In the Mark Stoops era, filled with ups and downs, especially at QB, Kentucky had 11 different starting quarterbacks. With Cutter Boley leaving to play next year at Arizona State, the last "Mark Stoops QB" on the roster is Brennan Ward.
Yes, Stoops recruited Matt Ponatoski, who will be a freshman this year. But Will Stein originally recruited him at Oregon and then re-recruited him to Kentucky, so we aren't counting him as a "Stoops era" signal caller just yet.
So, as we close the book on this chapter of Kentucky football, we are going to rank the best QBs of the Mark Stoops era. And honestly? The list might surprise you.
1. Will Levis
Listen, Levis was exactly what Stoops needed him to be. He had a massive arm, he was tough, and he didn't mind running the ball and sacrificing his body to get a few extra yards. He fit the Stoops mold perfectly,
Surprisingly, he actually passed for just 2,827 yards his junior year (his best season), which is less than 100 yards more than Devin Leary managed. But Levis did it on the ground too, compiling over 370 yards and 9 TDs with his legs. He wasn't just a quarterback; he was the identity of the team.
2. Devin Leary
People look back on Leary and think he wasn't what he was made out to be. But he was actually exactly what Kentucky thought they were getting; they just misused him.
Leary came from an uptempo NC State system and needed a spread attack with a hurry-up pace to thrive. Instead, Stoops ground the offense to a halt, like he always does. Leary was rarely allowed to get in rhythm, but when he did? He was fabulous.
Just look at the Tennessee game: 28 of 39 for 372 yards and 2 TDs. He had two more 300-yard games that season, finishing with 2,746 yards and 25 TDs. That is the highest amount of touchdowns in a single season for a Kentucky QB since Andre Woodson. The production was there; the tempo wasn't. Plus, the drops didn't help him at all, or he may have gone up over 3,000.
3. Patrick Towles
Before Levis, there was Pat. The Fort Thomas native lived out his dream of playing for Kentucky and had all the physical tools. He was 6'5", 250 pounds, and could run. In 2014, he put the team on his back, accounting for over 3,000 yards of total offense. He had moments of brilliance, like a career-high 390 passing yards, 76 rushing yards, and 4 total TD's against No. 1 Mississippi State. But the roster around him wasn't really ready to compete in the SEC yet.
4. Stephen Johnson
If this list were based on "heart," he would be number one, and it may not be close. Johnson didn't have the prettiest stats, but he was a winner. He took over for an injured Drew Barker in 2016 and saved Stoops' job, leading the Cats to their first bowl game in six years. He played hurt, he fumbled (and recovered it himself) on bad knees, and he beat Louisville on the road. He was the ultimate leader, even though the stats aren't great.
5. Terry Wilson
"Terry Touchdown" gets a lot of grief for his passing limitations, but you can't argue with the results. He went 10-3 in 2018. More importantly, he was the quarterback who finally snapped the streak against Florida in The Swamp. He is the only player in school history with 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. Like Johnson above him, he just won games when he wasn't injured.
6. Lynn Bowden
Is he a quarterback? A running back? A receiver? Who cares. He won the Paul Hornung Award playing QB in 2019 because Kentucky had literally nobody else who could. He threw for less than 500 yards but rushed for 1,468 yards and willed the team to a Belk Bowl victory over Virginia Tech. It was one of the most entertaining stretches of offense in the Stoops era, even if he rarely threw a forward pass.
7. Cutter Boley
The "what could have been" candidate. A heralded recruit who finally could be the high school recruit that Stoops could have developed, something he had never done before. But with the coaching changes and the allure of the portal, his time in Lexington was cut short before he could truly develop. He leaves for Arizona State as a big "what if."
8. Jalen Whitlow
Another early-era dual-threat who was asked to do too much with too little. Whitlow was a phenomenal athlete who split time with Maxwell Smith. He ran hard and took a beating, but he was never quite developed into a pure passer. He eventually transferred, but he laid some of the groundwork for the running QB identity Stoops favored.
9. Maxwell Smith
The pure pocket passer of the early years. Smith had a beautiful throwing motion and could spin it, but he just couldn't stay on the field. Injuries derailed what could have been a solid career. When he was healthy, he was accurate, but the offensive line in those days did him no favors.
10. Drew Barker
The "Chosen One" local recruit who was supposed to change everything. He showed it for exactly one half against Southern Miss in 2016, lighting up the scoreboard. Then, the back injury flared up, the team collapsed, and he never really recovered the starting job. A sad story of talent derailed by injury.
11. Brock Vandagriff
It feels harsh to put him this far down, but the 2024 season was a disaster. Vandagriff came in with a 5-star pedigree from Georgia but looked shell-shocked behind a porous offensive line. The offense was offensive most of the season, but it really wasn't his fault alone. He struggled to process the field, the offense tanked, and he ultimately retired from football. High expectations, low results, and there have been rumors that there was more to the story.
12. Zach Calzada
The Cuban Missile never took flight in Lexington. He looked lost, the offense was lost, and when he got hurt, that was the end of his time as a starter. The only reason we have him below Brock is that Brock at least made it through most of the season. Calzada couldn't do that. He did make a really funny video, though.
Brennan Ward is incomplete for right now; he might turn into a great QB, or he may transfer out. But that is all eleven QB's ranked, and to be honest, we could have flipped Levis and Leary.
It looks like this will be Kenny Minchey's job to lose, and he may be the best of them all.