‘We love him.’ Kentucky coaches, players preparing for life without Terry Wilson.
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It’s not definitive, but it seems as if the University of Kentucky football team will be without starting quarterback Terry Wilson for the foreseeable future, if not the remainder of the 2019 season.
An MRI was scheduled for Sunday to determine Wilson’s prognosis after suffering an injury to his left leg during UK’s win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday. He was brought to the ground on a horse-collar tackle and soon thereafter was carted off the field with 1:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Head coach Mark Stoops in his postgame news conference did not wish to speak to the severity of Wilson’s injury. Footage captured by WLEX-18 during the postgame handshake between Stoops and EMU head coach Chris Creighton showed Stoops apologizing for multiple UK pass plays that were called for backup quarterback Sawyer Smith, a graduate transfer in his first year with the program, in the final minutes.
“I had to just get him a few snaps, my guy’s out for the year,” Stoops told Creighton during their postgame greeting. Creighton apologized for the injury and Stoops said that what happened wasn’t his fault.
Stoops in his media availability said “we were just talking about the game” when asked about the conversation that occurred on TV. He had not yet spoken with Wilson since he was carted off the field.
“I hate to put that out there right now until we get a look at it,” Stoops said. “I think you all know that it doesn’t look good. Anybody that gets carted off on a cart like that and they put his knee in that deal doesn’t look good, right? Just wait until I get the MRI tomorrow.”
Wilson as a sophomore started every game of UK’s 10-3 season in 2018 and seemed more comfortable with the offense through seven quarters of play this season. He was 14-for-26 for 114 yards and had rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown before exiting Saturday’s 38-17 win.
Smith stepped in for the remainder of the game and was 5-for-9 for 76 yards and two touchdown passes. Stoops and offensive coordinator Eddie Gran spoke as if the offensive play-calling won’t change at all with Smith as the starter, if that comes to pass.
Gran said for a time he was concerned going into UK’s season opener against Toledo that the staff would need two game plans in the instance of a quarterback change.
“That was the best thing that I’ve seen after 29 practices,” Gran said of Smith’s ability to seamlessly back up Wilson.
“Sawyer is very effective,” Stoops said. “Maybe not quite as dynamic a runner as Terry but the reads will be the same. If he needs to, he’ll pull it and get the aggravating yards and move the ball on their defense.”
The play on which Wilson was hurt involved an illegal maneuver and was appropriately flagged by the officials, but UK on the same play was penalized for an illegal formation so it nullified a 19-yard gain by Wilson.
Stoops said that sequence of events could happen to any team.
“They run a good program and Terry is hard to get a hold of,” Stoops said. “I’m sure he just reached out and grabbed anything he could. …You got a runner running full speed like that and gets jerked back and the knee can’t handle that. It’s unfortunate, and I’m sure throughout the season there is a good chance we may get called for it one time this year, too. I hope not, but we certainly don’t teach that and I know they don’t teach it either.”
Creighton in his postgame comments praised Wilson and offered prayers and sympathies.
“He’s an absolute nightmare in terms of his athleticism when running the football,” Creighton said. “You have a guy who can throw and run the ball, that’s a tough recipe. ... I don’t know him, but it wasn’t good to see that happen.”
Kash Daniel said Wilson’s phone was probably blowing up with text messages and that he wanted to let the hysteria die down before he called him.
“That’s our brother out there. If I could …,” Daniel said, before pausing. “We’re just praying for him.”
Ahmad Wagner got to speak briefly with Wilson.
“The first time I saw him, he was walking to the locker room and I told him, ‘I’m praying for you man,’” Wagner said. “He’s our brother. We’re all hurt by what happened. … We love him, he knows that.”
It was a bittersweet postgame for Wagner, who was on the receiving end of a 54-yard touchdown pass thrown by Smith on his first pass attempt as a Wildcat. It was Wagner’s first career TD catch and a glimpse of what Smith brings to the table in the event he’s needed for the long haul.
“He wasn’t nervous when he stepped in,” Wagner said. “The first pass, he threw a touchdown. He’s ready to go. (He’s) a good quarterback.”
Lynn Bowden threw a 32-yard pass to Wilson earlier in the game and caught Smith’s second TD throw in the waning seconds.
“That boy, he can throw the ball just like Terry,” Bowden said.
He also got to speak with Bowden briefly.
“He told me he was good, so I’ll go with his word,” Bowden said.
Wilson was a great teacher throughout fall camp according to Smith. All of the quarterbacks on UK’s roster are close to one another, he said.
Neither Gran nor Smith would say who would be the next man on the depth chart after Smith if Wilson’s absence is extended. Wilson coming into the season was UK’s only quarterback who’d lettered; former Lafayette star Walker Wood is a sophomore but hasn’t gotten run due because of injuries.
True freshman Amani Gilmore joined the program in the summer along with fellow true freshman Nik Scalzo, who suffered a second tear of the ACL in his right knee last month. Sophomore Kolbe Langhi, a Christian County graduate, is a walk-on.
The only certainty is who’s up next if Wilson is unavailable.
“As a backup quarterback, especially at this level, you need to have two guys, three guys that are ready to go,” Smith said. “I think they have confidence in me to keep it going and I think that’s how it should be.”
Next game
No. 9 Florida at Kentucky
7 p.m. Saturday (ESPN)
This story was originally published September 8, 2019 at 2:28 AM with the headline "‘We love him.’ Kentucky coaches, players preparing for life without Terry Wilson.."
