Kentucky Wildcats Football: Quarterback Now a Priority

After Kentucky failed to sign a quarterback in the 2015 class, the position will be a major focal point

for the 2016 class. The coaches wanted several guys this year but missed on each before deciding to not take one. Elijah Sindelar, Joe Burrow and Jarrett Stidham each signed elsewhere for various reasons. Kentucky decided against extending an offer to Reese Ryan. So now they need one in 2016 but should probably take two. Among your three scholarship passers, one is likely to realize that his window to be a starter is closing soon and that usually spells transfer. The consensus is that UK will take a traditional passer as well as a dual threat quarterback if they can. Here’s a look at some of the candidates:

Austin Kendall- Kendall, who is currently committed to Tennessee, already has ties to Kentucky with his brother being a walk-on for the Cats. He is reportedly their top target at the position, and rightly so, being the #3 pro-style passer in the country this year. Kendall committed early to the Volunteers but reportedly isn’t excited by the fact that Tennessee took three quarterbacks in the 2015 class. Just this week saw the first Crystal Ball flip pick for Kendall to Kentucky, it would be huge to get him on board early to help recruit the rest of the class Drew Barker-style.

Messiah deWeaver- The former Michigan commit has been linked to Kentucky since he was a freshman. But he went to Ann Arbor and pledged to the Wolverines. After Jim Harbaugh took over, deWeaver reopened his recruitment and doesn’t appear to be considering the Wolverines. He does have heavy interest from most of the Big Ten, primarily Michigan State, and would be another tough battle for Kentucky to win over.

Austin Scott- This one is a bit of a dark horse. The South Carolina native hasn’t really been evaluated by the networks but certainly had the eye of former OC Neal Brown. The question remains how Shannon Dawson feels about his future. (Dawson has different attributes in mind, most notably hand size) Classified as a dual threat quarterback, Scott wouldn’t provide ideal star power but the Air Raid doesn’t require future pros to run effectively.

Elijah Cunningham- Another unrated passer, Cunningham has early offers from several MAC schools. He makes this list because he attended a Junior Day in Lexington recently and he is from the state of Ohio, generally strong indicators of a potential Kentucky commit. A big, pro-style arm, Cunningham could blow up once the camp circuit gets started.

Clay Bolin- It remains to be seen if Bolin will earn a Kentucky offer or any others, but he certainly has plenty of reasons to keep an eye on him. He is the younger brother of Louisville quarterback Kyle Bolin. He plays in Lexington at Lafayette, which makes him a teammate of UK commit Landon Young. UK has seemingly ignored local quarterbacks in recent years after letting Bolin and Reese Ryan walk out of town. The only positive connection here would be the one with Young but the Bolins reportedly have no ill will toward the Kentucky program despite Kyle’s lack of an offer.