Watch: Kentucky football star Barion Brown shows speed with another kick return touchdown

For the second year in a row, Barion Brown has stolen the show during UK football’s season-opening game.

In 2022 as a freshman, Brown made an instant impact on special teams with a 100-yard kick return score against Miami (Ohio).

On Saturday afternoon, he ran another kickoff back for a score.

Brown took a late third-quarter kickoff back 99 yards for another return touchdown, this time pushing UK’s lead over Ball State to a commanding 37-14 score.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Brown again figures to be one of the nation’s best kick returners.

Last year, Brown finished the regular season ranked 31st in the country and fifth in the SEC in kickoff return average at 28.3 yards per return.

Brown was the only player in the country with a pair of 80-plus yard kickoff returns last season.

His score against Miami (Ohio) marked the first UK kick return for a score since Derrick Locke against Louisville in 2009.

Now, Brown has ensured the gap between Kentucky kick return touchdowns was a far shorter one.

This story was originally published September 2, 2023 at 3:00 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

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