Kentucky football: Top 10 passing leaders in school history
![LEXINGTON, KY - SEPTEMBER 27: Quarterback Jared Lorenzen #22 of Kentucky looks for the open receiver against Florida on September 27, 2003 at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. Florida won 24-21. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) LEXINGTON, KY - SEPTEMBER 27: Quarterback Jared Lorenzen #22 of Kentucky looks for the open receiver against Florida on September 27, 2003 at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. Florida won 24-21. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/555539d24e2cd5acfd6174718abfee67abe5be79b92ee89dc9fcc20a6c91e063.jpg)
7. Patrick Towles
Passing stats: 5,099 yards, 24 TD, 24 INT
Flipping back to the modern day, Towles was steady and also had a strange career. He had planned on redshirting his freshman year in 2012 but was thrown to the wolves after injuries amounted for the Wildcats.
Towles played in five games that season, but still had a lot to learn. He decided to redshirt in 2013 and then became the team’s starting QB from 2014-15.
His two full seasons were just short of being good. The Wildcats had back-to-back 5-7 seasons, just missing out on bowl games each year.
Towles struggled with accuracy, throwing exactly 23 TD and 23 INT in his two seasons as the starter. 2015 was surprisingly worse, as Towles had 9 TDs to 14 INTs and threw for nearly 600 yards fewer than the year before.
Instead of returning for the 2016 campaign, which is when Stephen Johnson was named the starter, Towles transferred to Boston College for his final year of college football.
Towles may not have been able to win any bowl games with the Wildcats, but he was the first full-time starter under Mark Stoops. One could say he helped lay the foundation for the Cats of today.