Kentucky Wildcats Football: Not Hot, Not Cold, Hoak Just Right

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Good news! Kentucky finally got their quarterback. The Wildcats accepted a commitment from Ohio three star Gunnar Hoak on Sunday as you likely know. It had become a point of some contention among Wildcat football fans following a few failed courtships over the past year or so. Kentucky runs a pass happy offense and wants to blow the lightbulbs out of the scoreboard, quarterbacks should be lining up to play for Mark Stoops’ team right? That simply hasn’t been the case. Beyond Drew Barker the coaches have only signed Reese Phillips since being hired and Phillips was really an early enrollee whom they sort of had to sign. (That’s not an indictment of Phillips, who has held his own with Towles and Barker)

Hoak doesn’t come with the name recognition or fanfare of Elijah Sindelar or Austin Kendall but he has all of the skills necessary to succeed in this offense. He doesn’t have Towles cannon arm or Barker’s mobility. Where Hoak wins is accuracy and decision making, both generally hallmarks of a successful Air Raid quarterback. Along with, in Shannon Dawson’s eyes, large hands. Some of the best Air Raid passers have been unheralded prospects who were heady and accurate. Seth Doege at Texas Tech. Brandon Weeden at Oklahoma State. Skylar Howard last season at WVU under Dawson. He will need to work on his athleticism, because the Cats will ask him to have some escapability and it’s doubtful that the coaches want to remove the QB run from the offense after having so much success with the concept to this point.

None of this is intended to mean that Hoak is a lesser quarterback or that Kentucky settled at the position. By all accounts, Gunnar Hoak was expected to blow up once the camp circuit got started and may still. Other offers are expected to come. Hoak could very well end up a four star by the time ratings are actually entered for this cycle.

But make no mistake that getting a quarterback on board in the Spring was Kentucky’s plan. Everyone saw how the lack of a leader hurt the 2015 class down the stretch. Hoak has already expressed a willingness to recruit others to join him in Lexington, even if it is a little out of his comfort zone. A more reserved guy, he has committed to working on his verbal leadership. That should help since Kentucky has offered his teammates Griffin Grady and Alex Gellerstadt. By all accounts, both are takes for Kentucky right now.

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