you said, the season hasn’t been as good as I wanted it to be, but at the end of the day, I just continue to work hard at practice and my teammates trusting me. And when the time come, I just got to make those plays like I did today, and hopefully (I do). It wasn’t enough to get the W, but you just gotta keep working and try to just find ways to be better every week.”

Why hasn’t Maclin gotten more opportunities?

Ja’Mori Maclin was a heralded transfer portal recruiting win after he tallied more than 1,000 yards last season at North Texas. A big-play threat, his five receptions of 50+ yards in 2023 were tied for the sixth-most in college football.

Despite those eye-opening numbers, Kentucky has only targeted Maclin 14 times in nine games. He has not had more than two passes thrown his way since the Wildcats hosted Georgia and he had three games with zero targets. Why?

“The ball is still not finding them in those situations, whether it’s rushing (the play) or the quarterback running around or things like that,” Mark Stoops said Saturday night. “But you’re right, when you have an opportunity to throw him a competitive ball, he has an opportunity to come down with it. That’s one of his strengths. And we do have to try to get him in a position where, just like tonight, when he got in a one-on-one with a 50-50 ball, he came down with two in a row there. That was good to see and I think we’d all like to see more opportunities follow him that way.

“But a lot of times, it’s not simple. People are mixing things up. They’re not just pressing us and giving them a chance at those; the inside fade just hasn’t presented itself much for one one way or another, but I’d like to see him get some more opportunities as well.”

It’s a similar response to the question: “Why aren’t the tight ends getting the ball more?” Kentucky has other playmakers who are higher-priority targets. Additionally, defenses are doing everything they can to keep the ball underneath and force Kentucky to dink and dunk until they make a mistake. They aren’t giving Maclin and his teammates a chance to make a big, contested catch downfield.

“It felt like that all year. But like I said, you just got to keep working. Man, when things ain’t going your way — because I was a 1,000-yard receiver and a Biletnikoff watch list guy, and end up being pretty much nothing this season. It’s just all about perspective, just continue to keep your head down and just work, and when opportunity comes, you just got to make it.”

He made that big play on Saturday. Even if it feels like it’s too little too late, Ja’Mori Maclin showed that he can in fact be an explosive playmaker this offense desperately needs.