UK’s future is bright at wide out

Published 4:30 pm Thursday, March 30, 2023

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ESPN/SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic considers himself a fan of Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen and is anxious to see how he will use the receivers he has at UK this season.

“Kentucky is loaded at wide receiver,” Cubelic said on his weekly podcast. “This is as deep as Kentucky has ever been at wide receiver, and it’s not even close. It has never been like this. They probably have four guys that could be your No. 1 receiver. They are that good.”

He thinks sophomores Dane Key and Barion Brown will be “fantastic” based on what both did as freshmen and thinks Tayvion Robinson could have a big year under offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Cubelic also expects a big jump from sophomore speedster Dekel Crowdus.

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The wild card could be true freshman Anthony Brown. Cubelic has been told he’s handling college football like a “professional and not messing around” on or off the field.

“He’s putting forth the work,” Cubelic said. “They have four or five very capable receivers, but (Anthony) Brown really seems to be impressing a lot of people.”

When Cubelic heard that Brown was being compared to Wan’Dale Robinson from a body control aspect, bouncing off tacklers and being shifty, Cubelic said it made “my eyes open and ears perk up” immediately.

“I know how great Wan’Dale is,” Cubelic. “If you design an offense around three or four guys that is much more difficult to defend.”

Cornerback Jantzen Dunn transferred to UK from Ohio State this season. He practiced and played with some of the nation’s premier receivers last year. Dunn confirmed Cubelic’s evaluation of UK’s receivers.

“I honestly believe that Barion and Dane are at the level that I was competing at Ohio State,” said Dunn. “Those guys are really good and so are a lot of the other guys.”

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