Quarterback and former top-50 recruit Joey Gatewood is transferring to Kentucky
Quarterback Joey Gatewood, a former top-50 recruit coming out of high school, will attend the University of Kentucky.
Gatewood, who announced his transfer from Auburn in October, committed to the Wildcats’ football program on Thursday. He will have two years of eligibility after sitting out the 2020 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Gatewood will be a junior by the time he could play for Kentucky.
He announced his decision with a Twitter post. “I’ll be transferring to the University of Kentucky. #Wildcats,” Gatewood wrote.
Vince Marrow, UK’s director of recruiting (among other roles), is not allowed to comment on recruits until they have signed letters of intent. Quickly after Gatewood announced his decision, though, Marrow tweeted out the words “let’s go” with a fireworks emoji attached.
Recruiting websites 247Sports and Rivals each rated Gatewood as a four-star prospect in the high school class of 2018. He was an Under Armour All-American Game participant and was an early enrollee at Auburn.
247Sports rated Gatewood, as the No. 1 athlete in America, No. 9 prospect in the state of Florida and 49th-best recruit in that class. Rivals considered him the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback and No. 62 overall prospect in the country.
Gatewood played in eight games — one as a true freshman and seven this season — for the Tigers. This year he was 5-for-7 for 54 yards and two TDs, one in a 51-10 win over Arkansas and another in a 28-20 win over then-No. 17 Texas A&M. Gatewood rushed for 148 yards and two TDs on 29 carries this season; his best performance as a runner was in a 55-16 win over Kent State, in which he carried 12 times for 102 yards and two scores. He also rushed for a touchdown against then-No. 11 Oregon in Auburn’s season opener.
Bo Nix, a true freshman, beat Gatewood for the starting job at Auburn coming into the 2019 season. Last month he assessed Gatewood’s decision to transfer.
“I think everybody was a little surprised,” Nix told reporters. “Joey, he’s a great guy. I really wish nothing but the best for him. I mean, he was put in a bad situation and so, I mean, I don’t know what he’s going through, nobody else on the team knows what he’s going through but when we’ve talked, he’s in a good spot, he feels like.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 6:00 PM.
