Joey Gatewood to completely transition to tight end for Louisville

Joey Gatewood is officially a quarterback no more. Joining the Louisville Cardinals earlier this offseason, the former Auburn, Kentucky and UCF QB has completely transitioned to the tight end room for the 2023 season, per his player profile.

He flirted with the wide receiver position at UCF, but his 6-foot-4, 245-pound frame gives the redshirt senior the perfect size to be a tight end in the ACC.

He played high school football at Bartram Trail (Florida) High School, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 46 overall recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Gatewood threw for 17 passing yards on 2-for-8 passing to go along with a touchdown while rushing for 142 yards and another score as a quarterback in 2021. Failing to produce any numbers at his new position, Gatewood entered the portal for the third time.

The journeyman quarterback committed to Auburn all the way back in December of 2015. He remained committed throughout his high school career before finally signing his letter of intent in two years later. The roadblocks came soon after.

There was also another guy who came along at the same time as Gatewood. Each time, that player just had more of the right stuff for the program at the time. Bo Nix was the guy at Auburn. Terry Wilson and then Will Levis were in his way at Kentucky. John Rhys Plumlee held down the QB1 position at UCF as well.

To keep his college football dream alive in his sixth and final year of eligibility, Gatewood went ahead and made the change to salvage the remaining time that he has left on the football field. A quality season under first-year head coach Jeff Brohm at his new position could be enough to get him a look from a lower-level pro league and down the line, who’s to say a practice squad contract isn’t in his future at some point?

After all, he was one of the highest-rated quarterbacks in his class for a reason. The potential was there, now it’s on Louisville to bring it out of him at last.

The Cardinals kick off their 2023 season with the Aflac Kickoff game against ACC foe Georgia Tech on Friday, Sept. 1. Louisville is an eight-point betting favorite heading into the matchup, per Caesars Sportsbook.