Coen’s Offensive Return

Despite losing quarterback Will Levis and running back Chris Rodriguez, two premier offensive weapons off last year’s seven-win team, Kentucky has received a lot of national respect going into this season and has been a trendy top 25 pick.

Several preseason polls have UK in the top 25 including Pro Football Focus that has Kentucky as one of nine Southeastern Conference teams in its poll. The Cats are 19th ahead of Florida, South Carolina and Mississippi State and behind Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Much of the optimism centers on the return of offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who was at UK in 2021 when the Cats won 10 games before returning to the NFL in 2022. Quarterback Devin Leary, a transfer from North Carolina State, has turned heads and seems a perfect fit in Coen’s system based on the success he had at NC State before an injury sidelined him last year.

But Coen made it clear that two other transfers, Vanderbilt running back Ray Davis and Northern Illinois offensive tackle Marques Cox, could be the X factors for the Cats.

Davis played two years at Temple where he accounted for almost 1,500 yards rushing and receiving. He has also had 11 touchdowns. He transferred to Vanderbilt in 2021 and had over 1,000 yards rushing in 2022, including 129 in a 24-21 win over UK.

“He is a kid who is extremely intelligent. Good runners make great blockers and that’s what Ray Davis does. He knows all the schemes. He loves football and is a playmaker,” Coen said. “It’s in his DNA to help others. When he came into our building this winter all he wanted to do was dive into schemes. When a player does that, you can coach him on a different level.”

The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Cox made 33 straight starts at Northern Illinois before an injury in a loss at Kentucky last year ended his streak. But he still has over 2,000 snaps at left tackles and gave up just three sacks in 1,052 pass plays at Northern Illinois.

Coen said Cox earned immediate respect from UK teammates with his actions.

“He walks into the building with a big smile on his face. He is high-fiving and talking to everybody. You want people like that. That attitude is infectious,” Coen said. “And by the way, he’s a house. He’s a great kid and a big, big kid. We could not be more thrilled to have him part of the program and think he’s going to do some great things for our offense.”

Two returning players have Coen excited, too. He was a major reason receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key both signed with Kentucky expecting to play in Coen’s offense. They both had terrific freshmen seasons — Brown set freshman records with a team-best 50 catches for 628 yards along with a 100-yard kickoff return while Key had 37 catches for 519 yards and a freshman record six scores — but the return of Coen to direct the offense should help both players.

“They are two kids you love to be around. They are in the offices every day. They are positive influences. They are happy kids and they are talented,” Coen said. “We will see some peaks and valleys this season. Dane and Barion have to learn how to become more consistent receivers in the SEC week in, week out. Are they talented? Absolutely. But we have to get rid of some of the peaks and valleys.

“But Dane is a straight A student and might have been really ticked off that he got a B+. He is an unbelievable kid. Barion is a freak athlete that is still learning the techniques and details that go into playing receiver. I can’t wait to teach them some of the things I learned from being around great receivers with the (Los Angeles) Rams and I think both could have really special seasons for us.”