Mark Stoops sets expectations for Zach Calzada after transfer to Kentucky

After going 4-8 and 1-7 in the SEC last season, Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops is looking to bounce back in 2025. A major part of that bounce back looks like it will fall on the shoulders of quarterback Zach Calzada.

A transfer into Kentucky from Incarnate Word who made stops at Texas A&M and Auburn, Calzada is the team’s presumed starting quarterback. Certainly, as Stoops explained on SportsCenter, he will bring valuable experience to the quarterback room.

“The first thing with Zach is the experience,” Mark Stoops said. “We have a tremendously talented youngster in Cutter Boley that we believe in strongly, but I wanted to give it a good balance. With Zach, as you mentioned, he won eight games in this league, which is hard to do. He brings a wealth of experience and he’s a guy who’s very mature, very tough, and so we have a lot of confidence in him.”

For Stoops, this isn’t the first time he’s brought in a high-profile quarterback transfer. In 2021 and 2022, Kentucky relied on Will Levis. After that, the Wildcats have brought in players like Devin Leary and Brock Vandagriff in notable moves to start games for Kentucky out of the Transfer Portal.

Zach Calzada, for his part, does have plenty of experience. He’s been in college football since 2019, taking a redshirt before 2020 didn’t count toward anyone’s eligibility. Calzada would also lose his 2022 season, which he spent at Auburn, due to shoulder surgery. Since then, he’s been at Incarnate Word where over the past two seasons he’s been among the best FCS quarterbacks. This past season, he threw for a 65.5 completion percentage for 3,744 yards and 35 touchdowns to only nine interceptions. He also rushed for 332 yards and five touchdowns.

The 2021 season was when he saw the most FBS playing time of his career, while at Texas A&M, completing 56.1 percent of his passes for 2,185 yards and 17 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Now, Zach Calzada is set to play for offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, who he says reminds him of Jimbo Fisher‘s offense.

“That was one of the most important things on my visit. Me and Coach Bush sat down for a while, just going through his philosophy, his schemes, and what he wants to do on offense. I really, really liked it,” Calzada said.

“It reminded me similar to Coach Fisher’s offense that we ran, just with regards to the thought that goes into it in the run game, the play-action passes, quick-game, drop back passes. It’s very much a pro-style offense. I think especially wanting to play at the next level, I think having success in this offense will check every box.”

Kentucky opens the 2025 season at home against Toledo. That’s the first of three home games to open the season as the Wildcats will hope to improve from last season’s performance.