If Kentucky football’s right at quarterback, 10 wins are on the table

Quarterback play.

If Kentucky is to accomplish anything of significant consequence in 2021, it must be completely confident that Will Levis is the guy who can lead a brand new offense and a stable of mostly unproven wide receivers.

There are plenty of reasons to think UK’s football team will be just fine this fall. It has an All-America offensive tackle anchoring one side of the Big Blue Wall, which fortified itself via the transfer portal this offseason. It has an All-Southeastern Conference-level talent at running back. It has a mishmash of seasoned veterans and talented newcomers on defense, the type of combination that the Cats have more or less maximized over the last couple of years. It has a rejuvenated Mark Stoops in the saddle eager to remind people why he came to Lexington in 2013.

“I said it when I got to Kentucky that we were going to recruit, we were going to develop, we were going to compete, and I wanted to take this program to national prominence, and people laughed at me,” Stoops said during his SEC Media Days appearance last month. “We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way. I’m going to continue to work. I feel good about where we’re at.”

But “just fine” might not be fine for a fan base coming off a losing season (albeit under precarious circumstances) in which UK once again failed to deliver a balanced offense despite months of chatter about that being a goal of great priority. After all the shake-ups that have occurred between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Kentucky needs to come out of this year with a few more wins than losses, and a passing ranking better than dead last in the league, where it has finished three straight seasons. Merely making a sixth straight bowl game won’t feel like as much of an accomplishment if those other benchmarks aren’t met.

Levis is the anointed face of this new era. Stoops seems sure of the decision, enough so that a negative consequence thereof — the transfer of former star recruit Joey Gatewood away from the program — should end up as a footnote rather than a headline. However, quarterback depth has plagued UK along multiple stops during Stoops’ tenure, and is now a potential issue in a season where it seemed to be the least-pressing concern for the position group. Homegrown star Beau Allen is the definitive No. 2 behind Levis, with true freshman Kaiya Sheron and sophomore Nik Scalzo competing for the right to be two hard hits away from making their first appearances in a UK uniform.

Quarterback play. If Kentucky can’t figure that part out, it will probably be “just fine,” but fans can kiss a special season goodbye.

The team

Key losses: Quarterback Terry Wilson transferring to New Mexico for his final year of eligibility was a by-product of the staff changes on offense. Drake Jackson (center) and Landon Young (left tackle), starters going back to Mark Stoops’ earliest bowl teams, were snatched up by the NFL. Jackson’s absence is the more imminent concern; he was near-flawless in the middle of the line and his replacement will be expected to be, too. Nose guard Quinton Bohanna, a sixth-round pick, is vying for a starting job with the Dallas Cowboys. Defensive tackle Phil Hoskins could have played a seventh year of college football but also tried his hand at the pros. Their presences will be missed as the defensive front reboots. And, of course, Jamin Davis, who had a meteoric offseason that ended with him getting drafted in the first round; UK’s linebacking corps again runs the risk of being thinner than planned this season.

Rising star: Does Wan’Dale Robinson count? He has only been on the roster for eight months after transferring from Nebraska, but the former Mr. Football winner out of Western Hills High School has all the tools to be a menacing wide receiver in the SEC, assuming new offensive coordinator Liam Coen can manifest the quarterback-friendly offense that he has promised to deliver. Robinson likely will be part of UK’s return game, a prospect that has helped put him on the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award, for which he was a finalist as a true freshman in 2019. Robinson was the Cornhuskers’ best receiving threat and one of their best rushers, but getting out of the backfield was a motivator behind leaving Lincoln; Kentucky counts just one proven commodity (Josh Ali) in its receiving corps, and there are no raw talents on par with where Robinson is as a player, so passes aplenty should be coming his direction.

Biggest area of concern: If you exempt quarterback from the discussion (see: introduction), then Kentucky’s depth at wide receiver next jumps out as a potential Achilles heel for the offense. It’s not so much that there aren’t a lot of bodies, as is the case with the linebackers, but more so that most of the guys still in the building are as green as it gets. Isaiah Epps is a senior, but a foot injury has kept him off the field more than on it over the last two years; if healthy all season, he projects as a promising contributor and the easiest No. 3 option. Sophomore DeMarcus Harris caught 14 passes last year — second to Ali among returning wideouts — but was inconsistent in his first real season of play. From there any number of newcomers could figure into the mix depending on situation and/or work ethic; true freshman Chauncey Magwood impressed in the spring, as did junior walk-on Rahsaan Lewis. Michigan State transfer Tre’Von Morgan hasn’t gotten (or earned) the kind of hype that Robinson has received, but one expects him to be eager to restart his career. Izayah Cummings, a sophomore out of Louisville, seemed positioned to become a threat for the Wildcats this season, and still might, but he worked with the tight ends following Keaton Upshaw’s injury and will more likely line up in those spots when called upon in 2021.

Most important unit: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s quarterback. Whoever’s under center will stand behind one of the best offensive lines in the country, have a bulldozer in the backfield and at least one go-to threat in the receiving corps. The plays should be there; can Will Levis make them? Can Allen, too? Sheron? Health is crucial; Kentucky hasn’t gotten a full season out of a quarterback since 2018, and two years ago had to start a wide receiver at the position (paging Wan’Dale Robinson).

Big Blue Meter

The 2021 season is a success if: Kentucky has correctly identified Will Levis as the best quarterback on its roster and gets a full 12-game regular season out of him. All the necessary pieces — proven veterans with tons of SEC experience, talented newcomers with high upside, an exciting new offense, a reliable defense and a friendly schedule — are there for UK to win up to 10 games in the regular season; only Georgia jumps out as an immediate write-off. That’s a lofty goal, but an eight- or nine-win season should be well within reach.

The 2021 season is a disappointment: If the revamped offense proves to have much more bark than bite, especially in SEC play. Winning fewer than eight games in the regular season — a result that would likely reflect Kentucky having dropped two games in which it was a betting favorite — would be bothersome, but easier to stomach if the offense shows signs of evolving beyond the stale form it has assumed the last few years.

2021 UK football schedule

(Home games in all capital letters)

Sept. 4: LOUISIANA MONROE, Noon (SEC Network)

Sept. 11: MISSOURI, 7:30 (SEC Network)

Sept. 18: CHATTANOOGA, Noon

Sept. 25: At South Carolina

Oct. 2: FLORIDA

Oct. 9: LSU

Oct. 16: At Georgia

Oct. 23: No game

Oct. 30: At Mississippi State

Nov. 6: TENNESSEE

Nov. 13: At Vanderbilt

Nov. 20: NEW MEXICO STATE

Nov. 27: At Louisville

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 7:00 AM.

Josh Moore

Lexington Herald-Leader

Josh Moore covers the University of Kentucky football team for the Lexington Herald-Leader, where he’s been employed since 2009. Moore, a Martin County native, graduated from UK with a B.A. in Integrated Strategic Communication and English in 2013. He’s a fan of the NBA, Power Rangers and Pokémon. Support my work with a digital subscription