Barion Brown, Dane Key and Deone Walker may already be stars for UK, but there is work to do
Kentucky football fans should immediately notice at least one difference in Barion Brown when he takes the field for his second season as a Wildcat.
The star wide receiver and kickoff returner will wear No. 7 on his jersey after debuting as No. 2. Brown wore No. 7 in high school, lists his nickname on his UK bio as “B7” and even owns a diamond-encrusted B7 necklace, but Will Levis already wore No. 7 when Brown arrived in Lexington.
“I always wanted to keep it, but Will had it so I wasn’t tripping,” Brown said. “I knew when I had the opportunity I’d get it again. Being back in seven makes me feel better.”
For Mark Stoops’ squad to take a step forward in 2023, it will likely need more than cosmetic changes from Brown and his classmates entering their second season of college football.
In the era of the transfer portal, it felt like at times last fall no one in the UK locker room could afford to even admit there was still work to do from a group of freshmen that included Brown, wide receiver Dane Key and defensive lineman Deone Walker. The trio ended the season as Kentucky’s first Freshman All-Americans since Benny Snell in 2016. With even Stoops acknowledging traditional football powers were attempting to lure the Wildcats’ young talents away from Lexington, most of the focus down the stretch was directed at how Kentucky could showcase the trio better and facilitate the type of name, image and likeness endorsement deals that would make staying at UK financially viable.
But for all their 2022 production and future potential, Brown, Key and Walker are far from finished products. Since the start of spring practice it has become apparent UK’s coaches have laid out specific areas where the trio needs to makes strides this offseason.
“You know those young guys think they’ve arrived, they’ve made it,” defensive line coach Anwar Stewart said. “No, you haven’t. We’re going to just keep grinding them.”
Here is a closer look at areas where the three freshmen All-Americans are focused on improvement this spring.
Barion Brown and Dane Key
After ranking first and second on the team in receiving yards as freshmen, Brown and Key figure to be among the top options for new Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary in 2023, but for Kentucky’s offense to thrive the duo will be counted on for more than just catching passes.
“I think they learned the game is physical in the SEC,” offensive coordinator Liam Coen said. “Whether that’s press and defeating man coverage or whether that’s going and blocking safeties. I think they know they need to take the next step physically. That’s eating right, that’s sleeping, how you’re living off the field. It’s doing all the little things to put yourself in a position to gain weight and be successful or else we’re going to keep getting thrown around and be weak at the point of attack, which is obviously not what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
Both Brown and Key already report strength gains from winter workouts. The process continues into the summer.
“Last year, I was kind of going to the season a little blind with how my body needed to be, but now I know and figured out what I need to do for my body,” Key said. “So, now I’ve got my body prepared for the season. Just trying to maintain with it right now. Just trying to keep my body physically ready for the season.”
Deone Walker
It is still impossible to miss the 6-foot-6, 348-pound Walker on Kentucky’s practice field, but he does look slimmer when compared to his freshman season.
“Just work on my conditioning,” Walker said. “It can do a lot because I left so many plays out on the field last year that I feel like if I get a good year in, I’m going to have about a 50-60 tackle season.”
Walker’s high school coach predicted in an interview with the Herald-Leader in September a full offseason in a college strength and conditioning program would take Walker’s game to another level after he split time between basketball and football in high school. Early returns suggest that could be the case.
As Walker gets stronger, UK coaches are also cross-training him at multiple spots on the defensive line to increase his flexibility within the Wildcats’ 3-4 scheme.
“He ain’t done yet,” Stewart said. “He’s not there. He’s a big kid. We’re still working to get his weight down, using that length. He hasn’t even touched the talent that he can play at and the level he can play at. I’ve just got to keep pushing him, keep driving him.
“... Once he continues to get stronger, he’s just going to be dominant. That’s the thing. He’s so long and athletic, so big that once he gets his weight down and continues to eat up that weight room, the sky is the limit for that kid.”