By LARRY VAUGHT
One adjustment that has been a bit easier for Kentucky freshman receiver Anthony Brown than other new college players is the “toughness” factor because he played at Springfield (Ohio) High School for coach Maurice Douglass, a former UK defensive back.
“I come from a high school that preaches toughness,” said Brown. “That’s pretty big. My transition from high school to college from a toughness standpoint was pretty good. You are going to see bigger guys in college, but I was ready for it. Coach Douglass emphasizes working in the weight room and on and off the field. That helped me be ready for college.”
The 5-10, 170-pound Brown had 83 catches for 1,626 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2022, including six catches for 106 yards and one score in the Division I state title game. He also averaged 26.9 yards per kickoff return and 16.6 yards per punt return.
He had a lot of college options including Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Penn State and Tennessee.
“They not only recruited me but also recruited my family. As much as (recruiting coordinator) Vince (Marrow) talked to me, he also checked on my mom, step-day, siblings. He told me how crazy BBN was and he was right. I love coach Vince. He is a big role model in my life. I just love him being my coach.
His brother, Michale Brown-Stephens, is a receiver at Minnesota and helped Brown with his recruiting process. “I can always learn from his mistakes and also learn from what he is doing to add to my game,” the UK freshman said. “I kind of felt like I had an edge at an early age because I had an older brother who helped me a lot.”
Receivers Barion Brown, Dane Key and Dekel Crowdus all became mentors to the Ohio freshman on his visit to UK and continued to do that after he enrolled at Kentucky in January.
“Dane and Barion both really went off as freshmen. Those are good people to be behind and learn from and see what they can do,” Anthony Brown said. “All the receivers have been great helping me. They all told me to get in the playbook because if you don’t know the plays, you can’t play. I want to take my opportunity and run with it like Dane and Barion did last year.
Kentucky also set up for Anthony Brown to talk to former UK star receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
“Wan’Dale was a big role model for me,” Brown said. “What he did in that offense when coach (Liam) Coen was here was big for me. Seeing how explosive he was in that offensive impressed me a lot.”
Marrow believes Brown is a better receiver coming into college than Lynn Bowden or Wan’Dale Robinson were because he’s been a full-time receiver in a college-style offense.
“Just knowing the basics of being a receiver has helped me a lot,” Brown said. “Those are two great players for Vince to compare me to but I look at myself as my own person. I am thankful to be compared to them. I think I am a dynamic player. I have speed but my biggest asset as a receiver is I can get open.”
Anthony Brown didn’t know Liam Coen was returning to UK as offensive coordinator when he signed with the Wildcats. He committed when Rich Scangarello was UK’s offensive coordinator.
“I had some thoughts he (Coen) might be coming back but I didn’t know. I love coach Coen. You could tell immediately when he got here that it had a big impact on the team,” the freshman said.
He’s also a big fan of transfer quarterback Devin Leary after working with him during spring practice.
“I love Dev. He hit me up about watching film and I do a lot with him. He has the tightest spiral I have ever caught. I love catching the ball from him,” Brown said. “Our relationship gets better daily. I love to study and watch film and so does he.
“I look at how to run routes. I am not much on looking at defenses yet. I have got to learn the basics and how to run routes the right way here. It can be a grind but I am loving it.”
Our Savior Lutheran (N.Y.) coach Peter Wehye knows plenty about Kentucky’s incoming freshman class as he has coached against DJ Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw, Justin Edwards and Rob Dillingham.
“The scoring core coming in is crazy and those guys are tough to lock in,” Wehye said about UK’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class. “What I tell everybody is that the toughest thing for a coach to do is coach talent and (UK coach John) Calipari does it every year.
“A non-talented team is easier to coach. They listen, they abide, they will run through a wall for you. When you have great talent, you have to be different. I think what coach Cal does every year is amazing.”
Kentucky only has two current returning players and seven scholarship players overall but Wehye always pays attention to what Calipari does.
“A lot of the stuff he uses, we use in our practices. One of my mentors, Dana Dingle, played for him at UMass,” Wehye said. “We get a chance to get some insight on what Cal is doing.
“Cal is exceptional at getting guys to buy in, run through a wall and play hard nose and blue collar basketball. I think he’s really going to do great with this group he has coming in.”
Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary has been on campus since January after transferring from North Carolina State for his final collegiate season and told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg in an interview that everything has been “exactly” what coach Mark Stoops told him it would be.
“He told me throughout my recruiting process that he was going to surround me with the best guys in the country, and at the end of the day, they’re going to get me ready,” Leary told ESPN.
Leary likes having offensive coordinator Liam Coen back at Kentucky after spending the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Rams.
“It’s really cool to see how (quarterback) Matt Stafford can operate in that offense, how (receiver) Cooper Kupp runs routes and how (receiver) Odell (Beckham Jr.) runs routes, and then as soon as we leave that meeting of watching those guys, we go out on the field and run the same exact plays,” Leary said.
“So from a transitional standpoint of seeing how the offense translates to the next level, it’s been awesome.”
Leary was sensational in 2021 when he threw for 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns when NC State went 9-3 and got a win over Clemson. His 2022 season ended early due to an injury.
Former Kentucky standout Bam Adebayo played a huge role helping eighth-seeded Miami get to the NBA Finals against Denver.
Just like he did at Kentucky, he credited his mother for helping him develop confidence to be a leader.
“I know I talk about her a lot. I hope she doesn’t call me during media,” he joked. “But it’s been my mom because she’s been a leader in my life, since I’ve been born.
“Seeing my mom go through every adversity, all the adversity she’s been through. My mom walked to work. My mom was a single parent. We lived in a single wide trailer. I lived off of $12,000 a year from my mom. Having that type of person lead, I feel like it was just bound for me to be able to get in that mold.
“Definitely uncomfortable when you first start being — when people start looking at you and saying you have to be more vocal, you have to be a leader of the ship. I just look back at those days how my mom just lived for me, and it was by example.”
He said he always had the “will to lead by example” but was not always vocal.
“Every moment in the moments of truth, I’ll take the chair, and it counts for whatever it counts for, maybe once or twice a game, just depending on it. I feel like it’s by example, and I’m the person that if you’re going through something, I will come to you and talk to you,” he said. “Everybody has their different versions (of leadership).”
Adebayo has become a stabilizing force for Miami, especially on defense. He’s a physical player just like he was at Kentucky and depends on film, not analytics, to prepare himself.
“I definitely do watch film, look at tendencies, look at plays, see if I can see hand motions to see what types of plays they’re running,” he said. “Just the little things, the little details that you don’t look at throughout a game, I try to find the little things in the film.”
Kentucky defensive line coach Anwar Stewart appreciates working for defensive coordinator Brad White and says the coordinator is “huge” when it comes to UK’s success.
“He’s a very smart, but he actually listens to your ideas,” Stewart said. “Brad is the type of guy if we are going to play a team and that coach is new to the SEC, he will go back three seasons and watch every game that OC (offensive coordinator) coached until he gets the feeling he is dialed in,” Stewart said.
“He leaves no stone unturned. He’s great to work for, a great family guy. That’s one thing I really love about him.”
Stewart says White is even keeled and not “too wired up” but when it is “time to do, it’s time to go” with the UK defensive coordinator.
“Our game plans are amazing. He understands our strengths and weaknesses,” Stewart, a former UK player, said. “He understands how to help certain guys in certain coverages. He knows what blitzes to attack teams with.
“Coach (Mark) Stoops will come in and give his two cents worth but Brad is the captain on defense and it’s great working for him.”
Running back Jamarion Wilcox of Georgia has arrived at Kentucky and the four-star recruit could become a factor in UK’s offense this season. Wilcox ran for over 2,000 yards in 2022 and is a strong, powerful runner capable of picking up yards after contact.
Wilcox amassed 2,382 all-purpose yards in 2022 and was ranked as one of the most physical running backs in the 2023 recruiting class.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops likes a back who can help control the clock in the fourth quarter if the Cats have a lead and Wilcox could become that back possibly like Benny Snell and Chris Rodriguez did.
Kentucky beat Auburn, Ohio State and Clemson to sign Wilcox.
Quote of the Week: “I always loved basketball. Couldn’t afford the equipment for hockey at the time. Basketball was the easiest thing to give me. I just fell in love with it. The only thing I wanted to do. Night and day, it made me happy, and still does to this day,” Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray on how he grew up in Canada playing basketball instead of hockey.
Quote of the Week 2: “Good luck to Big Oscar! He did UK proud in his short time on and off the court. Leaving is the best decision. When you win every player of the year award like he did a few years ago each time you come back to school your value goes down because (NBA) scouts find more holes in your game,” former UK basketball player Reggie Hanson on Oscar Tshiebwe’s decision to stay in the NBA draft.
Quote of the Week 3: “Since I’ve been in the league, there have been 23 head coaches fired. When they add a ninth game, that percentage is only going to go up,” Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops on the possibility of the SEC adding a ninth league game.