Kentucky football: Top 5 quarterbacks of the Mark Stoops era

Since Mark Stoops became head coach in 2013, Kentucky Wildcats football has seen a variety of quarterbacks, each contributing uniquely to the program's development or lack there of. With the transfer portal in full swing, and Kentucky looking to add a new QB, rumored to be Zach Calzada, let's look back on Stoops' QB error filled era.

Here's a ranking of the top 5 quarterbacks during Stoops' tenure:

1. Will Levis

The second round pick had a great first season at Kentucky and followed it up with an okay second year under Scanagarello. Levis came to UK from Penn State and won over the fanbase with a strong arm, and a punishing running style. Clear number 1 choice.

2. Devin Leary

I know the season didn't go as planned but Leary actually wasn't that bad. He threw for 2746 25 TDs and 12 INTs. This was in spite of playing in an entirely new system, and everyone said how much better in no huddle he was. Of course a Stoops team will never run a true no huddle offense, so it was a mismatch. But Leary was not as bad as it felt like in the moment.

3. Patrick Towles

Towles ended up transferring to Boston College to finish his career, but while at UK he threw for over 5,000 yards, 24TDs and 24 INTs. Not amazing stats but he carried some of the games, and was at one point 5-1 with a 3 OT loss to Florida. That team, like so many others saw the wheels fall off late in the season, but this was as close to developing a QB came under Stoops.

4. Lynn Bowden

Bowden was a pretty good receiver, but was forced to play QB. That turned out to be the best thing for him, as he starred as a running QB for the Cats. Lynn in one season had 1235 rushing yards, 11 TDs, 330 yards passing 2 TDs, and 30 receptions for 348 yards. The Wildcats went 5-2 in games he started at QB and he won the Paul Hornung award.

5. Stephen Johnson

Johnson transferred from the College of the Desert and quickly became a fan favorite. He led the Wildcats to a 7-6 record in 2016, including a memorable 41-38 win over Louisville. In 2017, the record was 7-6 again, showcasing resilience and leadership in a huge 29-26 win over the Vols. Throwing for 4,342 yards and rushing for 702 yards, a combined 31 tds and 12 INTs while at Kentucky,

Touchdown Terry gets an honorable mention, but from there its a pretty bleak picture filled with transfers and wasted potential. Is that why Kentucky has failed to really develop a QB under Mark Stoops? Towles is the closest he came. Hopefully he can turn that around with Cutter Boley, only time will tell.