Joey Gatewood (SEC Photo)
Those wanting to see what Joey Gatewood can do at quarterback for Kentucky will get their wish Saturday. With starter Terry Wilson out with a wrist injury, Gatewood will make his first start and get his first significant playing time since transferring from Auburn when UK hosts No. 5 Georgia Saturday afternoon.
“He has the keys,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Thursday. “He is the starting quarterback, but you never know how things are going to go throughout the game and when opportunities are going to present themselves. I anticipate Joey going out there and playing well.”
However, it was kind of a shaky show of support for Gatewood from Stoops because he also said true freshman quarterback Beau Allen might play. But Stoops sounded reluctant to do that against a Georgia defense most consider not only one of the best in the SEC but one of the best in the country.
“I’ve wanted to see Beau all year, but as you can imagine, it’s very difficult,” Stoops said. “Every possession, every rep, every time we have the ball it’s pretty important. Obviously getting Terry reps early in the season, all the reps you can with being out last year, we needed that. Joey needs the reps.
“At some point, I’d like to see Beau get in there, but I’m not sure when that will happen.”
I am. Unless Gatewood is injured or Kentucky is behind by 40 points, Stoops is not going to play Allen — or at least not this week.
Gatewood was a top 50 recruit out of Jacksonville when he picked Auburn over a lot of other big-time offers. He redshirted in 2018 but lost the starting job to Bo Nix in 2019. He played in seven games total and rushed for 148 yards and three scores and threw for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
Gatewood transferred to Kentucky but Wilson, who won 10 games in 2018, returned from last year’s knee injury and started the last five games. Kentucky’s offense continued to sputter and Gatewood could not ignite it during three series he played last week in the 20-10 loss at Missouri.
Stoops was correct when he said no matter who the quarterback is that the offense has to improve. Of course, it’s hard to imagine it being worse than it was last week at Missouri.
“We need to push the ball down the field a little bit and create something in the pass game. Unfortunately, we’re not very effective in that,” he said. “I want to see our team play better. I want our unit to play better. I want us to play better across the board.”
Every UK fan — and player — does as well. Too bad Georgia’s defense leads the SEC in rushing yards allowed, rushing touchdowns and points allowed. The Bulldogs are allowing the second fewest yards in the SEC.
That’s not exactly the kind of defense for an anemic UK offense to get well against.
