Kentucky is only team with two players among top-20 in all-purpose yards

On3 imageby:Adam Stratton09/05/22

AdamStrattonKSR

Kentucky football has been spoiled with one dependably electric playmaker for the last several years. Whether it has been Wan’Dale Robinson, Lynn Bowden, or all the way back to Randall Cobb, there has almost always been one player who makes fans hold their breath when he touches the ball in the open field; one player who might take it to the house with the slightest of openings.

Now, Kentucky might have two.

With one week of college football in the books, Kentucky is the only school in the nation with two players who rank in the top 20 when it comes to all-purpose yards.

Tayvion Robinson racked up 136 yards in the passing game and tacked on another 25 with an impressive punt return to give him 161 total. That ranks him 20th amongst all FBS players.

Barion Brown put up 45 yards in the receiving game but catapulted Kentucky’s second half with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He had 125 total return yards on the day, giving him a total of 166 all-purpose yards, good for 18th in the country.

The SEC has only one other player (Ainias Smith for Texas A&M) with more all-purpose yards than either Brown or Robinson, highlighting how unique their do-it-all skill sets are.

Is this an extremely small sample size? Yeah, of course. Is Barion Brown going to return a kickoff for a touchdown every game? Hopefully, but unlikely, considering Derrick Locke last achieved that feat for the big blue in 2009 in a win over Louisville. But does Kentucky have two explosive speedsters capable of turning any touch into a highlight reel?

Absolutely.

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2024-03-28