Kentucky Football: Has Stephen Johnson Turned A Corner?

Has Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Stephen Johnson finally turned a corner? The Kentucky football team will need him to step up with a bowl game within reach.

The Kentucky football team is just two wins away from securing its first bowl game bid since 2010. Playing in a bowl game may not be an accomplishment for most SEC teams, but Kentucky is one of the few for whom said result would be invaluable progress.

The only way for the Wildcats to successfully complete the program turnaround, however, is for a quarterback to rise to the occasion.

Kentucky has two talented young quarterbacks in sophomore Drew Barker and junior transfer Stephen Johnson. Both have the potential to develop into star-caliber players and both have flashed that very upside in 2016.

Both have also endured troubling inconsistencies, however, which has cost the Wildcats dearly.

Kentucky is currently 4-3, which displays the intriguing reality: Mark Stoops has helped his team overcome said issues. One simply can’t help but feel as though the Wildcats could have won more games had the passing attack provided a greater sense of reliability.

For instance, Barker threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns against Southern Mississippi, but tallied no scores, one interception, and 36 passing yards in the second half.

The defense certainly deserves blame for blowing a 35-10 lead, but Barker’s erratic second half didn’t help.

Barker followed that performance by going 2-of-10 for 10 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions against the Florida Gators. He then went 1-of-2 for one yard and an interception against the New Mexico State Aggies before suffering a back injury.

It was during the New Mexico State game that Johnson made his case for being the future at quarterback.

Playing in relief of the injured Barker, Johnson completed 17 of 22 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for an additional 51 yards on 10 carries and didn’t throw a single interception.

In the three weeks that followed, however, he threw for 273 yards—an average of 91.0 per game—no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Though he struggled in the first half, the question being raised—has Johnson turned a corner?—exists because of the second half of this past week’s game. Johnson stepped up and helped Kentucky come back to defeat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 40-38.

It was far from a flawless performance, but Johnson did complete 17 passes for 292 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Johnson is still struggling to throw the ball downfield, but he played more to his strengths in the second half against the Bulldogs. He utilized bubble screens and slant routes to move the chains, and only went deep when he had openings.

Johnson developed enough confidence to complete a key pass to Jeff Badet that set up the game-winning field goal.

That’s most certainly progress.

Johnson may not post many 300-yard performances the rest of the way, but he made plays when he needed to. He’s still a threat with his legs, as evidenced by his two 50-yard rushing games and one rushing touchdown.

Kentucky simply cannot afford to have such a significant area of weakness.

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With just two wins and five games separating the Kentucky football team from a bowl game appearance, Johnson needs to step up.