Devin Leary at his best: Kentucky starting QB's time at NC State shows how good he can be

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Devin Leary had peaks and valleys in his first game at Kentucky.

The Wildcats' new starting quarterback went 10 for 11 with a touchdown in the second half of the team's 44-14 victory over Ball State last week, completing his first eight passes after halftime. In the first two quarters, however, he was just 8 of 20 with an interception. In sum, Leary had 241 yards on 18-of-31 passing (58.1%).

Afterward, he admitted it was not his "best performance." So what could Leary look like at his best?

Three questions precede that: How did he fare in his first start each season at North Carolina State? What did his follow-up effort in Game 2 look like? And what were his numbers at the end of each season?

To find the answers, The Courier Journal looked back at his five seasons with the Wolfpack and compared his numbers against previous UK signal-callers during Mark Stoops' time with the program, which dates back to 2013.

(Note: UK had more than one player start games at quarterback in various seasons the past decade. For those years, the player highlighted was that season's primary starter. Determining "best game" accounted for quality of opponent, as contests versus Power 5 foes carried more weight than Group of 5 or FCS schools.)

Devin Leary at N.C. State

Leary's 2019 season

First start: 17 for 45 (37.8%), 149 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs; 64.0 passing efficiency rating (44-10 loss to No. 23 Wake Forest)

Second start: 14 for 29 (48.3%), 166 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 96.4 PER (55-10 loss to No. 5 Clemson)

Best start: 19 for 31 (61.3%), 227 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 133.4 PER (28-26 loss to Georgia Tech); this was Leary's fourth start (of five) in 2019

Final numbers: 101 for 210 (48.1%), 1,119 yards, 8 TD, 5 INTs; 104.7 PER in eight games (Leary came off the bench in three games in 2019.)

Leary's 2020 season

First start: 28 for 44 (63.6%), 336 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT; 157.8 PER (30-29 win over No. 24 Pittsburgh)

Second start: 11 for 25 (44.0%), 184 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 124.2 PER (38-21 win over Virginia)

Best start: vs. Pittsburgh (see above)

Final numbers: 66 for 110 (60%), 890 yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs; 148.3 PER in four games (Leary came off the bench his first appearance in 2020, completing 12 of 16 passes for 165 yards and touchdown in a loss versus Virginia Tech. He then suffered a season-ending injury in his final start in 2020: a 31-20 win over Duke).

Leary's 2021 season

First start: 17 for 26 (65.4%), 232 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 158.0 PER (45-0 win over South Florida)

Second start: 30 for 49 (61.2%), 303 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 115.8 PER (24-10 loss to Mississippi State)

Best start: 32 for 44 (72.7%), 238 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT; 148.2 PER (27-21 double-overtime win over No. 9 Clemson); this was Leary's fourth start in 2021

Final numbers: 283 for 431 (65.7%), 3,433 yards, 35 TDs, 5 INTs; 157.0 PER in 12 games (all starts)

Leary's 2022 season

First start: 17 for 33 (51.5%), 211 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 109.2 PER (21-20 win over East Carolina)

Second start: 16 for 25 (64%), 238 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT; 196.8 PER; also ran for 2 TDs, the only game of college career in which he has scored more than once on the ground (55-3 win over Charleston Southern)

Best start: vs. Charleston Southern (see above)

Final numbers: 118 for 193 (61.1%), 1,265 yards, 11 TDs, 4 INTs; 130.9 PER in six games (all starts)

Analysis: Aside from 2020, when he started with a bang against then-No. 24 Pittsburgh, Leary normally has needed a few games to settle in. After redshirting in 2018, Leary took over as the Wolfpack's starter late in 2019, starting the final five games that season. His best outing came in his fourth start, a close loss at Georgia Tech. His fourth start also was his best in 2020, when N.C. State upset No. 9 Clemson to end an eight-game losing streak to the Tigers. He was even better in 2021 — the only year in which he was healthy for an entire season — as he set N.C. State's single-season mark for TD passes (35, one more than the legendary Philip Rivers' total in 2003).

Kentucky quarterbacks under Mark Stoops

Maxwell Smith, 2013

First start: 15 for 23 (65.2%), 310 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT; 221.5 PER (41-7 win over Miami of Ohio)

Second start: 9 for 20 (45%), 109 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 90.8 PER (27-13 loss to No. 7 Louisville)

Best start: 25 for 38 (65.8%), 254 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT; 139.3 PER (27-14 loss to Tennessee); this was the season finale in 2013

Final numbers: 105 for 183 (57.4%), 1,276 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT; 131.1 PER in nine apperances

Patrick Towles, 2014

First start: 20 for 29 (69%), 377 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 189.5 PER (59-14 win over UT Martin)

Second start: 17 for 31 (54.8%), 170 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 111.5 PER (20-3 win over Ohio)

Best start: 24 for 43 (55.8%), 390 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT; 147.3 PER; also ran for 2 TDs, the only game of UK career in which he scored more than once on the ground (45-31 loss to No. 1 Mississippi State); this was Towles' eighth start in 2014

Final numbers: 225 for 393 (57.3%), 2,718 yards, 14 TDs, 9 INTs; 122.5 PER in 12 games (all starts)

Patrick Towles, 2015

First start: 16 for 34 (47.1%), 257 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 133.8 PER (40-33 win over Louisiana Lafayette)

Second start: 21 for 29 (72.4%), 191 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 121.1 PER (26-22 win over South Carolina)

Best start: 22 for 27 (81.5%), 249 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT; 183.4 PER (21-13 win over No. 25 Missouri); this was Towles' fourth start in 2015

Final numbers: 183 for 326 (56.1%), 2,148 yards, 9 TDs, 14 INTs; 112.0 PER in 11 games (nine starts)

Stephen Johnson, 2016

First start: 11 for 19 (57.9%), 135 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 107.1 PER (17-10 win over South Carolina)

Second start: 13 for 22 (59.1%), 89 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 93.1 PER (34-6 loss to No. 1 Alabama)

Best start: 16 for 27 (59.3%), 338 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 193.7 PER (41-38 win over No. 11 Louisville); this was Johnson's eighth start in 2016

Final numbers: 145 for 265 (54.7%), 2,037 yards, 13 TDs, 6 INTs; 130.9 PER in 12 appearances (nine starts)

Stephen Johnson, 2017

First start: 11 for 20 (55%), 176 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 145.4 PER (24-17 win over Southern Miss)

Second start: 15 for 22 (68.2%), 224 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 168.7 PER (27-16 win over Eastern Kentucky)

Best start: 17 for 25 (68%), 196 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT; 173.5 PER (28-27 loss to No. 20 Florida); this was Johnson's fourth start in 2017

Final numbers: 189 for 316 (59.8%), 2,305 yards, 10 TDs, 6 INT; 127.7 PER in 13 apperances

Terry Wilson, 2018

First start: 11 for 18 (61.1%), 78 yards, 0 TD, 2 INTs; 75.3 PER (35-20 win over Central Michigan)

Second start: 11 for 16 (68.8%), 151 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 176.8 PER (27-16 win over No. 25 Florida)

Best start: 17 for 23 (73.9%), 261 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 203.6 PER (56-10 win over Louisville); this was Wilson's 12th start in 2018

Final numbers: 180 for 268 (67.2%), 1,889 yards, 11 TDs, 8 INTs; 133.9 PER in 13 games (all starts)

Lynn Bowden, 2019

First start: 7 for 11 (63.6%), 78 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 153.2 PER; ran for 196 yards and 2 TDs on 24 carries (24-20 win over Arkansas)

Second start: 2 for 15 (13.3%), 17 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 22.9 PER; ran for 99 yards on 17 carries (21-0 loss to No. 10 Georgia)

Best start: 1 for 2 (50%), 4 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 66.8 PER; ran for 284 yards and 4 TDs on 22 carries (45-13 win over Louisville); this was Bowden's seventh start in 2019

Final numbers: 35 for 74 (47.3%), 403 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs; 98.3 PER in 13 games (eight starts); ran for 1,468 yards and 13 TDs in 185 attempts

Terry Wilson, 2020

First start: 24 for 37 (64.9%), 239 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 122.6 PER (29-13 loss to No. 8 Auburn)

Second start: 14 for 18 (77.8%), 151 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 148.2 PER; ran for three TDs, marking only time in college career he scored more than once on the ground in a single game (42-41 OT loss to Ole Miss)

Best start: 12 for 15 (80%), 101 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 158.6 PER (34-7 win over No. 18 Tennessee); this was Wilson's fourth start in 2020

Final numbers: 124 for 199 (62.3%), 1,194 yards, 7 TDs, 4 INTs in 10 games (nine starts)

Will Levis, 2021

First start: 18 for 26 (69.2%), 367 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT; 230.9 PER (45-10 win over Louisiana Monroe)

Second start: 10 for 18 (55.6%), 179 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 146.3 PER (35-28 win over Missouri)

Best start: 14 for 17 (82.4%), 145 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT; 212.2 PER; also ran for 75 yards and 2 TDs on 11 carries (42-21 win over LSU); this was Levis' sixth start in 2021

Final numbers: 233 for 353 (66%), 2,826 yards, 24 TDs, 13 INTs; 148.3 PER in 13 games (all starts)

Will Levis, 2022

First start: 21 for 32 (65.6%), 303 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 169.9 PER (37-13 win over Miami of Ohio)

Second start: 13 for 24 (54.2%), 202 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 130.3 PER (26-16 win over No. 12 Florida)

Best start: 18 for 24 (75%), 220 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT; 179.5 PER (22-19 loss to No. 14 Ole Miss); this was Levis' fifth start in 2022

Final numbers: 185 for 283 (65.4%), 2,406 yards, 19 TDs, 10 INT; 151.9 PER in 11 games (all starts)

Analysis: Throw out the 2019 season, when receiver-turned-quarterback Bowden rarely passed, and there's a common theme in the other nine: Every quarterback needed time to record their best outing. The earliest any of the nine quarterbacks had their season-best performance was Game 4, for Towles (2015), Johnson (2017) and Wilson (2020). Kentucky QBs have rarely gotten out of the gate hot. Before Levis passed for more than 300 in back-to-back season openers (2021 and 2022), no Wildcat signal-caller had surpassed the 300 mark since Towles in 2014, which came one season after Smith did the same.

FINAL WORDS

Takeaway: History, both Leary's as well as UK's decade under Stoops, has shown establishing a rhythm at the game's most important position rarely happens overnight. And that's doubly true this fall given that Leary arrived as a transfer, forced to learn yet another offensive playbook after playing in several systems with the Wolfpack. Expect improvement Saturday versus Eastern Kentucky. If history is an indicator, Leary and the offense should be humming along by midseason, provided he can avoid the injury bug that plagued him at N.C. State.

Kentucky vs EKU football first look: Story lines, key players, odds, more

'We've got to get better': 3 takeaways from Kentucky football's lopsided win over Ball State

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky football: Analysis of QB Devin Leary's best games in college