Fixing pass game a priority for Cats at midpoint of season
Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen touched base with quarterback Devin Leary before the offense took the field in a game earlier this season. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
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Mark Stoops did not mince words when asked about Kentucky's inconsistent passing offense at the midpoint of the season.
“Throw and catch the ball better," the UK head coach deadpanned.
How can the Wildcats improve an air attack that currently ranks next to last in the SEC and 92nd nationally with the meat of a challenging schedule on the doorstep?
Kentucky believed the passing game would be a strength with Liam Coen returning from the LA Rams as offensive coordinator, the addition of the nation's top transfer portal quarterback in the form of Devin Leary, a talented trio of receivers in Dane Key, Barion Brown, and Tayvion Robinson, a stable of quality tight ends, and a significantly improved offensive line.
For whatever reason, those things have not translated into consistent production.
Leary, coming off shoulder surgery in the off-season, has not reclaimed the trademark accuracy he displayed at NC State. He currently ranks last in the SEC and 120th nationally in completion percentage at 54.4 despite posting a career mark of over 60% in four years with the Wolfpack, including a 66% campaign in 2021.
“Sometimes it's his feet or footwork, sometimes it’s him maybe expecting a receiver to run out at a different angle... some that we just have to make," Stoops said on Monday after the Cats threw for only 128 yards in a 51-13 loss at No. 1 Georgia last weekend.
"He doesn’t need me to sit here and make an excuse for him. He is a big boy and he owns it, and just like everybody else on the team, you have to have the courage to see the areas that you need to improve on and you have to own it.”
Leary's pass targets have not helped matters. Entering last week's game at Georgia, they led all Power 5 teams with a staggering drop rate of 11%
The blowout at Georgia demonstrated all of UK's inconsistencies to date: two TD passes, one potential touchdown badly overthrown, a holding penalty that wiped out one nice gain, and one deep ball perfectly placed but dropped.
Despite all of those issues, the Cats rank No. 34 nationally in touchdown passes with 12, and only three SEC quarterbacks have been sacked less than Leary, suggesting the potential is there for growth in the second half of the season.
"I think we throw and catch it a little bit better in the week of practice than we end up doing on Saturday," Coen said after Tuesday's practice. "Can't really always point to why, for one reason or another.
"It's just execution, pitching and catching, running the right routes at the right depth, and just making some throws, being in the right timing and rhythm, and making the right decision. I think we made the right decisions for the most part on Saturday. At the end of the day, we've just got to make those throws and catches."
Coen remains confident that it's eventually going to come together for Leary & Co.
"Maybe it just takes a play, a game, for us to click," he said. "... Hopefully here soon one of those games or one of those moments or one of those plays allows us to start to click on all cylinders."
Missouri (5-1, 1-1 SEC) may provide that opportunity on Saturday. The Tigers surrendered 259 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air last week in a 49-39 loss to LSU. Missouri has allowed the second-most touchdown passes (14) in the SEC this season and a 64% completion rate to opposing quarterbacks.
No. 24 Kentucky (5-1, 2-1 SEC) will not abandon its approach, Coen says.
"We're not going to just say we haven't thrown the ball well, so let's just stop throwing it," he said. "I didn't do that Saturday as a play-caller. I trusted these guys to make throws and catches, and I'm going to continue to do so until that happens."
