Can Will Levis return for Kentucky football in time for Mississippi State? Stoops isn’t sure.

It is unlikely anyone needed Kentucky’s 24-14 loss to South Carolina to know that star quarterback Will Levis was essential to the Wildcats’ chances of a special season.

But just in case there was any lingering doubt, the failure of the offense to mount any consistent scoring threat while Levis watched from the sideline offered clear evidence. Now, the question is how much longer the projected first-round NFL Draft pick will miss.

“I’m not sure,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said after the loss when asked if Levis would only miss one game. “… It’s been day-to-day and it’s day-to-day. So I can’t tell you how that’s going to respond.”

Levis at least sounded more optimistic about his return, telling the SEC Network crew before the game he should be ready to go for next week’s game against No. 23 Mississippi State. Following the Bulldogs’ 40-17 blowout of Arkansas, it certainly seems improbable that the offense Kentucky displayed without Levis would be capable of scoring enough to hang with Mississippi State Coach Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense if he cannot play.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kaiya Sheron, who had not attempted a pass in a college game before Saturday, actually held his own for most of his first career start, but Kentucky’s game plan made it clear coaches did not trust Sheron to bring the same big-play threat to the offense as Levis or the much-maligned offensive line to protect him long enough for downfield passes to open.

Sheron completed 15 of 27 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but 114 of those passing yards and one touchdown came on a late fourth-quarter drive with the outcome already decided. At the end of three quarters, Sheron had completed just 6 of 10 passes for 63 yards.

“Will can do things that I can’t,” Sheron said, acknowledging the game plan was more conservative with him at quarterback. “He’s a very talented guy, first-round draft pick, in my opinion and a lot of people’s opinions.”

Even though Stoops and offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello went out of their way to account for Sheron’s inexperience, the former Somerset High School star might have done enough to escape with a victory if not for the mistakes around him.

Kentucky’s first play from scrimmage was a disaster when a pitch from running back Chris Rodriguez to wide receiver Barion Brown was deflected by a South Carolina defender. The Gamecocks recovered the fumble on Kentucky’s 2-yard line and scored the first touchdown of the game on the next play.

Special teams miscues returned with a blocked punt and a missed field goal. Freshmen wide receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown both dropped passes that hit them in the hands on two of the few attempts of any distance from Sheron. Kentucky was flagged for five false start penalties.

“Just really didn’t ever find a rhythm probably,” Scangarello said. “You want to take shots down the field, but you’re concerned with protection and different things at times. You don’t want to make a mistake. The defense is playing really good in the first half, so you felt like they were in the game.

“You were willing to be conservative with a young player. That’s how it played out. We missed some opportunities on third down. Dropped ball, assignment mistake in protection. It was really just not good.”

If Levis can return to the field for Kentucky’s game against Mississippi State, there is hope some of those issues can be fixed by his elite arm talent alone.

But it’s not like Kentucky’s offense was running at full capacity even with Levis at quarterback.

The Wildcats entered the weekend ranked 126th of 131 teams nationally in sacks allowed, then they surrendered six more sacks to a South Carolina team that had recorded just four sacks in its first five games. Scangarello has spoken repeatedly this season about the need for Levis to avoid unnecessary hits in order to prolong his career, but no fix for Kentucky’s protection issues appears to be coming.

Stoops did not elaborate on Levis’ injury other than to say it involved his foot. Earlier Saturday during “College GameDay,” ESPN reporter Pete Thamel said the injury was turf toe, but UK has not confirmed that diagnosis.

If Levis is already dealing with one foot injury that appears to require rest to heal, how long can Kentucky count on him to be on the field if he continues to be sacked at least three times per game? Levis also dislocated the middle finger on his non-throwing hand during the Ole Miss game, but that injury did not require surgery.

“I have to own it, evaluate in every way,” Scangarello said of the protection issues. “You’ve got to be better at it. It’s hard to drop back and throw if the pocket is on top of you or the quarterback doesn’t move up in the pocket when they give him good protection, which I thought happened tonight as well.”

Levis and other players were quick to note all their preseason goals remained on the table after the loss at Ole Miss a week ago. The South Carolina defeat does not technically eliminate UK from the SEC East race, but it puts those hopes on life support with Tennessee and Georgia both still undefeated in SEC play.

Stoops admitted that the hangover from the Ole Miss loss might have contributed to the listless performance against South Carolina despite a week spent trying to avoid that scenario. With Mississippi State next week followed by an off week and then a trip to Tennessee, Kentucky must now worry about a once promising season spiraling out of control quickly.

“You take this feeling,” Rodriguez said. “Do you want to feel like this next week? Especially when you know you’re the better team, you don’t want to feel like that. It ain’t a good feeling.”

Levis returning to the field appears essential to Kentucky avoiding a disastrous finish to the season, but the need for him to play does not change his recovery timetable.

“I’m not trying to play any games with anybody,” Stoops said. “It’s an injury that when he can play, he will play.”

Levis was not the only Wildcat missing against South Carolina.

Linebacker Jacquez Jones and right tackle Jeremy Flax also missed the game. Starting wide receivers Tayvion Robinson and Key picked up injuries in the second half and did not return.

The mounting injury list makes it less likely Levis can fix Kentucky’s problems on his own, but the South Carolina loss proved Kentucky can’t fix those problems without him.

“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you,” Stoops said. “We’ve got to get back up. I told them — challenged them. Get in the ice tub, get in the training room, get healed up and we’ve got to get back at it.

“We play a really good team coming in next week and we have to regroup and we got to get back to who we are.”

Next game

Mississippi State at Kentucky

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: SEC Network

Records: Mississippi State 5-1 (2-1 SEC), UK 4-2 (1-2)

This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 7:00 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription