Some immediate reactions and questions

[gamecockcat]

1. Any word on Horsey?
2. Where is the depth in the RB room? McClain played a handful of plays, NCSt transfer played a little bit didn't see Jefferson or Wright at all.
3. Certainly thought we underutilized the TEs which should be one on the strengths of the team. Why?
4. Who steps up on the OL to replace Horsey and/or provide quality depth?

Observations:
1. Leary's accuracy was underwhelming.
2. Defense played well for the most part. Gave up TE passes to much for my comfort.
3. OL was decent and better than last year. Still needs work but a lot better than opening game in 2022. Couldn't see much difference between Flax and Ford. Interested to see who graded out better.
4. Was Ford the only sub to play beside Ray who filled in when Horsey got hurt? Still seems like we're not developing OL depth.
5. Good to see TOs created by the D.
6. STs look much better: P was fine, KO return for TD and FG kicker was money.
7. Thought we threw deep too often and should have used the middle of the field more with slants and TE passes.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

No word on the Horse. Fearing the worst as we never have luck with injuries.
Never

 

[GridCats]

Maybe now Stoops realizes he needs a Special Teams coach.

 

[ManitouDan]

I thought Leary looked great

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

I thought Leary looked great

Leary wasn’t great I was their in person, he missed a lot of throws, I would give leary a 6/10 today

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I thought Leary looked great

Do you know what great means?

Deion Jr looked great. Leary look "ok" to me.

 

[yoshukai]

1. Any word on Horsey?
2. Where is the depth in the RB room? McClain played a handful of plays, NCSt transfer played a little bit didn't see Jefferson or Wright at all.
3. Certainly thought we underutilized the TEs which should be one on the strengths of the team. Why?
4. Who steps up on the OL to replace Horsey and/or provide quality depth?

Observations:
1. Leary's accuracy was underwhelming.
2. Defense played well for the most part. Gave up TE passes to much for my comfort.
3. OL was decent and better than last year. Still needs work but a lot better than opening game in 2022. Couldn't see much difference between Flax and Ford. Interested to see who graded out better.
4. Was Ford the only sub to play beside Ray who filled in when Horsey got hurt? Still seems like we're not developing OL depth.
5. Good to see TOs created by the D.
6. STs look much better: P was fine, KO return for TD and FG kicker was money.
7. Thought we threw deep too often and should have used the middle of the field more with slants and TE passes.

I’ve been told Wright will miss the entire season.

 

[bbncal02]

Leary wasn’t great I was their in person, he missed a lot of throws, I would give leary a 6/10 today

Yeah, he was just meh. Not horrible. Not great.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

I’ve been told Wright will miss the entire season.

What happened to wright

 

[ManitouDan]

Do you know what great means?

Deion Jr looked great. Leary look "ok" to me.

My apologies, I guess I’m used to horrible QB play

 

[bbncal02]

My apologies, I guess I’m used to horrible QB play

If you're talking Levis, man, that's kind of an unfair shot. Levis was hurt a lot last season, and we had a HORRID offensive coordinator.

 

[yoshukai]

What happened to wright

I was told he had some type of injury (can’t say because of hip-a laws) . Supposedly was advised to have surgery but resisted and now realizes it’s inevitable.

 

[jameslee78]

1. Any word on Horsey?
2. Where is the depth in the RB room? McClain played a handful of plays, NCSt transfer played a little bit didn't see Jefferson or Wright at all.
3. Certainly thought we underutilized the TEs which should be one on the strengths of the team. Why?
4. Who steps up on the OL to replace Horsey and/or provide quality depth?

Observations:
1. Leary's accuracy was underwhelming.
2. Defense played well for the most part. Gave up TE passes to much for my comfort.
3. OL was decent and better than last year. Still needs work but a lot better than opening game in 2022. Couldn't see much difference between Flax and Ford. Interested to see who graded out better.
4. Was Ford the only sub to play beside Ray who filled in when Horsey got hurt? Still seems like we're not developing OL depth.
5. Good to see TOs created by the D.
6. STs look much better: P was fine, KO return for TD and FG kicker was money.
7. Thought we threw deep too often and should have used the middle of the field more with slants and TE passes.

This was called as vinailla as they could get by with it will take untill the vandy game untill they start to hit stride.but they will.there gonna get that running game going.they have to.

 

[CB3UK]

OL definitely better off than this time last year, but still needs some work.

 

[FilsonCat]

Leary looked shaky overall with some good plays. We don't need him to be a world beater, but he has to be able to make short hitches, check downs, and throw with touch in space on a consistent basis. The down field throws will be there, especially if Davis continues to draw defenses closer to the line.

Leary flat out missed some easy pitch and catch throws today. He also missed some wide open receivers today with the wrong read.

How much was Leary under center at NC State? Because he didn't look the most comfortable with his footwork and timing coming from under center. It is one game, so TBD. It could be any number of things, but we will have to probably wait until the SEC portion of the schedule to have a good idea on where he will end up this season.

The line pass protected well enough today for Leary to have plenty of time. In the SEC the windows will be tighter.

 

[EliteBlue]

Overall solid performance. I know Brown has speed but I think we look to get him deep too often. Dane Is the better deep ball/jump ball threat imo.

Id rather see Brown get the mid to third level post, dig, slogo, cop, corner routes and let him use his speed and angles after the catch to beat the last man and hit a gap

A few of the aired out deep balls today could have been adjusted towards to get in position to make a play on the ball and go up and get it over the 1v1 coverage but Brown doesn’t adjust and is just trying to run by his guy.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

My apologies, I guess I’m used to horrible QB play

Levis most certainly wasn't horrible overall last 2 seasons

 

[UKnCincy]

OL definitely better off than this time last year, but still needs some work.

Maybe, but I think that Davis and Leary may also have helped the OL to look better than last year. I thought Davis ran pretty well and we didn’t have CRod at this point last year due to his suspension.

I also think that if we had Levis in there today, we might’ve seen a couple more sacks. While Leary was far from perfect today, he seems to have much better pocket presence than Levis and appears to be better at avoiding sacks by moving around or by just getting rid of the ball.

I’m still cautiously optimistic about this season though. There’s a lot that needs to get cleaned up, but I think it’s still possible for that to happen.

 

[know1]

Other than accuracy, Leary looked fine. Good composure in the pocket, threw to the right guys or checked down well. Just needs to deliver it to them.

 

[SosaUK1987]

Maybe now Stoops realizes he needs a Special Teams coach.

We have one?

I’ve been told Wright will miss the entire season.

That really sucks. Hope it’s not true.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

I was told he had some type of injury (can’t say because of hip-a laws) . Supposedly was advised to have surgery but resisted and now realizes it’s inevitable.

Who is wright I’m sturggling remembering who he is

 

[Cobb4uk]

Can't ever remember when we had a 30 point win with so many not satisfied. We played numerous players, especially on defense. This was the first game Leary has played on a new team and for some reason the offensive flow just wasn't there. Something I like was his presence in the pocket, understand how to move around to not get sacked. When this offense starts to click watch out, and it will.

 

[GridCats]

We have one?

That really sucks. Hope it’s not true.

I know we have one. Last year we didn't have one and it was a mess.

 

[UKAlum84]

My reaction after first quarter: Man, we look bad.

After leaving the tv to work on a car, Im shocked at the final score.

It's kinda like a recent georgia team showed up.

Im saying we looked above average just looking at the final score.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Leary was fine. Made some very good reads and throws. Showed some rust. Massively helped the OL with quick reads and stepping up in the pocket.

Little concerned about how many tipped balls he had. Otherwise he was fine considering everything

 

[NoDef]

Maybe, but I think that Davis and Leary may also have helped the OL to look better than last year. I thought Davis ran pretty well and we didn’t have CRod at this point last year due to his suspension.

I also think that if we had Levis in there today, we might’ve seen a couple more sacks. While Leary was far from perfect today, he seems to have much better pocket presence than Levis and appears to be better at avoiding sacks by moving around or by just getting rid of the ball.

I’m still cautiously optimistic about this season though. There’s a lot that needs to get cleaned up, but I think it’s still possible for that to happen.

I think a lot of the sacks where on Scang and Yenser. Levis played the year before with half the number of sacks. Levis liked to try and extend plays more, but it wasn't all on him.

 

[JHB4UK]

I'll chalk up Leary's day to 1st game jitters. He missed most of last yr with injury. 1st game back, on a new team with new teammates in a new system.

While throws were off, his pocket awareness was still great. Several flushed plays he avoided sacks and got throws off that quite frankly would be impossible for Levis to do.

Ray Davis played almost all game because he is new also. He's got to learn the system and his teammates! Let's get our #1 back comfortable before worrying about snaps for 3rd & 4th string!

How about our head coach trusting the offense & wanting to put points up 1st drive??? When has Mark Stoops won the toss & chose to recieve and not deferred??? He's evolving and recognizing he has to hone an offense and score in CFB!!!!

B+ performance for pigskin Wildcats imo

 

[Bereacat420]

I was told he had some type of injury (can’t say because of hip-a laws) . Supposedly was advised to have surgery but resisted and now realizes it’s inevitable.

Was the Hip in Hip-a a hint at what the surgery was? The guy on HOB that 1st mentioned about all but said it was his hip. Nothing major though

 

[vhcat70]

Wasn't there. So how much more drunk was the crowd and how many more added fights were there with selling beer inside the stadium? Probably won't ever be hotter & thus ever sell more beer.

 

[vhcat70]

Read Horsey's injury is "lower leg". That's not knee to me. If true, at least long-term with recovery he'll be in a better place.

 

[StubbornPenny]

Wasn't there. So how much drunk was the crowd and how many more added fights were there with selling beer inside the stadium? Probably won't ever be hotter & thus ever sell more beer.

From my 200s section, not a single issue whatsoever. The guys who yell “twist his d*ck!” fifteen times a game have been there well before alcohol was sold.

 

[Old_Red]

I'll chalk up Leary's day to 1st game jitters. He missed most of last yr with injury. 1st game back, on a new team with new teammates in a new system.

While throws were off, his pocket awareness was still great. Several flushed plays he avoided sacks and got throws off that quite frankly would be impossible for Levis to do.

Ray Davis played almost all game because he is new also. He's got to learn the system and his teammates! Let's get our #1 back comfortable before worrying about snaps for 3rd & 4th string!

How about our head coach trusting the offense & wanting to put points up 1st drive??? When has Mark Stoops won the toss & chose to recieve and not deferred??? He's evolving and recognizing he has to hone an offense and score in CFB!!!!

B+ performance for pigskin Wildcats imo

Also, the offense was only out there 21 minutes.

 

[JPFisher]

Read Horsey's injury is "lower leg". That's not knee to me. If true, at least long-term with recovery he'll be in a better place.

Hopefully it isn't a high ankle sprain that takes months to fully heal. Ray did well, but we need that depth.

 

[ManitouDan]

No alcohol issues up in 227 . Everyone was cool

 

[CAT Scratch FVR]

I’m not saying Leary played great because he didn’t. Key dropped a ball in end zone where Leary put the ball the only place he could. Leary also put the ball in places where only our guy could get to it or it was incomplete not intercepted. A few clunkers. Also felt our guys couldn;t get separation when Leary was throwing to a spot. Sometimes they were muscled off their route or held or both. Overall, I liked what I saw.

 

[tdcat]

Seemed Leary was rusty and pressing in the first half. Did no one notice he went 10 out of 11 in the second half?

 

[catben]

Seemed Leary was rusty and pressing in the first half. Did no one notice he went 10 out of 11 in the second half?

2nd half Leary took what the defense gave him. However, he missed Davis out of the backfield once where he could have scored because there was NO ONE close to him from midfield to the Endzone, but Leary went long. It's apparent that Dane is a better route runner than Barrion and is stronger going up and getting the ball. Coen needs to put Brown in space more on short routes and slants.

Learning curve will HOPEFULLY only be the first 3 games, then we need to THUMP Vandy!!!!

 

[catben]

Also, the defense looked good EXCEPT for giving up 6 straight 3rd and Longs in the 2nd half. That backup QB for Ball St. was picking us apart!!! I realize most of that was against backups, but our LB's have to get better at defending passes over the middle.

 

[secrules3]

I’ve been told Wright will miss the entire season.

The fact that there wasn't much difference between Flax and Ford is ALL the proof I need to know that Ford should be the starter. Let Ford get as MANY REPS as possible at RT so that he gets more comfortable for the stretch.

Flax can either be the swing tackle or can play RT and Ford can move to LT if needed for rest or injury.

Praying Horsey to be ok for HIS SAKE, not ours. He's a pretty good football player and seems like a great young man.

I also think Walker should be the NG to free up the faster defensive lineman allowing them to get to the QB.

With Leary, those 3 stud WR's, Ray Davis and company along with the group of TE's, we should be lighting teams up this season.

We're a little young on defense and could take a couple of more games.

T. Wallace looked like the real deal today. Kids got good speed and great instincts.

Here's hoping for a GREAT season!!!

 

[JHB4UK]

Any UK fan who has watched longer than 1 season knows opposing backup QBs coming in due to starter injuries are our kryptonite

They will always look like a combination of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen and Tom Brady and Randall Cunningham