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Saturday Down South Article on Leary

BIG BLUE GURU

BIG BLUE GURU

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First and 10: Why Devin Leary could be the piece that lifts Kentucky to unprecedented heights​

Matt Hayes | 4 hours ago



1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …
The long of the story looks like this: The significant injury and the surgery, and the transfer and the quarterback fit.
The short of the story: Kentucky may have a better quarterback fit now with Devin Leary than it had in 2022 with Will Levis.

​
But before we go further, an update on the injury and surgery — and the recovery. Dr. James Andrews, renowned orthopedic surgeon, is shocked that Leary, UK’s transfer quarterback, is already throwing again — after tearing the pectoral muscle attached to his right throwing arm straight off the bone in mid-October of 2022.
“We really feel like we hit a home run with him.”

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

First and 10: Why Devin Leary could be the piece that lifts Kentucky to unprecedented heights

Kentucky has been close. But Devin Leary plus Liam Coen feels ... perfect. Plus: SEC power rankings, Anthony Richardson's potential to go No. 1 overall and much more.
www.saturdaydownsouth.com
 
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BIG BLUE GURU said:

First and 10: Why Devin Leary could be the piece that lifts Kentucky to unprecedented heights​

Matt Hayes | 4 hours ago


1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …​

The long of the story looks like this: The significant injury and the surgery, and the transfer and the quarterback fit.
The short of the story: Kentucky may have a better quarterback fit now with Devin Leary than it had in 2022 with Will Levis.

​
But before we go further, an update on the injury and surgery — and the recovery. Dr. James Andrews, renowned orthopedic surgeon, is shocked that Leary, UK’s transfer quarterback, is already throwing again — after tearing the pectoral muscle attached to his right throwing arm straight off the bone in mid-October of 2022.
Click to expand...
 
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I hold out otimism that's the case, but that injury is going to be something to keep an eye on. will he be able to throw with the same strength and accuracy coming off of that?
 
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I think Leary will only be better than Levis at throwing the ball with better accuracy. Maybe he will be better at reading plays but that will remain to be seen. Levis was pretty much the complete package when you factored in his size, athleticism and physicality. I just dont see Leary being as Athletic or Physical. Who knows.
 
Leary will be better, I think, in the pocket - making quick reads, getting rid of the ball quickly, throwing accurately and, hopefully, hitting our guys in stride. Without the bazooka that Levis has, perhaps we mix in even more designed throws to the RBs in space to see what they can do. Leary will not be as big a weapon running as Levis and he may not scramble as well. But, with an improved offensive line, better playcaller and a QB that reads the D much quicker, maybe he won't have to scramble, dodge the rush, etc. nearly as much as Will did last year.

If Leary stays healthy, I would expect significantly better production from the offense this year. I'm really counting on either Sheron or Wade to make a leap so that we have a serviceable backup, just in case. I think Coen is capable of getting one or both of those guys to be ready to make some plays so there's not a cataclysmic dropoff from 1st string to 2nd.

The defense, barring a slew of injuries, promises to be downright nasty.
 
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BIG BLUE GURU said:
I think Leary will only be better than Levis at throwing the ball with better accuracy. Maybe he will be better at reading plays but that will remain to be seen. Levis was pretty much the complete package when you factored in his size, athleticism and physicality. I just dont see Leary being as Athletic or Physical. Who knows.
Click to expand...

If he’s not better at reading plays, then we’re in trouble. I love Levis but he left a lot on the table by missing the open guy. I also think he’ll be more accurate.

Levis certainly has the advantage on him with deep balls - hell, Levis probably has a top 7 arm in the NFL right now - and overall athleticism, size, etc. But sometimes someone who can run the offense without relying on deep shots or the occasional “wow” throw or run is what you really need.
 
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BIG BLUE GURU said:
I think Leary will only be better than Levis at throwing the ball with better accuracy. Maybe he will be better at reading plays but that will remain to be seen. Levis was pretty much the complete package when you factored in his size, athleticism and physicality. I just dont see Leary being as Athletic or Physical. Who knows.
Click to expand...

He's a physical dude. His physique is similar to Levis. I think his TD/INT ratio and Comp% tell you he's better at reads and accuracy within the scheme. Let's hope he can get back to where he was and better under Coen.
 
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BIG BLUE GURU said:
I think Leary will only be better than Levis at throwing the ball with better accuracy. Maybe he will be better at reading plays but that will remain to be seen. Levis was pretty much the complete package when you factored in his size, athleticism and physicality. I just dont see Leary being as Athletic or Physical. Who knows.
Click to expand...
He doesn’t have to be as athletic or physical. He has it between the ears. Levis didnt.
 
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This says it all about the difference of the ACC vs SEC...


“We lost and I got a great feel for the environment in the SEC,” Leary said. “The players at Mississippi State were a lot different than what we faced in the ACC. I can’t wait to take on the challenge. I’m a competitive dude.”
 
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BIG BLUE GURU said:
I think Leary will only be better than Levis at throwing the ball with better accuracy. Maybe he will be better at reading plays but that will remain to be seen. Levis was pretty much the complete package when you factored in his size, athleticism and physicality. I just dont see Leary being as Athletic or Physical. Who knows.
Click to expand...
Levis is the total package physically. That’s not to say he isn’t a smart dude, because he’s very smart. I know a lot of smart guys that aren’t quick processors. Levis is like that. He had to see someone open & by the time he did it was too late. Leary will see it quickly, anticipate them being open, & throw them open. It’s extremely important. Can Will improve his processing speed & anticipation? If so, he’ll be a great, because he has everything else. He’s not inaccurate (despite INT #s which were very misleading), he just throws a little late. He’ll test GREAT and look REALLY good throwing routes-on-air because he can make all the throws and is pretty accurate.
 
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BIG BLUE GURU said:
Kentucky may have a better quarterback fit now with Devin Leary than it had in 2022 with Will Levis.
Click to expand...

I agree, but you have to include Coen in that.

Coen + Will could have been a better fit….but we had SCANG.

I love the idea of Leary managing/QB’ing the game with Coen calling plays, and I expect that combo to make offense look easy.
 
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BIG BLUE GURU said:

First and 10: Why Devin Leary could be the piece that lifts Kentucky to unprecedented heights​

Matt Hayes | 4 hours ago



1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …
The long of the story looks like this: The significant injury and the surgery, and the transfer and the quarterback fit.
The short of the story: Kentucky may have a better quarterback fit now with Devin Leary than it had in 2022 with Will Levis.

​
But before we go further, an update on the injury and surgery — and the recovery. Dr. James Andrews, renowned orthopedic surgeon, is shocked that Leary, UK’s transfer quarterback, is already throwing again — after tearing the pectoral muscle attached to his right throwing arm straight off the bone in mid-October of 2022.
“We really feel like we hit a home run with him.”

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

First and 10: Why Devin Leary could be the piece that lifts Kentucky to unprecedented heights

Kentucky has been close. But Devin Leary plus Liam Coen feels ... perfect. Plus: SEC power rankings, Anthony Richardson's potential to go No. 1 overall and much more.
www.saturdaydownsouth.com
Click to expand...

Is that Jim Andrews the former UK center?
 
What made Levis effective in his best performances was his ability to make some key plays running defenders over.

Once that was taken away by a combination of injury and game plan, our 2022 was toast.

He was never an elite pocket passer.
 
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Interesting comparing S Bennett's stats with Leary over a 4 year period.

Total Yards Bennett had 8,429 and Leary had 6,807

Touchdowns Bennett had 66 and Leary had 62

Interceptions Bennett had 21 and Leary had 16

Of course Bennett had much higher talented players to deal with. And Leary missed part of one season. Without Leary missing a few games one season their stats would be even more similar.
 
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CapnBlubs said:
What made Levis effective in his best performances was his ability to make some key plays running defenders over.

Once that was taken away by a combination of injury and game plan, our 2022 was toast.

He was never an elite pocket passer.
Click to expand...
Even if Levis was an elite pocket passer, our O-line didn't give him enough protection to make reads. We never seemed to make adjustments to help Levis by rolling him out of the pocket or anything like that. Levis is certainly still a work in progress. But he's the type of player that NFL teams can mold.... at least they think they can.

Leary can definitely be a better college quarterback even if he isn't a better NFL prospect. I think the fact that he has Coen back calling the plays is just as a big a part of the optimism as the talent/skill discussion. If it were Scangarello calling plays again it wouldn't matter if we had 2016 Tom Brady in there.
 
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gossie21 said:
Even if Levis was an elite pocket passer, our O-line didn't give him enough protection to make reads. We never seemed to make adjustments to help Levis by rolling him out of the pocket or anything like that. Levis is certainly still a work in progress. But he's the type of player that NFL teams can mold.... at least they think they can.

Leary can definitely be a better college quarterback even if he isn't a better NFL prospect. I think the fact that he has Coen back calling the plays is just as a big a part of the optimism as the talent/skill discussion. If it were Scangarello calling plays again it wouldn't matter if we had 2016 Tom Brady in there.
Click to expand...
Agree with all that. Shame that Scangarello worked out so poorly...I don't think anyone saw that coming, at least to that degree.
 
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Two concerns;

1. o-line improvement
2. SEC defenses versus ACC

So lets pump the brakes a bit... (I know a Debbie downer)
 
BIG BLUE GURU said:
I think Leary will only be better than Levis at throwing the ball with better accuracy. Maybe he will be better at reading plays but that will remain to be seen. Levis was pretty much the complete package when you factored in his size, athleticism and physicality. I just dont see Leary being as Athletic or Physical. Who knows.
Click to expand...

My 7 year old daughter could read plays about as well as Levis. So if Leary isn’t any better then my god
 
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FltDoc said:
Two concerns;

1. o-line improvement
2. SEC defenses versus ACC

So lets pump the brakes a bit... (I know a Debbie downer)
Click to expand...
Our OL will be improved. How much, has to be proven on the field. It is getting a lot of March attention from Coach Coen, whereas I think Scangarello compartmented the OL more to Yenser's direct responsibility while Scangarello worked on play design and QB-receiver issues which probably interested him more. Coen is better at seeing the whole offensive unit as an integrated endeavor, in part because he has better understanding of NFL style defensive adjustments and better people skills. Scangarello prioritized his relationship with Levis whereas Coen is popular with all the players. As long as Marques Cox gets the job done on the left side, the OL will be improved. Horsey playing LG instead of LT is important. If Yenser and Coen find a solution at RT, even if it is an improved Flax, then we will really be in business. JMO.

SEC defenses are a step or two above ACC defenses. Part of it is speed in the front seven. Part of it is length and athleticism in SEC secondaries. But a lot of it also comes down to better, more aggressive defensive coordinators in the SEC. Over the last decade or so, many of the ACC's best coordinators have become head coaches in other conferences. This also happens in the SEC. But when an SEC program loses a coordinator, the replacement often comes from the NFL or from another SEC program and the financial inducement is >$1million.
 
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gossie21 said:
Even if Levis was an elite pocket passer, our O-line didn't give him enough protection to make reads. We never seemed to make adjustments to help Levis by rolling him out of the pocket or anything like that. Levis is certainly still a work in progress. But he's the type of player that NFL teams can mold.... at least they think they can.

Leary can definitely be a better college quarterback even if he isn't a better NFL prospect. I think the fact that he has Coen back calling the plays is just as a big a part of the optimism as the talent/skill discussion. If it were Scangarello calling plays again it wouldn't matter if we had 2016 Tom Brady in there.
Click to expand...

Nailed it.
 
Caveman Catfan said:
He has a deal with Malone’s so he can take his OL out to dinner each Sunday. :)
Click to expand...
Pretty sweet deal!

And he did an NIL deal with a Dodge Dealership, and is in a ‘23 Dodge Charger.

Late in a podcast interview, Leary mentioned he had no car as a frosh at NC State, so I’m glad he has a nice ride.
 
The-Hack said:
Pretty sweet deal!

And he did an NIL deal with a Dodge Dealership, and is in a ‘23 Dodge Charger.

Late in a podcast interview, Leary mentioned he had no car as a frosh at NC State, so I’m glad he has a nice ride.
Click to expand...
Interesting. That's how NIL was designed to work, the company compensating a player for his endorsement of their product, not millionaire boosters handing out cash.
 
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