True freshman Destin Wade taking first-team snaps at QB ahead of Music City Bowl

True freshman quarterback Destin Wade is expected to earn the start for Kentucky in the Music City Bowl vs. Iowa. He was seen taking first team reps, which generally means he will be the Wildcats’ starting QB, according to multiple Kentucky beat reporters at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

When Will Levis declared for the 2023 NFL Draft and chose to opt out of Kentucky’s Music City Bowl matchup against Iowa, it raised questions over which of UK’s backups would take over for him from the postseason.

When Levis missed the South Carolina game earlier in the season, redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron earned the start in what ended up to be a losing effort. Deuce Hogan, ironically an Iowa transfer, had a chance to start, too, but it seems Mark Stoops has found his guy in Wade. All three are expected to play, though, per KSR’s Ryan Lemond earlier this week.

Wade did not take a single snap under center during the regular season. He was a four-star ATH out of Spring Hill, TN. He played QB in high school and was renowned for his running and passing abilities alongside his twin brother Keaten Wade, who is an edge rusher for the Cats as well.

Kickoff between the Wildcats and Hawkeyes is set for Noon ET live on ESPN.

Mark Stoops compares Devin Leary, Will Levis

Kentucky was going to be hard-pressed to replace Will Levis with another quarterback close to his caliber. However, Mark Stoops and his staff worked their magic and hit an absolute homerun by earning the commitment of former NC State quarterback Devin Leary, the top QB in the transfer portal this cycle.

With that said, Stoops wasn’t interested in comparing the two during his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday. Still, he did point out one contrast between the two being that Leary will arrive in Lexington as a far more experienced and proven player than Levis was upon his arrival.

“It’s really not fair to compare people,” said Stoops. “I mean you have two talented players, two very good players. (And) two different situations in the way they came in.”

“Will (came) in primarily used as a running quarterback and not really seeing him throw that much. So Will came in and really proved himself that first year,” said Stoops. “With Devin, he has quite a few more snaps on tape. (He’s) much different in that aspect. Devin has, clearly, more experience and more snaps under his belt. They’re already different in that area.”

When Levis left Penn State, he had thrown 102 passes for 644 yards and three touchdowns over 14 appearances. He also rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns on 133 attempts. In Leary’s case, he comes to the Bluegrass from Raleigh with several seasons of starting experience, 6,807 passing yards, and 62 passing touchdowns to his name.

Still, Stoops doesn’t want to start separating the two by picking their games apart. All that matters to him is that they had a talented quarterback that led them to success in Levis. Now they have another to carry his torch in Leary.

“They’re both very good players, very talented in their own right, and that’s really all I can say at this point,” Stoops said.