Kentucky Wildcats Football: Who will be the starting QB?

Sept 8, 2012; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Maxwell Smith (11) passes the ball against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Commonwealth Stadium. Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

If Max Smith had not gone down versus South Carolina, we probably would not be having this conversation.  Smith completed 68.7% of his passes and racked up the yardage with 966 yards and had 8 TD’s versus 4 INT’s.  Those four picks were against WKU and despite that horrible start, Smith rebounded in the game and had his team in a position to win.  Although Smith is not a great runner, he was sacked five times, including the one against South Carolina which ended his season.  Smith was poised to be a breakout player for UK after a solid freshman year, but with injuries in both years, you have to question his durability.

I am reading a lot of commenters that decry Smith and the teams that he played against, but all four games he appeared in was against an eventual bowl team.  And he did put up pretty respectable numbers versus Louisville, going 35-50 with 280 yards and 2 TD’s and no interceptions.  If Joker were still coach, it would be a no brainer, but Max will have to earn his spot.

Oct 6, 2012; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Patrick Towles (14) prepares to hand the ball off during the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Commonwealth Stadium. Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Patrick Towles enters the race as the darkhorse as he has less experience than the other two.  But he does have an all-star pedigree and was considered the savior by fans headed into last year.  I still remember his TD pass against Mississippi State in which he stepped back and discarded the defender like a flea and hurled a strike to the receiver in the weekend.  That performance against Mississippi State was statistically the best of the season for any of UK’s QB’s as Towles went 5-6 for 71 yards and a TD.  Then Towles was injured and never the same QB as we saw in that brief glimpse.

For the season, Towles completed 47.5% of his passes for 233 yards with that TD and one interception.  While he was a running QB in high school, Towles did not really show that last year and the injuries may have held him back.  Towles was sacked four times on the year.

So who is it going to be?  Mark Stoops and company have quite the decision to make but I think it will be Max Smith.  Kentucky’s offense is going to dictate a lot of short, accurate passes and Smith is a lot more consistent than Whitlow was.  I think Jalen will be second string and we will see a good bit of him and Towles will be the darkhorse with a ton of potential.  But then again, if Towles can look like he did against Mississippi State in camp, he can win the job.  People that write Towles off tend to forget that he is just a sophomore.

Of course, the job is wide open.  Who do you think will be the starting quarterback?