Kentucky has work to do on recruiting trail at quarterback

With spring ball wrapping up throughout the college football landscape, it’s time to move onto roster-building season. At Kentucky, Mark Stoops and his program are still looking for help in the transfer portal, but most of the focus is on building the 2023 class.

Currently, Kentucky has five verbal commitments in the class after Ohio tight end Tanner Lemaster pledged to the program on Friday. However, none of those are at the most important position in the sport.

All signs point to Will Levis having a spectacular season behind center as a redshirt senior, but UK will need some help at the spot in the immediate future. The Wildcats have questions to answer at backup quarterback and do not appear to have a clear succession plan for the 2023 season.

At this time last year, Liam Coen was entering his first year as an offensive coordinator at Kentucky. The NFL assistant did a great job building a recruiting board for Kentucky. Over the summer, the new offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams hosted many 2023 prospects for a camp or unofficial visit. The majority have found Power Five homes.

• Christopher Vizzina (Clemson)
• Chris Parson (Florida State)
• Grayson Loftis (Duke)
• Raheim Jeter (West Virginia)

Elsewhere, Memphis (Tenn.) Lausanne Collegiate School quarterback Brock Glenn also received an offer and worked out for Kentucky at a camp. However, the recruitment seemed to go cold after that trip, and the top-500 prospect appears headed towards an Auburn commitment.

As the summer months quickly approach, commitments at the most important position are being made. Everywhere around the country, folks are waiting for the Arch Manning decision to come as that could act as a domino to the rest of the quarterback movement. However, many schools already have their players in the fold.

Getting the quarterback recruitment done early is often the beginning of your class as it creates momentum on the trail. At Louisville, Scott Satterfield is in the beginning stages of putting together the best haul in program history and that is primarily due to landing a commitment from top-200 prospect Pierce Clarkson.

Thanks in large part to the change at offensive coordinator, Kentucky is officially behind the curve in high school quarterback recruiting. Therefore, new play-caller Rich Scangarello must come up with a plan.

In the class of 2023, Kentucky needs to start casting a wider net at quarterback. Over the next few weeks or months, we should see some offers go out and for interest to pick up for prospects who are late bloomers or could be looking for a change as the college football season approaches. However, the best option could still be available down the road.

The transfer portal has changed roster construction in college football and that is most felt at the quarterback position. Kentucky could be set to have a star in Levis and that was found in portal recruiting. The SEC could see as many as six transfers starting at quarterback this season. Things can change fast.

However, Kentucky must start recruiting the quarterback position better. The Wildcats have not landed a top-300 recruit at the position since signing Drew Barker in the class of 2014. The portal is giving the program an alternative option, but high school recruiting needs to improve for the Wildcats to continue their climb up the SEC ladder.

Now it’s time to see what Scangarello will bring to the program as a recruiter. Kentucky should have a lot to sell in the transfer portal after the season as the program continues to build its brand and reshape its offensive image.