Kentucky football: Top 10 passing leaders in school history

8. Rich Norton

Passing stats: 4,514 yards, 26 TD, 44 INT

With similar stats to Jenkins, Norton finds himself two spots ahead, despite playing three fewer seasons. He’s also the only true old-timer on this list, having played for Kentucky football from 1963-65.

Norton struggled in his first season, finishing with a completion percentage below 50%. He found a way to turn it around and even had a bit of a gunslinger mentality for his era. In Norton’s final season, he averaged 16.1 yards per completion. That’s more than Will Levis was able to muster up in both of his seasons.

Nowadays, that many interceptions would be a cause for concern, but in the 1960s, it wasn’t the same game. Norton was the 2nd overall pick in the 1966 AFL Draft and went on to play for the Miami Dolphins, before one season in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers.

Interestingly enough, Norton threw the final TD pass at Wrigley Field.

Sadly, Norton died in 2013 at 69 years old. He will always be remembered as the first great Kentucky quarterback.