Andrew and Aaron Harrison recruiting tops drama filled weekend for Kentucky Wildcats

In addition to the Harrison Twins drama, there was (as expected), plenty of drama with football as well. Some of it involved freshman Patrick Towles, who is currently on path to red-shirt this season. Kyle Tucker of the Courier Journal talked to Towles father and had a story that Towles was frustrated about his lack of playing time:

"“We are not looking into anything like that at this point at all,” Terry Towles told The Courier-Journal on Sunday morning. “Patrick dearly wants to contribute to the University of Kentucky and he wants to do it now, but as far as transferring, we’ve not made any decisions on that.” Patrick Towles was a four-star recruit rated among the nation’s top 10 quarterback prospects in the Class of 2012. Wildcats coach Joker Phillips said repeatedly he planned to play Towles right away, but after the second game of the season announced that he planned to redshirt Towles. “All Patrick has ever wanted is just an opportunity to compete, and I think there is some definite frustration over that,” said Terry Towles, who doesn’t believe his son got a legitimate chance to earn playing time. “He wants to contribute. He came to the University of Kentucky because he thought he could immediately help. And he’s frustrated. But he’s staying positive. I’ve talked to someone who sees practice and he’s going at it full-tilt and working hard.”"

I have a couple of thoughts on this which are purely mine.  First, I do not really recall a lot of interviews where Joker said outright that he “planned to play Towles right away”.  Best I can recall, it has always been a “wait and see” thing and it has been a foregone conclusion that the QB competition was between Towles and Newton.  I may be wrong, but I just don’t recall those quotes.  Secondly, after being in the post game press conferences after the game, I know that Tucker is a good interviewer who can ask leading questions to get a certain response.  I don’t have a full transcript of the interview with Towles’s dad.  Finally, Patrick himself seemed to put this drama to an end (for now) with this tweet:

Just a bit more on the Towles situation as Larry Vaught seems to have talked to Terry Towles as well and has a few more quotes on the situation.  In his story, Vaught says that Towles was never promised playing time and was OK with a red-shirt, but he wanted at least to be able to COMPETE for the job:

The talented quarterback said he was not promised playing time at Kentucky and would be okay if he was redshirted if that was best for him and the program. However, he also said he expected the chance to compete for immediate playing time.

"Yet several things seem to have happened. Smith took charge of the team in the summer and the offense was designed for his quick, accurate throws. Whitlow, who was recruited as an athlete and projected by most to be a receiver, turned heads at quarterback. Phillips said he went with Whitlow, who has played in two games, at No. 3 behind Smith and Newton because of his ability to make plays with his feet. Don’t forget, though, that Towles has been timed in the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds — just a tad slower than Whitlow — and is bigger than Whitlow. “He’s not frustrated by the fact he’s redshirting. He’s frustrated because he feels he’s never really had a chance to compete,” Terry Towles said."

Vaught ended with this quote by Towles dad:

"“If you are good enough to play in the NFL, you don’t need four years of playing in college. The scouts can see ability if you have it,” Terry Towles said. “But he hopes everything works out here. He wants to play at UK, and he wants to help now. I hope for all concerned that he’s convinced the program is moving the right direction and he has a long career because UK is where he wants to play. But if the program is not headed the right direction at the end of the year, certainly we will have to take a look at things.”"

To be honest, this sounds like a situation that can get ugly (uglier) in a hurry and is yet another reason that Kentucky may need to make a decision on Joker’s future sooner.  Once again, I don’t advocate calling for any firing, but this seems like Joker’s fate is sealed and this coming from the father from one of the top players is not good.  Personally, I think that Towles should red-shirt at this point.  Despite a rough Western game, Max Smith is the undisputed starter.  If for some reason, we learn this week that Smith may be out for  the season (and I have heard NOTHING that indicates this) decisions may need to be made.