How Playing in the FCS Prepared Zach Calzada for his Return to the SEC

Zach Calzada has taken a long and winding path through two different stops in the SEC to the FCS ranks. Now he’s returning to the Southeastern Conference to play for Kentucky in his seventh and final season of college football. The lessons he learned at each stop should pay dividends in Lexington.

Calzada was one of fourteen transfer portal additions officially announced by the University of Kentucky on Monday. Later that night, he joined Maggie Davis on BBN Tonight to talk about why he decided that UK was the best place for him in 2025.

“That was one of the most important things on my visit. Me and Coach Bush sat down for a while, just going through his philosophy, his schemes, and what he wants to do on offense. I really, really liked it,” he said.

“It reminded me similar to Coach Fisher’s offense that we ran, just with regards to the thought that goes into it in the run game, the play-action passes, quick-game, drop back passes. It’s very much a pro-style offense. I think especially wanting to play at the next level, I think having success in this offense will check every box.”

What stood out about offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan's offense to Calzada?

"It's a very much pro style offense. Especially with wanting to play at the next level. I think having success in this offense will check every box when scouts come and ask questions."

More at 7:30! pic.twitter.com/aLQrmaohaC

— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) December 23, 2024

Not Every Lesson Calzada Learned in the FCS will Translate

Calzada put up some numbers last year at Incarnate Word. He completed 65% of his passes for 3,791 yards (No. 5 in FCS), 35 touchdowns (No. 2 in FCS), and 9 interceptions. He also had 540 non-sack rushing yards and five touchdowns. The talented quarterback believes his time at the lower-level helped sharpen his tools for his return to the SEC.

“I think that playing at the FCS level was a really good opportunity for me to grow and develop and evolve my game a little bit. I think in just about every game I was one of the best, if not the best athlete on the field. So I got to experiment with my playmaking and with my running the ball,” said Calzada.

“Some things will translate to the SEC, and I know that some things won’t translate to the SEC. I don’t expect to go put my shoulder into a Mike linebacker three, four times a game. But going back to my tape back at Texas A&M and seeing how I played, and seeing how I played this last year, I think there’s some valuable, valuable tools in my game that I’ll be able to bring with me and I’m excited.”

After watching Kentucky quarterbacks get beat up repeatedly, we’d also appreciate it if he didn’t try to run over every Mike linebacker in the league.

The SEC Experience that Stands Out

There’s one big thing on Calzada’s resume that will get asked about in every interview, and no, I’m not talking about the cat that was sitting on his lap. This dude beat Bama. Not many people can say that. That’s why Maggie surely felt obligated to ask him about it. He’ll get asked about it a few more times throughout his career. I didn’t expect him to respond like this:

“It was definitely a surreal experience… It’s funny, you think more about the games that you wish you had back than the games like that, from my perspective. So I look back at games like the Ole Miss game (10-point loss) and the LSU game (3-point loss) down the road later that season that could have changed that outcome of our season,” he said.

That sounds like a competitor to me. He knows what it takes to win in the SEC and is bringing that mentality to Kentucky.

“I know what I’m signing up for. It’s a level of football that I’ve been itching to get back to for the last two to three years, to say the least. I’m really excited about it.

“I remember the last time I played in the SEC, my Mom would call me and she’s like, ‘Man, it’s like every week’s another Super Bowl.’ And I said, ‘You know, that’s what we came here to do.’ It’s a competitive league, probably the most competitive league of football in the nation, besides the NFL. So I’m really excited for the opportunity.”