‘Especially tough decision’ leads to UK QB Joey Gatewood’s exit from program
University of Kentucky quarterback Joey Gatewood has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Head coach Mark Stoops announced Gatewood’s intentions at a press conference on Sunday, and the QB followed through on that decision Monday.
Gatewood transferred to UK ahead of the 2020 season after spending his first two seasons at Auburn. He made his only career start against Georgia last year in place of Terry Wilson, who started every other game but sat out that one with a hand injury.
Gatewood’s decision came following Stoops’ announcement to the team that Will Levis, a transfer from Penn State who joined the program this summer, will start at quarterback going into the Wildcats’ season opener against Louisiana Monroe.
After meeting with the quarterbacks as a group, Stoops spoke with Gatewood privately. He knew that that decision would not sit well with the former top-50 recruit, who at Auburn lost out on the starting job to Bo Nix, then a true freshman.
“I told him how much I appreciate how hard he’s worked, and I know he’s been through this before so I knew it would be an especially tough decision, not what he wanted to hear,” Stoops said. “We had a good talk. He handled it completely professional. I really appreciate him. At that point he did inform me that he thought it would be in his best interest to enter his name into the portal, so that should happen here soon. ...
“I have great respect for Joey. He believes he can go somewhere and be a Power Five quarterback and a difference-maker, and I believe that as well.”
Stoops conferred with Gatewood about publicly unveiling his decision to enter the portal before doing so.
With Gatewood now in the portal, he cannot practice with the team. Stoops said Gatewood and Beau Allen would be competing for the No. 2 position on the depth chart if Gatewood were to remain at UK.
“He has to make a decision very quick,” Stoops said. “It’s in his best interest to get to a new location prior to school starting. If he’d enrolled here, that would count as a calendar year for him, and that would set him back. That’s not good for his future.”
Stoops said that, as of Sunday, if he had listed Gatewood as the definitive no. 2 quarterback with Allen as the No. 3 player on the depth chart, it would not have been fair to Allen, indicating that he’s performed at a high level in camp.
“That wasn’t fair to Beau,” Stoops said. “Beau’s done a very good job. … Each young man deserves the proper opportunity, and he’s earned that right to get a lot of reps with the 2’s.”
Per NCAA rules, to qualify for an immediate eligibility waiver, players had to transfer before July 1. Gatewood would not have been immediately eligible before that cut-off date, regardless, since he has already once transferred between FBS programs.
“If you wait another week, then he’s trapped here, so I thought it was the right decision to let him know where we stand,” Stoops said. “And he appreciated that.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2021 at 6:23 PM.
