With Will Levis out of the Music City Bowl, who starts at QB for Kentucky football?
Wednesday’s announcement that Kentucky football star quarterback Will Levis would not play in the Music City Bowl was not unexpected.
But that doesn’t mean the lack of a surprise has positioned the Wildcats any better to replace Levis in the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl versus Iowa.
“I’m very confident in the quarterbacks we have,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said this week. “I’m excited to see them in this bowl prep. I hope Will plays, but if he doesn’t it will open up an opportunity for others.”
With Levis out, the focus shifts to backup quarterbacks Kaiya Sheron and Destin Wade.
When Levis was forced to miss the Wildcats’ Oct. 8 game against South Carolina due to turf toe, Sheron started but was unable to lead Kentucky to a victory. On the season, the redshirt freshman completed 17 of 29 passes for 187 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in four games.
Wade has yet to make his Kentucky debut but was listed alongside Sheron with an “or” between the two names at the No. 2 spot on Kentucky’s depth chart for most of the second half of the season. A former four-star recruit rated as an athlete out of high school, the Nashville-area native could make his collegiate debut in his hometown in the Music City Bowl. He is the twin brother of UK freshman outside linebacker Keaten Wade.
“We have very good options on our campus that are good players,” Stoops said on his final radio show of the season when asked if he would pursue a transfer quarterback this offseason to replace Levis. “Not a lot of experience, but good football players. They’re good leaders and good men.”
Stoops may be high on the potential of Sheron and Wade, but Kentucky is almost certain to add a quarterback from the transfer portal in the coming weeks.
Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz, Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei, Texas’ Hudson Card and North Carolina State’s Devin Leary are among the top options already in the portal. More starter-level transfers will probably emerge by the summer.
Sheron and Wade now have a chance to make an early case to truly make the competition to replace Levis an open one and not a foregone conclusion that whatever transfer signs with Kentucky will start the 2023 opener against Ball State.
“Where we go from there I don’t know,” Stoops said. “I tell our players this, so I’m not telling you anything that they don’t already hear: I’m recruiting somebody to take their job. Period. I don’t care how good they are. I love them, but I’m trying to get somebody better.
“... don’t take that out of context with quarterback. That’s every player on our team.”
Iowa is set to start its third-string quarterback after starter Spencer Petras was sidelined by shoulder surgery and backup Alex Padilla entered the transfer portal. Since both teams boast defenses ranked in the top 12 nationally in fewest points allowed per game, it would be wise to expect a low-scoring Music City Bowl.
Kentucky’s offensive situation is further complicated by the firing of offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello.
Even if Stoops hires a replacement for Scangarello before the bowl game, it is unlikely that coach would have much impact on the game. Stoops was not ready to name an offensive play-caller for the game when asked Monday, instead pointing to recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow, who called plays in the 2020 Gator Bowl win, and wide receivers coach Scott Woodward, a close friend and protege of former UK coordinator Liam Coen, as options to call plays in a “group effort.”
Perhaps the most intriguing quarterback option for the game is Kentucky backup Deuce Hogan.
Hogan, who transferred from Iowa to Kentucky last offseason as a walk-on, opened the season listed as Levis’ backup on the depth chart but was eventually passed by both Sheron and Wade.
Wade’s dual-threat ability likely makes him the more intriguing option for fans, but there is also a risk at dealing a significant blow to his confidence if he struggled against a defense as stout as Iowa’s in a high-profile bowl game in his first collegiate experience.
Regardless of how Sheron, Wade or Hogan performs in the Music City Bowl, it is unlikely to change Stoops’ outlook on the transfer portal needs this offseason.
“We’ll see where it goes, and even players who are here and ones who may be talking about their role for next year,” Stoops said. “I’ll tell them the same thing. This is your role, if it’s a player that we can believe in, believe they can be a starter, that’s great. I’m going on the road and getting the best players I can get..”
Music City Bowl
Kentucky vs. Iowa
When: Noon Saturday, Dec. 31
Where: Nissan Stadium in Nashville
Records: Kentucky (7-5, 3-5 SEC), Iowa (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten)
TV: ABC-36
Series: Kentucky leads 1-0
Last meeting: Kentucky won 20-17 on Jan. 1 in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.