If Will Levis misses more time, Destin Wade could have a role to play at QB for Kentucky
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Preview: No 22 Kentucky vs. No. 16 Mississippi State
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Mississippi State football game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Kroger Field in Lexington.
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Will Levis has returned to practice this week for Kentucky football and looks set to return to the field Saturday against No. 16 Mississippi State.
“Right now, it seems like he’ll be healthy barring any setbacks,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said on Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference.
The best-case scenario for the No. 22 Wildcats against a Mississippi State team on a three-game winning streak is Levis starting and playing up to his billing as a likely first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. But if Levis does miss more time this season or is limited by the foot injury that caused him not to play in the loss to South Carolina, the Wildcats’ backup quarterback situation remains uncertain.
Redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron made his first career start against South Carolina, completing 15 of 22 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but there was a plan for another quarterback to play against the Gamecocks if needed.
During his pregame interview with the UK radio network, Mark Stoops revealed coaches had developed a package of plays for freshman Destin Wade, a former four-star recruit who has spent most of the season as Kentucky’s scout team quarterback.
“We didn’t get to that point, obviously, with the way the game played out,” Stoops said Monday. “We would love to get Destin in there a few plays and a package and see, but the game didn’t play out that way. So, we’ll see where it goes in the future.”
While he is fourth on the depth chart, Wade is the most mobile of Kentucky’s three backup quarterbacks.
The major recruiting services rated him as an athlete. As a senior at Summit High School in Nashville, Wade threw for 1,436 yards and 18 touchdowns but rushed for 2,308 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was named Tennessee Mr. Football for the state’s largest classification.
While several schools recruited Wade with the intention of moving him to a different position, former Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen promised him the chance to play quarterback in college.
“It meant a lot, just that they believed in me, basically,” Wade said before the season. “Some schools didn’t think I was able to. To play in the SEC and have a chance to play quarterback means a lot to me.”
Wade had already signed with Kentucky by the time Rich Scangarello replaced Coen as offensive coordinator, but the new UK quarterbacks coach stuck to Coen’s promise.
Scangarello reported being surprised by Wade’s throwing ability after he arrived on campus this summer but made it clear before the season the expectation was for Wade to spend the it on the scout team while redshirting. With Levis entrenched as the starter and Sheron and Iowa transfer Deuce Hogan available as backups, there was no need to rush Wade into action.
“I think it’s hard in this offense, for sure, to play a true freshman that hasn’t been here for the spring,” Scangarello said during preseason camp.
Wade’s work on the scout team, helping prepare Kentucky’s defense for its opponent each week, has apparently made an impression on his teammates and coaches.
With Levis unable to practice last week, Scangarello began preparing a scaled-back game plan for Sheron at quarterback. In his pregame interview, Stoops suggested the package for Wade was designed to help in situations where a more mobile quarterback was needed.
“I think he’s done a great job,” Scagnarello said of Wade. “He’s improved dramatically as a passer, a thrower. I think he works hard on the scout team. We’re able to watch that film with him every week and help him develop himself. He gets lots of work against a really good defense.
“He was ready. I felt 100% confident putting him in the game, and I know he’d have done really well. He’s got a lot of presence. I think he’s got the respect of the guys on the team. I just like the way he’s developing as a person and a player. Yeah, it’s good to know he’s there.”
Wade’s twin brother, Keaten, has played in every game this season as a freshman outside linebacker for the Wildcats. Both brothers were rated as four-star prospects in the Wildcats’ much-hyped 2022 signing class.
The path to early snaps was more evident for Keaten with only two returning scholarship outside linebackers on the roster, but Buck Fitzgerald, their trainer at National Playmakers Academy in Nashville, was equally confident Destin could make the same long-term impact for Kentucky.
If Levis is healthy for the rest of the season, Wade might remain on the scout team. But with rules allowing him to appear in up to four games and still retain his redshirt, he could make his debut at some point in the second half of the season.
“I think he’s a quarterback long term,” Fitzgerald told the Herald-Leader before the season. “Obviously, they have a tremendous quarterback now, but I think he’s impressed people with his ability to throw the ball.
“I would like to see maybe him used in unique ways while he’s waiting his turn. Just because he’s too special of a guy to not use. Kentucky is a great program, but I don’t know if they’re a great enough program not to use that guy in some capacity.”
Next game
No. 16 Mississippi State at No. 22 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 12, 2022 at 7:15 AM.
