The five best quarterbacks Kentucky football will face in 2023
The five best quarterbacks Kentucky football will face this season:
1. Will Rogers, Mississippi State
The veteran MSU quarterback will be playing in a new offense in 2023. Under the late Mike Leach’s Air Raid attack, Rogers completed 1,159 of 1,639 passes for 10,689 yards and 82 touchdowns with 24 interceptions over the last three seasons. Rogers was 25 of 37 for 203 yards with a score and a pick in State’s 27-17 loss a Kentucky on Oct. 15 last season.
“It was showing up in the winter and learning at least one thing a day,” Rogers told MSU Athletics about new coordinator Kevin Barbay’s offense. “I was trying to learn all about (Barbay’s) formations or the quick game or the drop back. Then you bring in the shifts and motions with it. It was kind of just a process. I had to learn a little at the time. But by the time we hit spring ball and really by the time we were into spring ball, I knew it like the back of my hand.”
One note on Rogers: Formerly at Appalachian State, Barbay has said that he will not hesitate to use Vanderbilt transfer quarterback Michael Wright, who brings more of a run threat to the Bulldogs’ offense.
2. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
The Oklahoma transfer completed 264 of 399 passes (66.2 percent) for 3,026 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season for the Gamecocks. He finished strong as South Carolina whipped Tennessee, upset host Clemson and played Notre Dame to the wire in a 45-38 Gator Bowl loss. He was a combined 84 of 122 for 1,044 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions over those three games. Rattler was 14 of 19 for 177 yards with a TD and a pick in South Carolina’s 24-14 win at Kentucky on Oct. 8 last season.
“I’d say he’s a lot more comfortable right now,” South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer told 247Sports. “He knows the people around him better, teammates, I mean. At this point last year, he had never played a game for South Carolina. He understands what it’s like to be in Williams-Brice Stadium, how we do things, and what people are like around him.
3. Joe Milton III, Tennessee
The Michigan transfer was actually Tennessee’s quarterback to start the 2021 season before giving way to Hendon Hooker. Last season, Milton was Tennessee’s quarterback to finish the season when Hooker tore his ACL. In a 56-0 rout of Vanderbilt and the Vols’ 31-14 Orange Bowl win over Clemson, Milton completed 30 of 49 passes for 398 yards and four scores without an interception. He can also throw the ball a country mile.
“It’s been cool to see Joe’s maturation,” Tennessee wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope told GoVols 247. “When he got here and where he is now, it’s like two completely different people. He’s matured a ton. It’s fun to see him on the practice field. Outside of the physical gifts, you see him interacting with guys in between drives, coaching them up, talking about what they see. And he’s not always talking. He’s listening, too, which to me shows us a good leader, that he’s willing to listen and apply on his end, as well. Seeing all those guys mature, it’s been phenomenal for us, and we look forward to continuing to take the jump this training camp.”
4. Jack Plummer, Louisville
The former Purdue transfer is expected to be the Cards’ starting quarterback after reuniting with former Boilermakers coach Jeff Brohm. The Arizona native spent last season at California where he was 282 of 451 for 3,095 yards and 21 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He spent his first three seasons at Purdue where Plummer was 319 of 492 for 3,405 yards and 26 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.
“Jack’s done a really good job,” Brohm told Louisville Report. “He’s a great leader, he understands our system. He can see the field, he can make all the throws. Just consistency, being able to do that all the time, is the goal. That’s really for anybody.”
5. Parker McKinney, Eastern Kentucky
The Colonels’ senior quarterback completed 315 of 459 passes for 3,956 yards and 33 touchdowns with just eight interceptions last season. That followed his 2021 campaign when the Tennessee native was 229 of 377 for 2,434 yards and 18 scores with nine picks. McKinney was a Walter Payton Award finalist and the Phil Steele ASUN Offensive Player of the Year last season.
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 3:29 PM.
