What should Kentucky do at quarterback the rest of this season?
With Kentucky sitting at 2-4 and only four games left in the 2020 football season, Mark Stoops and the UK offensive brain trust face a complicated decision about who to play at quarterback the rest of the year.
Mathematically, the Wildcats are still alive for a winning record.
Following this weekend’s UK open date, the Cats’ remaining schedule starts with Vanderbilt (0-4 entering this weekend) at home next Saturday (Nov. 14), then concludes with away games at No. 2 Alabama (6-0) and at No. 8 Florida (3-1) followed by the home finale with South Carolina (2-3).
UK has not beaten a top-10 team since 2010. It has not bested such a foe away from Lexington since 1977. So Kentucky upsetting two top-10 teams on the road is a monumental long shot.
Let’s assume UK starting quarterback Terry Wilson has recovered sufficiently from the hand/wrist injury that sidelined the senior in last week’s 14-3 loss to No. 5 Georgia to play.
Should Kentucky feel obligated to stick with its most experienced QB down the stretch of a season unlikely to yield a positive record? Or do you bite the proverbial bullet on this season’s win/loss mark and play for 2021?
In the latter scenario, UK could give young QBs Joey Gatewood and Beau Allen meaningful repetitions the rest of this season in the hope that experience yields something positive in the future.
Let’s examine the pros and cons of UK going with any of its top three QBs the rest of the way:
Terry Wilson
The case for playing him: With 20 career starts on his résumé, Wilson’s experience is a significant plus. The QB’s rushing ability (Wilson’s 251 yards rushing is second on the UK team) adds a dimension Kentucky otherwise cannot replicate.
The case for not playing him: Wilson’s play so far in 2020 has been maddeningly inconsistent. After playing the best all-around game of his Kentucky career vs. Mississippi in the second week, Wilson has had only one good half — the second in UK’s road win over No. 18 Tennessee — in the three games he has played since.
If your quarterback play is going to be erratic, why not go with younger QBs in hopes of boosting their development?
Joey Gatewood
The case for playing him: By virtue of his currently being the No. 2 QB, the transfer from Auburn appears to hold the upper hand in the battle to replace Wilson as starter in 2021. Given that, why not get the redshirt sophomore all the game experience possible now.
Making his first college start in place of the injured Wilson against a Georgia defense that is arguably the nation’s best, Gatewood held up OK, completing 15 of 25 passes without throwing an interception.
The case for not playing him: Those 15 pass completions vs. Georgia went for a paltry 91 yards, suggesting the issues in Kentucky’s moribund passing attack run deeper than Wilson.
Multiple times against Georgia, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Gatewood appeared to have opportunities for big running plays only to see the Bulldogs defense quickly close on him.
It was hard not to conclude that, had he been in there, the speedier Wilson would have been more likely to turn those read-option chances into explosive runs.
Beau Allen
The case for playing him: Kentucky’s most pressing program priority in the short term is to hold the verbal commitments of its four well-regarded, class of 2021 wide receiver recruits — Dekel Crowdus of Frederick Douglass; Alabama’s Christian Lewis; Georgia’s Chauncey Magwood; Ohio’s Armond Scott.
In its past four games, UK has thrown for 73, 107, 50 and 91 yards, respectively. So the best hope of retaining those receiver commits could be to show them there is a polished pocket passer already in the UK program.
At Lexington Catholic, the 6-2, 207-pound Allen was every bit that, throwing for 11,439 yards and 177 touchdowns.
The case for not playing him: If Kentucky is selling its wideout recruits on Allen’s passing prowess, the risk in playing him now is you would have nothing left to pitch if the true freshmen QB looked bad throwing the ball.
Having not used Allen up to this point, throwing him to the wolves in road games at Alabama and Florida seems unfair and could impair his development.
So what should Kentucky do at quarterback?
At least for now, it should stick with Wilson.
It would send a bad message about the program’s values to prematurely bench a QB with a 14-6 record as a starter — especially one who rehabbed vigorously to return after a torn patellar tendon cost Wilson the final 11 games of 2019.
Kentucky has a senior-heavy offensive unit, not one of whom opted out amid the pandemic.
However long a shot it might be for UK to produce a winning record in 2020, as long as that chance is viable, you owe it to those seniors to give them their best shot at it.
Assuming he’s healthy, starting Terry Wilson remains Kentucky’s best chance to win.
Next game
Vanderbilt at Kentucky
When: Noon Saturday
TV: SEC Network
Records: Vanderbilt 0-4; UK 2-4
