Watch: Transfer QB Devin Leary throws his first touchdown pass as a Kentucky Wildcat

Devin Leary’s Kentucky football career is off and running, even if his first touchdown pass in blue and white took a bit longer than expected.

The former North Carolina State quarterback made his debut as a Wildcat on Saturday afternoon in UK’s 2023 season opener against Ball State at Kroger Field.

Leary, a senior who previously played four seasons at N.C. State, tossed his first touchdown pass as a UK player midway through the third quarter, finding wide-open sophomore wide receiver Dane Key near the back of the end zone for a short, 5-yard score.

Leary’s first touchdown pass as a Wildcat came about a quarter after his first interception as a UK player, and growing pains were evident throughout the first half of UK’s 2023 opener.

But, it’s clear that Leary and Key have quickly developed a strong on-field connection.

Kentucky’s first offensive play of the 2023 season was a 44-yard pass from Leary to Key, a local product from Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington.

Key led the Wildcats last season with six receiving touchdowns, and he now has a seventh for his young college career.

This story was originally published September 2, 2023 at 2:43 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

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Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription