Former WKU star Bailey Zappe wins first start as Mac Jones’ replacement

What happens when a former Western Kentucky star replaces a former Kentucky pledge in his first career NFL start? He gets a win, of course.

That was the case for quarterback Bailey Zappe, who replaced the injured Mac Jones for the New England Patriots on Sunday.

The former Hilltopper finished the day with just four incompletions — 17/21 overall — to go with 188 yards and one touchdown through the air. He was credited with one interception, though it came on a drop for wide receiver Nelson Agholor.

It was his second career game, with his first coming last week against the Green Bay Packers. Entering the year as the third-string quarterback, Jones suffered a high-ankle sprain two weeks ago against Baltimore, followed by backup Brian Hoyer suffering a concussion in the first quarter against the Packers. Zappe finished with 99 yards and a touchdown on 10/15 passing as the emergency replacement.

With Jones and Hoyer both still out with their injuries, Zappe stepped in and led the Patriots to a 29-0 blowout win against Detroit. He thoroughly outplayed Lions quarterback Jared Goff, a former No. 1 pick playing in his seventh NFL season.

After starting his career at Houston Baptist, Zappe transferred to WKU to close out his collegiate carer where he led the FBS with 5,967 passing yards and 62 touchdowns in 2021, two NCAA single-season records. He was named Conference USA Most Valuable Player and First-Team All-C-USA after his historic season.

As for Jones, he committed to Kentucky back in 2015 as a member of the class of 2017 before backing out of his pledge a year later. Rather than join the Wildcats, he flipped his commitment to Alabama, where he went on to win two national championships and earn First-Team All-SEC and Consensus All-American honors in 2020. He was selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Patriots.

Now, Jones is the starting quarterback for New England — for now. After all, it is Zappe Time.