Unselfishness Leads to Breakthrough for Kentucky Wide Receivers

It’s difficult to quantify the development of the Kentucky wide receivers throughout the 2025 season. Allow me to use one of my favorite Freddie Maggard lines: “They couldn’t play dead in a Western” at the start of the season. Over the last month, they’ve helped Cutter Boley earn the title “freshman phenom.”

How did it all happen so fast? At one point, they couldn’t get open or catch contested passes. Now they’re running free and creating explosive plays.

Some of that credit goes to the scheme changes made by Bush Hamdan. Boley’s ball placement helps as much as his leadership, but the receivers and their coach deserve plenty of individual credit for taking steps forward, despite the early-season struggles.

A Hat Tip to L’Damian Washington

L’Damian “LD” Washington was one of the few coaching changes made this offseason after Daikiel Shorts’ abrupt departure for Nebraska. Upon his arrival, he emphasized that this must be a blue-collar group that wasn’t afraid of hard work. That hard park has paid dividends.

“LD’s done a remarkable job, he really has. He does a great job at recruiting. He handles the room extremely well,” Mark Stoops said earlier this week. “They’ve been very unselfish, and they’re getting better. They’re developing.”

Senior wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin believes Washington has struck the right balance with the wide receiver room. He’s demanding, and yet he puts an emphasis on having fun.

“He holds us to a high standard, even the younger guys. That’s what I love about him,” said Maclin. “He holds those younger guys (accountable) like they’re vets. He’s teaching them veteran things early and holds us all to that standard. He’s really big on relationships, really big on having fun while we’re doing it because it’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers.”

The devil is in the details. When you do the little things right all of the time, it manifests in big plays.

“Our coaches, they stress things like blocking, the little things, and I think that’s why we’ve gotten better,” said Maclin. “We come in here consistently every day in practice and do the work, hone in on those things every day. We love each other, we love playing for each other. I think that’s the biggest thing is the relationship we have outside of the field that translates to on-field success.”

Wide Receivers are Unselfish

One of the biggest questions ahead of the season was, “Who’s the guy at wide receiver?” Kentucky simply didn’t have a go-to target on paper, nor did one emerge during fall camp. What was seen as a negative has turned into a positive.

“Being unselfish is the starting point,” said offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. “In a way, maybe because there wasn’t one single guy that just took it over initially.

“So much of wide receiver play goes down to embodying the whole position: physicality on the perimeter, that’s been the starting point for that group, which has created explosive plays. There’s a focus on execution, playing fast. I’m just proud of the group as a whole because it just seems like every week, somebody new is ready to step up when we need ’em, and I think that’s the mark of a great unit.”

Typically, “selfish” is a more appropriate word to describe diva wide receivers. Many Kentucky football fans expected Maclin to be the go-to guy after he performed well at the end of the 2024 season. Instead, it’s been Alabama transfer Kendrick Law. Despite the development, Maclin has remained engaged, ready to make impactful plays when his number is called.

“There’s another guy who could’ve shut it down three, four, five weeks ago, and in back-to-back games in critical situations is still there, still making plays for us,” said Hamdan. “I’m appreciative of those guys, that group. I’ve coached them for 8-10 years. Sometimes it’s a hard group to coach, but this group this year, there’s been a level of unselfishness, a level of mentorship from the older guys to a talented younger group, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Players like DJ Miller and Cam Miller have stolen the limelight from upperclassmen like Maclin and Fred Farrier. It could have created jealousy. Instead, the older guys have set their egos aside and celebrated the entire room when a wide receiver makes a big play.

“I don’t really worry about my success on the field or what’s not happening in my life,” said Maclin. “Just impacting those guys and being a good mentor and a good leader for them, teaching them how to go about their everyday practice, how they go about life in general, it’s been really fun to watch those guys go in and have the success they deserve. They work hard for us, so I’m proud of them.”

Kentucky had a wide receiver culture problem in the past. This year, it’s been the exact opposite, and a big reason why the Wildcats have a chance to end the year on a high note.