‘Trying to get it going a little faster.’ Why UK’s offense is among slowest in nation.

Among the most common complaints about Rich Scangarello’s Kentucky offense last season was its plodding pace of play.

Scangarello may be gone, but two games into the 2023 season questions about the Wildcats’ offensive tempo remain. Of the teams that have played at least two games this season, Kentucky’s 112 offensive plays are more than just three of 132 teams.

“We are looking at things still to expedite the play calling, operation and getting out there,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Monday.

A sample size of two games is hardly enough to make firm conclusions about Kentucky’s offense.

A defensive touchdown and special teams touchdown in the opener against Eastern Kentucky limited the Wildcats’ number of offensive possessions. The defense’s struggles on third down have allowed opponents too many extended drives, cutting into Kentucky’s time with the ball. A rule change means the clock no longer stops after first downs except in the final two minutes of each half, dropping the total number of plays in most games.

But Kentucky’s pro-style offense, which sees players huddle between most plays to receive the call from the sideline, means the Wildcats will always be well short of high-tempo teams like Tennessee in total plays.

UK averaged 66.3 plays per game in Liam Coen’s previous season as offensive coordinator in 2021. With Scangarello leading the offense in 2022, Kentucky averaged 62.5 plays per game. Through two games this season, UK is averaging 56 plays per game.

“With the pro-style, the formations and the motions and the shifts, you’ve got to just continue to work them, continue to operate at a faster clip,” Stoops said on his radio show Monday in response to a fan’s question about the offensive tempo. “… We can do some things that we are looking at. Bottom line is yes, trying to get it going a little faster.”

After UK’s week two win over Eastern Kentucky, Coen, whose status for this week’s game against Akron is uncertain after he was hospitalized Sunday due to a medical episode suffered at UK’s practice facility, noted the frequent substitutions between plays, which can slow the pace of play, are partially a result of depth issues at wide receiver.

“It’s still a work in progress, because we have to have great communication in and out of the huddle, from the sideline to the huddle, making sure everybody is on the same page,” Coen said. “I can probably stay in some personnel groupings for more than a few snaps just to give them a little bit of chemistry, but that’s us trying to play with a lot of people.”

Complicating Kentucky’s pace of play is the adjustment quarterback Devin Leary must make playing in a pro-style offense for the first time in his career after transferring from North Carolina State.

There were at least a couple of plays in the opener where Leary called the wrong play from his wristband in the huddle. Against EKU, UK had to use a first-half timeout to resolve confusion about the play call in the huddle.

As Leary grows more comfortable in the offense, those communication problems can be expected to decrease. The smoother the operation, the faster the play can be communicated to each player and executed.

Coen’s offense also has the ability to go up-tempo at times, something the Wildcats used to some success against Ball State.

“We’ve also got to start utilizing tempo because we’re only getting so many plays out there,” Coen said after the EKU win. Coen has previously noted Leary is more comfortable when the offense plays with a faster tempo because of the no-huddle offenses he ran at N.C. State.

The good news is even with Stoops and Coen openly acknowledging the offense must find a way to run more plays, there have been successes too through two games.

Kentucky ranks 24th nationally in yards per play (6.88). UK is tied for 19th nationally in offensive plays of at least 20 yards (13).

The quality of defense Kentucky will face will increase in Southeastern Conference play, but the offense has proven its capability of converting explosive plays. If that trend continues against better competition, the offense can work well even if it averages less plays per game than Coen’s offense did in 2021.

And if Kentucky does find a way to run more plays, perhaps the offense can find the rhythm it has lacked for parts of the first two games.

“In the past, a lot of the offenses I’ve run in different schemes, a lot of it has been no-huddle tempo, so it’s a little bit of what I’m comfortable with,” Leary said. “But at the end of the day whatever he calls, whatever he wants the offense to operate, it’s my job to make sure we’re running it smoothly.”

Next game

Akron at Kentucky

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPNU

Records: Akron 1-1, Kentucky 2-0

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Series: Kentucky leads 1-0

Last meeting: Kentucky won 47-10 on Sept. 18, 2010, in Lexington

This story was originally published September 12, 2023 at 7:59 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription