Devin Leary Selected by Ravens in Sixth Round of NFL Draft
Kentucky senior quarterback Devin Leary was chosen in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens as the 218th overall pick in the 2024 National Football League Draft, it was announced Saturday in Detroit.
Leary, a 6-foot-1, 217-pound quarterback of Sicklerville, New Jersey, transferred to Kentucky in January of 2023 after four seasons at NC State. He went 17-9 as a starter and left NC State ranked sixth in school history in career passing yards (6,807) and fourth in career completion percentage (.602). In 2022, he had the Wolfpack clicking on all cylinders to start the season with a 5-1 record and a top-15 national ranking. He completed 118-of-193 passes for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns when he suffered a tear in his right pectoralis major.
Following a surgery and almost a year of not playing, Leary returned to the gridiron in 2023 to lead the Wildcats to their school-record eighth consecutive bowl bid. He started all 13 games and threw for 2,746 yards, the ninth-highest single-season mark in Wildcat history, and 25 touchdowns passes which ranked second in the SEC. His 25 TD tosses were the most for a UK quarterback since Andre’ Woodson in 2007.
Leary finished his collegiate career with 9,553 yards and 87 career passing touchdowns.
Off the field, he graduated from NC State in December of 2022 with a degree in sport management.
Additional Wildcats selected in the 2024 NFL Draft have been cornerback Andru Phillips (third round, Giants), linebacker Trevin Wallace (third round, Panthers) and running back Ray Davis (fourth round, Bills).
The 2024 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light kicked off Thursday, April 25 at 8 p.m. ET with the first round. Rounds 2-3 were Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m. ET and Rounds 4-7 are Saturday, April 27 at noon ET in Detroit’s downtown Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. All rounds will be covered on NFL Network, NFL+, the NFL Channel, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
Kentucky/NFL Draft Notes:
- This is the fourth straight year that UK has had at least three players drafted, the first time that has happened since the 1987-90 drafts.
- UK has had four players drafted for the third time in the last four seasons (also 2021, ‘22).
- Leary is the 28th player drafted who played under head coach Mark Stoops at Kentucky, the fourth player in the 2024 draft, joining defensive back Andru Phillips, linebacker Trevin Wallace and running back Ray Davis. Twenty-four of those selections have come in the last six drafts.
- This is the second straight draft to have a UK quarterback selected, joining Will Levis (2023).
- UK has had at least one player taken in the first three rounds in six straight seasons, the first time that has happened since the 1975-80 drafts.
- There have been two other Wildcats drafted by the Ravens, who were established as an expansion franchise in 1996: Derek Abney (2004) and Za’Darius Smith (2015).
