Devin Leary cleared to play against Alabama

The speculation is ending early. After a few days of uncertainty, Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen confirmed following Tuesday’s practice that Devin Leary will be ready to play Saturday afternoon against Alabama.

“Devin [Leary] will play this weekend,” Coen shared with the media.

Leary was unable to finish the game on the field at Davis Wade Stadium Saturday night. Pressured on more than 47% of his 23 drop-back passes, he was able to evade the Mississippi State rush almost every time.

A hit late in the third quarter temporarily sent him to the sideline. He returned to the action for another series, but was ultimately replaced by Kaiya Sheron for the bulk of the fourth quarter. After the game Mark Stoops said Leary was benched because he was unable to read the plays.

“He had something going on, something in his eye,” Mark Stoops said after the win. “That was leading to reading the (play) card (wrong). That’s why things were taking a long time there late. Hopefully he’ll be fine, we’ll see.”

The head coach said on Monday that Leary’s vision has improved, but did not clarify if the quarterback would actually be able to play against Alabama. Coen cleared that up for us Monday night while filling in for the second half of the Mark Stoops Show.

“Devin’s a competitive kid and he wants to be out there and play for us this Saturday, and that’s the goal,” Coen said. “He’s doing everything he can to put him in a position to be able to play on Saturday and we’re expecting him to be available and be ready to go.”

Leary is only completing 57.1% of his passes this season for Kentucky, but the NC State transfer has improved since the bye week. He’s tossed four touchdowns, 528 yards and zero interceptions in the last two weeks.

It sounds like Kentucky is trying to squash speculation, while giving the Cats a little leeway if he does have a setback prior to kickoff. Nevertheless, plan on seeing Devin Leary against Alabama.

***The Kentucky quarterback spoke with the media Tuesday night. You can hear more from him this evening on the KSR YouTube Channel.***

If you were subscribed to KSR+ you heard about this first on KSBoard. Take advantage of the BIG GAME SPECIAL to get bonus coverage of Kentucky vs. Alabama, including live game threads, practice reports, an in-depth scouting report, and the latest recruiting intel. 50% off the annual price or $1 for 1 month.