Mark Stoops wanted Kentucky to be more balanced on offense. It got there quickly.
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Citrus Bowl preview: Kentucky vs. Iowa
The University of Kentucky football team concludes its 2021 season Saturday against Big Ten West Division champion Iowa in the VRBO Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Click below to view all the stories previewing the game that have been published on Kentucky.com.
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About this time last year, Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football program announced the hire of Liam Coen as the school’s new offensive coordinator.
The call to make that personnel change — one that Stoops, at the time and in the time since, has described as one of the toughest in his career — was made with a primary goal: bring balance to an offense that for three straight seasons finished last among all 14 Southeastern Conference teams in passing.
The markers of progress were plenty for UK’s offense in 2021 but as far as that box goes, it got a big check mark. After finishing with a passing total in 2020 that barely ranked ahead of the service academies, UK averaged 225 yards through the air this season. That was good for 10th in the SEC, and 71st nationally — 53 spots better than the year before.
It did that while maintaining its proficiency on the ground. UK finished fifth in the league at 206.1 yards per game, putting it at 431.1 for total offense. Its finish in that category nationally, 44th, was its highest of the Stoops era (the previous high? 61st in 2016). Kentucky scored at its highest clip under Stoops, too; the Cats averaged 33.3 points per game, good for 29th in the country (in his tenure it finished in the top half of the nation only once before, again in 2016, when it averaged 30 ppg, 58th nationally).
The apparent trajectory has already delivered in terms of the level of offensive talent willing to sign with UK. The Cats last week signed two top-200 prospects in offensive tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin and wide receiver Barion Brown, both considered five-star recruits by at least one service. Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson, a former four-star prospect in the 2019 class, will call Kentucky home next season, as will Auburn transfer Tashawn Manning, an offensive guard.
Coen was key in the recruitment of several of UK’s class of 2022 recruits, including Brown. The transformation of Wan’Dale Robinson — from a gadget-like running back to a full-time, record-breaking wide receiver — was an eye-opener on the recruiting trail. Robinson going into Kentucky’s game against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl had 94 catches, a single-season school record, for 1,164 yards and seven touchdowns.
“I think the system does show that we’re able to get our best player the ball in multiple different ways,” Coen said. “Not everybody is going to be Wan’Dale, and that’s not really the goal. The goal is to spread the ball around, have the talent to do so, and have the players be able to step up and have confidence from us and from his teammates that other guys are going to be able to make plays.”
Robinson’s role at Kentucky was similar to that of Cooper Kupp in the Rams’ offense under Sean McVay, under whom Coen learned for three seasons before getting hired at UK. Kupp gets the lion’s share of targets — 151 of 469 through week 14 — but the remainder are spread fairly evenly among the rest of L.A.’s receiving corps and tight ends.
“It’s not all just about the one guy,” Coen said. “We need to continue to develop and recruit those skill players at the receiver position, and I think that some of that was attractive to some high school and transfer receivers. That’s what we’re trying to do, is raise the standard of the room.”
Future receivers
UK’s offensive coordinator was asked about the outlook for some of Kentucky’s newest signees. Here’s what he had to say.
Dane Key: “I couldn’t be more excited, especially that he’s coming in mid-year. That’s a huge thing for him and for us, because we just get so much more time to develop and work with Dane. He’s football smart, his dad’s a coach, great family. Obviously from here in Lexington, he’s comfortable with our players. He’s comfortable with being here. And he’s talented as all get out. We’re extremely excited about him, his development through the spring. He’ll have a chance to play early.”
Barion Brown: “(He’s) a kid that’s extremely dynamic. In the return game, any time you put the ball in his hands he has a chance to go score. That was the big thing for us this recruiting class, was getting guys that can go take a hitch and score, take a slant and score. Barion’s the type that can make a play any time he touches the football.
Tayvion Robinson: “Obviously older, has some playing experience, dynamic at Virginia Tech in a lot of ways. Also in the return game has been very helpful. He’ll add some confidence and leadership and just a little bit of veteran savvy to a room that’s losing a few older players that have played a lot of snaps. We’re extremely excited about Tayvion.
Jordan Anthony and Brandon White: “Speed. Him and Brandon White, it’s truly speed we were looking for to develop and to bring into our program, that we need. We need to continue to get faster at the receiver position and overall as an offense to complement the physicality that has already been provided here. I think that those two do that for us in a big way.”
Next game
No. 22 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Iowa
What: VRBO Citrus Bowl
When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1
Where: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
TV: ABC-36
Records: Kentucky 9-3, Iowa 10-3
Series: First meeting
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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