Devin Leary led by example to earn respect as Kentucky's new quarterback

Devin Leary had no interest in coming in and commanding the locker room from day one. The NC State transfer didn’t demand respect from his new teammates because he was essentially a lock to start right away at quarterback. He also didn’t want to display superficial leadership as the new kid on the block.

The fifth-year senior simply wanted to let his work do the talking. Everything else would fall into place from there.

“I would definitely say I’m kind of a laid-back person, for sure. I could come off that way (shy),” Leary said Saturday. “But first, I just wanted to put my head down and go to work as soon as I got here. I didn’t want to be a super rah-rah guy or feel entitled to anything.

“It was my job to earn respect from players that have been here for a while. I just think the more that I practice and the more that I get around these guys, they can see my true personality. We’re only going to grow from here.”

Leading by example

Veteran lineman Eli Cox made it clear at SEC Media Days that Leary had done just that, quickly earning respect from his teammates thanks to his lead-by-example mindset.

“Devin is talented in his own way with his accuracy, his touch and his composure. He’s a really talented football player,” Cox said. “I think he’s just really self-aware of his leadership role that he has to have as a quarterback. I’m excited to have him in. He has fit in really well with the guys.”

Leary feels the love and is grateful for the opportunity, understanding the massive role he’s taking on at quarterback — especially as a one-and-done. It’s not easy spending four years shattering records at one school and then making a change for one final season of eligibility, becoming the potential face of a high-octane offense on short notice. And when he’s done, he’s done.

One shot to be an SEC quarterback at the University of Kentucky.

“I’m definitely honored to just be welcomed by these guys in the first place,” Leary said. “It was definitely new for me to transfer, leaving a school that I’m an alum of and coming in, trying to be the quarterback here. You know, It can be challenging. It can be something that’s looked at as a huge challenge, but it’s something that I truly embraced and something I really wanted to take on.”

What you see is what you get

In his short time on campus, he’s gone out of his way to make one thing clear: You’ll never have to question what you’re getting in Devin Leary. No roller coaster in his presence or mindset or work ethic. What you saw yesterday is what you’ll see today, tomorrow and every day forward.

“My job was to earn the respect of the guys, but just be me,” he said. “I think that was the biggest thing, just making sure that every single day they know what to expect out of Devin Leary. I’m just going to be myself every day. Now being able to have a relationship with every one of the guys in the locker room is pretty special.”

Putting it to the test on Saturday

Saturday was a big day for Leary to put his leadership and earned respect to the test in a live setting with Kentucky’s first scrimmage of fall camp.

What did his head coach think of his performance?

“Devin getting more full-go reps, it was really good for him to see and be comfortable in there,” Mark Stoops said Saturday afternoon. “There are things he did extremely well and some areas he will see that he needs to just be more patient and go through the progression.”

“The good part about it is that it’s practice. At the end of the day, we still get to go in and watch the film. You definitely felt some electric moments of what we can do offensively. Some things that are unacceptable that you can’t do,” Leary added. “The coolest thing walking away was that a lot of the guys on the offense understand what they did wrong. They understand they’re going to get in the film room as fast as possible to correct it, which is very good to see from an offensive perspective.”