In difficult spot, Kentucky football offense shows why it needs Liam Coen, Devin Leary
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Music City Bowl game day: Iowa 21, Kentucky 0
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Iowa football game in the Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn.
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As Kentucky football and Iowa made their final preparations before Saturday’s Music City Bowl, dozens of Nashville-area peewee football players were welcomed to the Nissan Stadium field.
Perhaps in that group was the next Destin Wade, the 2021 Mr. Tennessee Football for Division 1, Class 6A who made his college debut as Kentucky’s starting quarterback in the game. Wade and his twin brother, UK outside linebacker Keaten Wade, as well as freshman wide receiver Barion Brown were once in those peewee football players’ shoes stepping onto the field where the Tennessee Titans play their home games.
At that moment, Wade surely dreamed of one day playing in the stadium himself. Against Iowa, that dream came true.
But the result was not what Wade hoped for in a 21-0 loss to Iowa, Kentucky’s first shutout loss since October 2019.
“I saw a young man that has a bright future,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said. “Destin was put in a tough situation today. There will be a lot of armchair quarterbacks that sit back and want to critique this guy, but I’ll tell you right now let them go back there and play against that defense and see how easy that is. It’s a tough row to hoe.”
Even 10 years ago the idea of a freshman quarterback making his college debut in a bowl game would have been unthinkable.
But in the age of the transfer portal and bowl opt-outs, Kentucky coaches were left with little option other than to play for the future against Iowa.
Normal quarterback Will Levis, who is expected to be selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, opted out of the game as he works to return to full strength in advance of pre-draft workouts. Running back Chris Rodriguez, who ranks third on UK’s career rushing yards list, also decided not to play in the game. Kentucky’s wide receiver depth was hurt with four rotation players entering the transfer portal since the end of the regular season.
Stoops listed Kentucky’s starting quarterback on the pre-Music City Bowl depth chart as Wade or redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron or sophomore Deuce Hogan. Hogan, who transferred from Iowa to UK last winter, opened the season as Levis’ backup but was passed by Sheron and Wade early in the regular season. Sheron started one game, a loss to South Carolina when Levis was sidelined by turf toe.
Wade was the only quarterback in the group yet to appear in a game. The three quarterbacks split reps in early bowl practices, but Stoops and company narrowed in on Wade as the starter before the team left Lexington in advance of the game.
Rated as a four-star athlete in high school, Wade’s running ability was seen as an important advantage in a difficult matchup against an Iowa defense that entered the day ranked fourth nationally in yards allowed per game (277.9) and sixth in points allowed per game (14.4).
“We came in here to compete to win, but I also wanted to let Destin play,” Stoops said. “I wanted to see the future and what he looks like and give him an opportunity to just go out there and play ball within the confines of our offense, our system.”
Wade might have ended the 2022 season as Kentucky’s starter, but he is unlikely to open 2023 in the same position.
Earlier this month, UK signed N.C. State transfer Devin Leary, the top-ranked quarterback available in the transfer portal at the time. Leary’s 2022 season was ended after six games by a torn pectoral muscle, but he was one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which goes to college football’s best quarterback, in 2021.
That season, Leary threw 35 touchdowns and just five interceptions. If healthy, that accuracy combined with a deep group of receivers led by Brown and fellow freshman Dane Key could make Leary even an upgrade over Levis.
But when Stoops announced Leary’s addition on signing day he stressed the fact that the former N.C. State star would serve as a one-year bridge between Levis and the young quarterbacks already on the roster. Since Wade played all but the final drive of the Music City Bowl, it seems a fair assumption Stoops was primarily referring to him as the player expected to take the reins of the position in 2024.
While the final statistics were ugly — 16-for-30 for 98 yards and two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns — there were glimpses of why coaches are high on Wade’s potential.
He showed the ability to turn broken plays into gains with 29 yards on 16 carries. Multiple attempts at deep passes to Brown were just fractions off, but the misses were not due to a lack of arm strength.
Perhaps most impressively, Wade rarely looked overwhelmed by the moment despite facing the pressure of making his debut against one of the nation’s best defenses in his hometown.
“It just felt like I was playing at home basically, so not really much nerves,” Wade said. “Just that first snap and that first hit, for me I just feel ready to go after that.”
But there are only so many positives to take from a shutout loss.
Wade was clearly not ready to lead Kentucky to victory yet. Another year serving as Leary’s understudy looks necessary before Kentucky could possibly feel confident about him as the starter.
In the meantime, Kentucky must hope Leary bounces back from his injury without any delay. Stoops expects Leary to be available for spring practice, but it would make sense to be cautious with his rehab given the lack of other starter-ready options at the position.
Kentucky is expected to announce the return of Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen to Lexington in January after the NFL regular season ends. How Coen views the quarterback options is uncertain, but he surely was at least consulted about the Leary addition and was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator in 2021 when Wade signed with the program as a high school quarterback.
This was supposed to be the year Kentucky’s offense took another step forward with a first-round pick at quarterback, the SEC’s leading returning rusher at running back and a gaggle of impressive young receiving options arriving on campus. Instead, the offense floundered, costing coordinator Rich Scangarello his job after the regular-season finale.
Being shut out in a bowl game was in some ways a fitting end to a year characterized by offensive struggles. But if Stoops has his way, the Music City Bowl loss might be remembered as the day Kentucky’s hit rock bottom finally turning potential into production.
“It’s a tough spot, but (Wade) manned up and did some good things,” Stoops said. “We needed to play very well around him. We talked about it all week, that it’s not just on the quarterback or any one player. We needed to do some good things around him, and I think in certain areas we fell short.
“It’s not a time to point fingers. We’ll all accept it, but we know we’re going to grow from this. And I know he’s going to grow from this.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 5:22 PM.
