Barion Brown Nearly Ran Kentucky to Victory Against Ole Miss

The freshman wide receiver was the quickest man on the field on Saturday in Oxford

Freshman wide receiver Barion Brown did all he could with his legs to try and swipe Kentucky a road win on Saturday.

Brown needed the ball in his hands just five times to notch a grand total of 245 all-purpose yards against Ole Miss. He did most of his damage on the kick return front. 

In three returns, the WR managed 164 yards, a killer 54.6-yard average. Two of the plays were oh-so-close to going for six points, but the Rebels managed to catch him both times. Brown said after the game that he thought both plays were going to the endzone when he hit his holes. 

💥 @BarionBrown!

📺 - @ESPN 📲 - https://t.co/hb6sCTTE2F pic.twitter.com/sDEuvVqlSs

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) October 1, 2022

“When I’m back there, something big will happen,” Brown said after the 22-19 loss. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Brown caught one of just two receptions, but as he always does, made a swift move up-field, turning a small third-down conversion into a 51-yard gain, setting Kentucky up at the Ole Miss 7-yard line. That final drive would come up empty via a Will Levis strip sack recovered by the Rebels, but the Cats wouldn't have been in that position in the first place if not for the lightning-quick freshman. 

Kentucky has gotten tastes of what the speedster can do throughout the season, but the results came in hot and heavy on Saturday, even drawing the attention of former Georgia and NFL running back Todd Gurley II: 

Yeah Brown From Kentucky like dat..

— Todd Gurley II (@TG3II) October 1, 2022

Through five games, Brown has 15 receptions for 282 yards and six kickoff returns for a whopping 286 yards. 

Saturday wasn't all positives for the freshman, however. Two passes from Levis down field grazed the fingertips of Brown, both of which would have completely turned the tides of Saturday's contest, setting the Wildcats up in the redzone or even going for scores. 

"We felt like we had a couple of opportunities, (Brown) missed the one there late in the last drive as well, just out of reach," Mark Stoops said of Brown after the loss. "He'll continue to work on that, I expect him to make that play. I've seen him make it in practice...he's a very talented young man and he also plays extremely tough."

Stoops went on to mention that Brown wasn't fully healthy, which unfortunately was a common theme for the Cats in Oxford. 

"They'll be fine, but it was a rough game, a bunch of our guys got beat up. We're just sore, beat up and bruised," Stoops said. 

Though Brown's performance wasn't enough, he noted that the team wasn't taking the loss in a bad way. While a freshman, he's already showing that maturity that becomes engrained in Stoops-coached players: 

“We really weren’t too much down on ourselves because we know we can still reach the goals we have set," Brown said. "Just come ready to work on Monday.”

For more on Kentucky's loss to the Rebels, click here.

Game Balls for the Wildcats

Post-game notes on the UK loss

Five Takeaways from the SEC tilt

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