Two QBs from Kentucky have become college football sensations. Did UK miss the boat?
Quick hitters from Final Jeopardy!:
21. Kentucky starting quarterback. This week’s UK depth chart says Terry Wilson OR Joey Gatewood at first-string QB going into Saturday’s game with Vanderbilt.
20. In-state sensations. Meanwhile, two different quarterbacks, each from the state of Kentucky’s 2017 recruiting class, have led teams that have become major national stories over the past two seasons.
19. Tanner Morgan. In 2019, the former Ryle High School standout directed Minnesota to an 11-2 season. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound QB earned All-BigTen Second Team honors after throwing for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns.
18. A winning QB. Even with P.J. Fleck’s Golden Gophers off to a disappointing 1-2 start in the coronavirus-delayed, 2020 Big Ten season, Morgan’s career record as Minnesota starting QB is 17-8.
17. Desmond Ridder. This year, the former standout from Louisville’s St. Xavier High School has guided Cincinnati to a 6-0 record and the No. 7 ranking in the AP Top 25. Ridder has thrown for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns and run for 394 yards and eight TDs.
16. A winning QB II. Now in his third year as UC’s No. 1 QB, Ridder is a robust 27-4 as the Bearcats’ starter.
15. No UK offers. UK offered neither Morgan nor Ridder a scholarship.
14. Did UK blow it? In hindsight, yes. But in real time, as recruiting decisions have to be made, it didn’t seem like it.
13. Walker Wood. The ex-Lafayette High School star was one of two QBs UK signed in 2017. In the 24/7 composite ratings of the commonwealth’s class of 2017, Wood was ranked the fourth-best prospect in Kentucky, one spot ahead of Morgan and six ahead of Ridder.
12. Danny Clark. A one-time Ohio State recruiting commit, Kentucky scooped up Clark in its class of 2017 after the QB and his home-state Buckeyes parted ways. According to Rivals. com, Clark was a higher-ranked prospect (a 5.7 three-star) than either Morgan (a 5.5 three-star) or Ridder (a two-star).
11. No Danny Clark homecoming. Having left Kentucky without ever throwing a pass in a game, Clark eventually landed at Vanderbilt. However, with true freshman Ken Seals having claimed the Vandy starting QB job, Commodores Coach Derek Mason announced after VU’s loss to Mississippi two weeks back that Clark had opted out for the remainder of the season.
10. Mark Stoops on UK QB situation. The UK head coach said on his weekly Zoom news conference Monday that “the person who is going to give us the best chance to win is who we are going to go with” as starting quarterback. That sounds like the experienced Terry Wilson to me.
9. Michael Mayer. The Notre Dame true freshman from Covington Catholic — our state’s 2019 Mr. Football — tied for the team high with five catches as the Fighting Irish scored a 47-40, double-overtime upset of No. 1 Clemson on Saturday.
8. ND’s top receiver. The 6-foot-41/2, 249-pound tight end is currently Notre Dame’s leading receiver for the season with 20 receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns.
7. Tony Dungy’s impressed. Working the Clemson-Notre Dame game as an analyst for NBC, Super Bowl-winning coach Dungy raved about Mayer. “He does some athletic things that you just can’t believe for a man his size,” Dungy said.
6. Jeremy Pruitt. After Tennessee (2-4) blew a 13-0 halftime lead and lost 24-13 to resurgent Arkansas on Saturday, Pruitt’s record as UT head man is now 15-16.
5. Some worrisome trends. Of Pruitt’s 16 defeats, 13 have been by double-digit deficits and 12 have been by 20 points or more.
4. Another losing season. With games remaining vs. No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Florida, at No. 24 Auburn and at winless Vanderbilt, Tennessee seems a good bet to finish 3-7. That would be UT’s third losing season in the past four years and its seventh losing year since 2010.
3. Fire the coach? Not surprisingly, Tennessee football message boards are filled with demands that Volunteers Athletics Director Phillip Fulmer pull the plug on Pruitt even though the coach is in only his third year.
2. Stability needed. Since the start of the 2008 season, Tennessee has had five full-time head football coaches plus two interim head men. At some point, UT is going to have to stick with a coach through adversity and give somebody the time needed to rebuild what has become an enduringly mediocre football program.
1. A changing identity. Given the stellar work Rick Barnes has done in Knoxville, isn’t it time that the Rocky Toppers accept their new reality:
Tennessee is a basketball school.
