Former Auburn, Kentucky quarterback Joey Gatewood announces transfer decision

Former Auburn and Kentucky quarterback Joey Gatewood has decided to transfer to UCF, according to 247sports.com.

On3’s Matt Zenitz initially reported on Wednesday that UCF had emerged as a likely landing spot for Gatewood.

The former four-star prospect will be reunited with his first college head coach, Gus Mahlzahn. Mahlzahn is entering his first season with the Golden Knights after coaching Auburn for the past eight years.

Joey Gatewood entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday after Penn State transfer Will Levis was named the starting quarterback at Kentucky.

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops was very pleased with the way the transfer process was handled both by the school and Gatewood.

“If I knew this was the decision we were going to make, I wanted to give people like Joey the opportunity to transfer and to go somewhere,” Stoops said. “If you wait another week, then he’s trapped here. I thought it was the right decision to let them know where we stand, and he appreciated that.”

UCF begins the Gus Mahlzahn area on Sept. 2 at home against Boise State. Mahlzahn replaced former UCF head coach Josh Heupel, who left the program to become the head coach of Tennessee.

Joey Gatweood high school career

Gatewood was one of the more decorated prospects in the 2018 recruiting class. As a senior, he was an Elite 11 finalist and participated in the Under Armour All-American Game. The 6-foot-5, 221-pounder was named a four-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals.com, and 247sports.com. He led the Bartram Trail High Bears to the Florida 7A state finals in 2017; while passing for 1,468 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also rushed for another 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns.