A look inside the quarterback room shows how Kentucky football has changed
Experienced Kentucky football fans know that far too often have been the years when the Cats were scrambling to find a starting quarterback, much less a capable backup. This does not appear to be one of those years.
Example: During his Zoom video conference call last Saturday, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops commented on the progress of true freshman quarterback Beau Allen, the former Lexington Catholic star.
“He’s who we thought he was,” Stoops said.
Then Tuesday, during his post-practice video conference with the media, offensive coordinator Eddie Gran backed that up.
“Accuracy. His ball delivery, getting it out of his hands. Understanding the offense. Knowing where to go with the ball,” Gran said. “He’s done some things that are really special.”
Entering fall camp, Allen was fourth on the UK depth chart.
With all proper social distancing protocols being followed, of course, the quarterback room is a crowded one at UK’s Joe Craft Football Training Center. And we’re not talking filler, either. There’s Terry Wilson, who had started 15 straight games in 2018 and 2019 before tearing a patellar tendon last season. There’s Sawyer Smith, who stepped in for Wilson only to get banged up, as well. There’s Joey Gatewood, heralded transfer from Auburn, still awaiting word on his transfer waiver application. And there are redshirt freshman Nick Scalzo, coming off a pair of ACL surgeries, and Allen, a four-star recruit.
“The whole quarterback room is loaded,” said Wilson last week.
Wilson is the focal point, of course. He started all 13 games of UK’s 10-3 season of 2018, completing 67.2 percent of his passes while throwing for 11 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. He also rushed for 547 yards and four scores. Two games into 2019, however, Wilson was injured against Eastern Michigan and lost for the year to an injury that often takes extended rehab.
So far, so good. Wilson says he feels 100 percent. Stoops reported that Wilson appears comfortable in the pocket, and again looks like “a bolt” when he does pull the ball down to run. Having the start of the season pushed back from Sept. 3 to Sept. 26 at Auburn because of COVID-19 only gives the senior more time to prepare.
“A little extra time can only help a guy like that,” Stoops said Saturday. “He looks really good.”
And he will be pushed. Rivals placed Gatewood as the 62nd best prospect of the class of 2018 when the Jacksonville, Fla., native signed with Auburn. Redshirted by the Tigers as a freshman, he played sparingly behind freshman starter Bo Nix last year. Used mainly as a runner, Gatewood did rush for 148 yards and three touchdowns before deciding to continue his career in Lexington.
Even with the possibility Gatewood must sit out this year, he has been receiving some reps with the first-team offense in practice, reported Gran, just as Allen has been working some with the second-stringers. If Gatewood can play immediately, look for Gran — the same OC who moved wideout Lynn Bowden to quarterback with great success last year — to find ways to use his 6-foot-4, 221-pound frame.
That’s not to forget Smith, who as a grad transfer from Troy subbed for Wilson until injuries took their toll. The Florida native threw 126 passes, four for touchdowns with five interceptions. He knows the system.
“Sawyer is Sawyer,” Stoops said. “He’s a team guy, older guy, experienced. He adjusts really well.”
Wilson is an older guy, too, one who admitted he did think about opting out of 2020 before deciding to return. With one big change. The dreadlocks are gone in favor of a new look.
“I had my dreads for 10 years now,” he said last week. “Felt like it was time to shake it up. I feel like a different person.”
And if you don’t think Kentucky is a different program these days, just look inside the quarterback room.
“We’re stacked,” said Wilson. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
