UK was ‘dream come true,’ but Towles knew he needed fresh start

Former University of Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles, now a fifth-year senior at Boston College, still hopes the NFL is in his future.

That’s why he had to transfer and leave his beloved Bluegrass state, he told The Boston Globe.

The onetime Highlands star, who is still battling sophomore Darius Wade for the Eagles’ starting job, said playing for the Cats “was like a dream come true. It was what I wanted for my entire life.”

But the pressure to succeed in Lexington was even greater than he anticipated.

“It’s great when everything’s going well,” Towles told The Globe. “Everybody’s patting you on the back, saying how good you are. That’s awesome. You love that stuff. But when stuff gets bad, you just feel like you’re not only letting your team down, you’re letting your whole home state down. Whether that’s the case or not, it’s just the nature of the beast. … It’s very humbling, but also very draining and stressful and all that kind of stuff.”

After losing his starting job near the end of last season, Towles struggled with the decision to leave UK.

“You could see the writing on the wall,” Towles told The Globe. “I just felt like I wasn’t meant to be there for my fifth season. My teammates were incredible. I was given every opportunity to succeed — I’m not going to say that I didn’t — but I wasn’t, for one reason or another. My goal my entire life has been to play in the NFL, and when things aren’t leading to that, you’ve sometimes got to make a change. If what you’re doing doesn’t add up to what you want it to be, then you’ve got to make a change.”

For more on how Towles’ spirituality contributed to his decision to leave Lexington, and on how he’s settling in at Boston College, check out The Boston Globe’s story here.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 9:52 AM with the headline "UK was ‘dream come true,’ but Towles knew he needed fresh start."