The Kentucky Wildcats picked up a dominating upset win over the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies this past Saturday, thanks in part to a massive third-quarter explosion on offense. A big part of the offense’s success is due to the emerging success of freshman wide receiver Kenny Darby, who has emerged as one of the team’s better receivers thus far through three games (two of which were against SEC opponents).
In Week one against Youngstown State, the four-star freshman caught three passes for a combined 74 receiving yards and a touchdown. He followed that up with five catches for 45 yards against an elite Alabama secondary.
Then, there was this past Saturday against Texas A&M. In the beginning, things were not going his way as a touchdown pass slipped right out of his hands but Darby was able to redeem himself in a big way quickly. He had just two catches on the day, however; he made one of the biggest plays of the game. Early in the third quarter, before Kentucky blew the score wide open, Kenny Minchey hit Darby for a 42-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats the lead.
After Saturday’s big win, Will Stein was asked about Darby during his weekly Tuesday press conference, and there was no shortage of praise for the developing freshman.
“Kenny is a football junkie. He loves it. He practices like a madman every single day,” Stein said. “If we ever have a walk-through, he’s literally going full speed. I’m like, dude, you got to slow down. This is not full speed. Like, he only knows one speed, and he loves it. He’s really intelligent. His football IQ is high. The sky’s the limit for that kid. I think he’s gonna continue to get better this year. And he’s great with the ball in his hands too, which is the sign of, I think, a really good receiver.”
Darby has shown some significant growth very early on in this season, and from hearing head coach Will Stein’s comments, his mindset in practice seems to match the intensity that he likes to bring in actual games. If he continues trending in this direction he could easily be considered one of the better receivers this program has seen in many years.
The 2-1 Wildcats now set their eyes on South Alabama this coming Saturday. The Jaguars are also 2-1 on the season with their loss being at the hands of Tulane.
Coach Will Stein addressed the media and here is what he had to say about the upcoming matchup.
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