New Kentucky QB Commit Brennen Ward 'Has Ice Water in His Veins'
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Kentucky looks to be set at quarterback in the 2025 class. Brennen Ward, a three-star quarterback from Gahanna Lincoln (OH) committed to Kentucky on Thursday and is ready to make his impact felt.
Gahanna Lincoln offensive coordinator Kyle Stout has known Ward since he was in elementary school, back when Stout was a co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He’s been in the role of offensive coordinator for the past three years and has gotten a first-hand look at UK’s future quarterback.
“He’s got that ice water in his veins,” Stout said in an interview with KSR+. “He’s a winner, he’s a gamer. You see the throws he’s making, the things he’s doing. When you turn on the film and see the throws he’s making and the things he’s doing at the level of competition, you just see he’s a gamer who wants to win.”
In an interview with KSR+, Stout discusses what makes Ward a special player, moments that have stood out to him over the years, and how close of a race it actually was between Kentucky and Missouri.
“He’s such a total package of a player,” Stout said. “I can still remember being a younger coach before I was an offensive coordinator and he would be sitting there with a helmet on and going through quarterback drills with the varsity guys. He’s always watching football and talking football.”
A Long History Between Brennen Ward and Kyle Stout
As mentioned above, Kyle Stout has known Brennen Ward since back when Ward was an elementary school student. The love of the game has been there since Ward was a young child.
“It’s definitely what consumes him and what his passion is,” Stout said. “He has a big love for the game. He’s a great leader by example, does everything the right way, and does all the extra stuff.”
Throughout his time coaching Ward, Stout has witnessed several moments that stand out. One game in particular stood out during Ward’s sophomore year, playing in the regional semifinals against Pickerington High School (OH) Central.
“It was a game where we were down at half and it looked like maybe we weren’t going to be able to pull it out,” Stout said. “He had a big second half with a ton of throws. I still remember this stick-and-go concept he threw to the back pylon of the end zone. He threw a wheel route too. He really took over that game and his accuracy helped us win that game.”
Stout also alluded to a point in the season last year where Ward had a completion percentage of 82.1 over four games. Over a four-game stretch in September, Ward was incredibly accurate, capping things off with a 13-for-15 passing game with 264 yards and three touchdowns during a 49-7 win over Gahanna (OH) on Sept. 22.
“His completion percentage was off the charts,” Stout said. “He’s just such a great manager of a pro-style offense.”
Most recently, there was a game against New Albany (OH) on Sept. 29. The plan was to lean more on the run game, but things changed in a flash.
“Our game plan quickly flipped and it turned into a passing game,” Stout said. “I think he threw for over 300 yards that game and we had a big win.”
‘He’s Super Intelligent’
Three-star quarterback Brennen Ward of Gahanna (OH) Lincoln is the nation’s No. 641 overall prospect, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 ranks Ward as the No. 24 quarterback and the No. 13 player in Ohio.
Throughout his time coaching Ward, Stout has seen the timing, mechanics, and footwork all improve. He’s able to throw with more velocity and verticality, putting the ball in tighter windows.
“Then, you just get into the intangibles,” he said. “He’s super intelligent. He runs a system in our offense that will translate really well into college, being asked to do full progression reads and RPOs, both pre and post-snap”
Stout called Ward a “total package quarterback.” He believes that he’ll fit in great with Kentucky’s pro-style offense.
“I’m excited and I think they should be excited because I think they’ve got one of the best quarterbacks from Ohio coming there,” he said. “He’s already a really great student of the game, but one thing we’re really trying to focus on is working through full progressions, working through them quickly at times.”
‘Really Close Race Between Kentucky and Missouri’
Landing Brennen Ward was far from a sure thing for the Kentucky staff. His recruitment came down to the wire between UK and Missouri.
“I know it was a really close race between Missouri and Kentucky,” Stout said. “In fact, our staff joked around about it. We were all trying to figure out where he was going to commit to because it looked like it possibly was going to be either one.”
However, Kentucky was eventually able to seal the deal. A lot of the credit for his commitment is owed to Kentucky’s associate head coach Vince Marrow.
“Coach Marrow has developed a really good relationship with [Brennen],” Stout said. “Coach Marrow is known really well around Columbus having recruited the area for such a long time. He has a good relationship with Coach Ward. Talking with him, he was impressed with the campus. He envisioned the campus one way, but when he actually went down there and spent some time, it changed for him.”
When Ward committed on Thursday, he became the second quarterback commit in Kentucky’s 2025 class, joining three-star Stone Saunders. While Ward never directly expressed it to Stout, the added competition never seemed to be a concern.
“We never honestly had any conversation about that. I don’t want to comment on something I don’t know about,” Stout said. “Brennen is extremely confident in his capabilities. He’s a competitor. I wouldn’t think that would shy him away from doing something he wanted to do. He has a pretty firm belief in himself.”
