It’s a transition year for SEC quarterbacks. Where does Kentucky’s Devin Leary fit?

JULY 19, 2023 10:55 AM
NASHVILLE
If you’re going to win in college football, much less the SEC, you’d better have a quarterback. The better quarterback the better.
In that regard, the nation’s toughest conference enters campaign 2023 in a state of flux. Gone are Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett and Alabama’s Bryce Young, the top three by conference QBR rating last season. Also gone are Florida’s Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, and Kentucky’s Will Levis, the No. 33 overall pick.
Talent holdovers exist. Arkansas returns KJ Jefferson. LSU returns Jayden Daniels. South Carolina returns Spencer Rattler. Mississippi State returns Will Rogers, who led the league in passing yardage a year ago.
How the season plays out, however, will depend greatly on the newcomers, the quarterbacks without the institutional knowledge of having taken a snap in a key moment in a key SEC game.
Kentucky’s Devin Leary is one of those quarterbacks. Leary isn’t new to the position or new to college football. He played four years at North Carolina State, throwing for 35 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions in 2021 before tearing the pectoral muscle on his right side six games into 2022.
The New Jersey native was the preseason ACC Player of the Year before last season. He’s known as a precision passer who can fit the ball in a mailbox when needed.
Ah, but he hasn’t played in the SEC. Not yet.
“I’m very high on Devin Leary,” SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers said Monday during opening day of SEC Media Days in Nashville. “I’m high on the Kentucky offense.”
Devin Leary was named preseason player of the year in the ACC before last season at North Carolina State. Now, he’ll see where he fits in the SEC hierarchy as the starting quarterback at Kentucky.
Devin Leary was named preseason player of the year in the ACC before last season at North Carolina State. Now, he’ll see where he fits in the SEC hierarchy as the starting quarterback at Kentucky. Ryan C. Hermens rhermens@herald-leader.com
In fact, Rodgers listed Kentucky as having the fifth best quarterback “situation” in the league, behind Georgia at No. 1, followed by LSU, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Georgia? Didn’t the Bulldogs lose Bennett, who led Georgia to back-to-back titles? Yes. Carson Beck, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior, was Bennett’s backup a year ago. He’s never started an SEC game. To Rodgers’ way of thinking, it doesn’t matter. The Dawgs just have so much talent.
“We’re not going to be controlled by outside narratives and what people say and who’s going to be the quarterback,” Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday in Nashville.
Same for Alabama, third on Rodgers’ list. There is no clear successor to Bryce Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner. After Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson competed in spring drills, Nick Saban brought in transfer Tyler Buchner, who played for new Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees at Notre Dame.
Then there’s Tennessee. Joe Milton actually began the 2022 season as the Vols’ starting quarterback before losing the job to Hendon Hooker, who was magnificent running Josh Heupel’s high-powered attack until tearing his ACL late in the year. Milton re-entered the starting lineup and played well. Can the former Michigan Wolverine with the ridiculously strong arm — his 80-yard throw at the Manning Academy went viral — do it over the long haul? We shall see.
The question marks don’t end there. Ex-Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz looks to be the starter at Florida. Jaxson Dart will try to fight off Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders at Ole Miss. Brady Cook must ward off Jake Garcia at Missouri. As the new offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, our old friend Bobby Petrino must choose between Conner Weigman and Max Johnson.
When the SEC media’s preseason all-league picks are announced this week, look for Arkansas’ Jefferson to lead the first-team list. LSU’s Daniels and Mississippi State’s Rogers shouldn’t be far behind. When it comes to the SEC, they’ve been there, done that.
As for Leary, he’s done it, as well, just not in this league. And not with his new team. Athlon ranked him as the conference’s fifth-best quarterback. Saturday Down South put him at No. 3. College Football News placed Leary at No. 2.
Then again, it’s where your quarterback ranks at the end of the year that counts.