Film Room: Gavin Wimsatt

Depth in the Kentucky quarterback room has been an issue for a long time. Entering the 2024 season, the problem seemingly stuck out like a sore thumb after the Wildcats wrapped up spring practice. There is now not a single quarterback remaining that was with the program last year. Kentucky added Brock Vandagriff and Beau Allen via the transfer portal in December and also signed four-star quarterback Cutter Boley, but there was no depth.

Allen has joined the program as a walk-on after time away at Tarleton State and Georgia Southern. Boley reclassified from 2025 to 2024 last May. Vandagriff was the clear QB1, but the Wildcats did not have a legitimate backup option for 2024.

That changed this week when Kentucky pursued and landed Rutgers transfer Gavin Wimsatt.

The redshirt junior with two years of eligibility remaining was an Elite 11 quarterback in the 2022 recruiting cycle who reclassified to 2021 and started 21 games over three seasons in the Big Ten. Wimsatt also appears to be a potential scheme fit for new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan.

Kentucky has added some insurance to the QB room. But who is Gavin Wimsatt the player? KSR’s Film Room is diving into the tape and explaining what the transfer does well and where improvement is needed.

Intriguing toolbox

Let’s turn back the clock to the 2022 recruiting cycle. Gavin Wimsatt was coming off two big seasons as the starter at Owensboro where the prep quarterback posted 4,804 passing yards and 57 passing touchdowns over 25 games as a sophomore and junior. Accuracy was a concern each season with Wimsatt peaking at 61.7 percent completion percentage as a junior but the quarterback could always stretch the field vertically.

Wimsatt has a good arm that can connect on go balls down the sidelines and deep posts down the middle. On his 2023 tape at Rutgers, we see those throws made. The ability to stretch the field vertically is one of Wimsatt’s biggest calling cards as a player.

Wimsatt can whip the ball down the sideline and put some good back-shoulder ball placement on tape. The quarterback also fires with confidence down the seam and accurately delivers a fastball. Wimsatt’s arm talent shows up against Iowa on a deep drop where he fires from the opposite hash and puts the ball on the money between two defenders on the sideline with some layer to the throw.

The completions are somewhat hard to find, but the potential is there. Gavin Wimsatt still has a big arm and can make some tough throws.

Intermediate inaccuracy

Gavin Wimsatt finished last 8-for-26 on throws 20-plus yards down the sideline on 9.6 yards per attempt, according to PFF data. Deep misses will happen. Rutgers asked the quarterback to get vertical a ton. Wimsatt’s 11.1 yards average depth of target was the highest mark in the Big Ten and the fourth-highest among eligible passers. Any quarterback that has that type of vertical profile isn’t going to light the completion percentage box on fire, but hovering around 50 percent is an issue.

Most of Wimsatt’s bad misses seem to occur over the middle. When turnovers occur, the quarterback is either misfiring or not getting off reads.

The lack of accuracy shows up on slants and dump-offs in between the hashes. Most of the misses are high and can get Wimsatt in trouble. Occasionally, the quarterback got locked onto targets which led to disaster when facing zone coverage. Wimsatt completed just 15 of 44 (34.1%) intermediate passes between 10-19 in between the hashes. That area was his second-highest volume bucket behind short center. Iffy footwork is often to blame for some of the misfires, and holding his ground in the pocket against pressure needs some improvement.

The biggest area holding Wimsatt back is the lack of accuracy in the middle of the field and that limited Rutgers from playing on schedule.

Run game value

Bush Hamdan quickly went on record to state that involving the QB in the run game is something he will rely on as Kentucky’s new offensive coordinator. We saw that become a part of the package in the spring game with Brock Vandagriff. In the spring transfer portal window with Hamdan, we saw Kentucky pursue two quarterbacks who could do some damage with their legs.

Gavin Wimsatt was a very productive run option for Rutgers in 2023 recording 581 non-sack rushing yards with 11 touchdowns on 4.9 yards per rush. The transfer is effective running gap scheme designs and has more than enough foot speed to make defenses pay for cheating on zone read actions.

At 225 pounds, Wimsatt is not a bulldozer but packs enough power with a forward-lean running style to help him churn out yards as a downhill runner. In the zone read game, the quarterback does a good job making vertical cuts and getting north/south quickly. There is some sneaky top-end speed once the long strider gets rolling.

Wimsatt can provide value in the designed run game. The quarterback isn’t a burner or a YAC king, but he does a good job executing the play design, and that allows him to pick up yards. That value increases in short-yardage and the red zone.

High-end backup QB

An argument can be made that Kentucky hasn’t had a backup quarterback they could really trust since Stephen Johnson II or Sawyer Smith. Rutgers transfer Gavin Wimsatt could help end that long streak. The redshirt junior has some flaws, but he brings real game experience (1,205 career snaps) in a tough conference and an intriguing skill set to Lexington.

Wimsatt could be used as a change-of-pace wildcat option, but his real value will be giving Bush Hamdan and Kentucky an insurance policy in case something were to happen with Brock Vandagriff. The two quarterbacks have a similar skill set and can be used nearly identically. Wimsatt should become Kentucky’s primary backup this fall.

Vandagriff is the man for Kentucky in 2024, but the Wildcats now have a legitimate secondary option if the train gets off the track. That is something the program simply has not had in a few years.