Mark Stoops supportive of Joey Gatewood's decision to transfer
Much-traveled quarterback Joey Gatewood is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal for a second time, according to Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, after losing out on the starting job to Penn State transfer Will Levis.
Gatewood, a former four-star recruit, left Auburn in 2019 after losing the starting job to Bo Nix. He transferred to Kentucky and played in six games during the 2020 season, starting one.
On Sunday, Stoops held a press conference to announce that he had named Levis as his starter. Subsequently, he said Gatewood will enter the portal.
“I told him how much I appreciated how hard he’s worked. I know he’s been through this before so I knew it would be especially tough. Tough decision, not what he wanted to hear,” Stoops said. “We had that discussion, had a good talk. He handled it completely professional and really appreciate him.”
From Auburn to Lexington to ????
Gatewood, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound quarterback, appeared in eight games over two seasons at Auburn. He completed 5 of 8 passing attempts for 54 yards and two touchdowns before announcing his intent to enter the transfer portal.
Similarly, he was hardly a factor in his time at Kentucky, completing 17 of 35 passing attempts for 109 yards and an interception.
“If I knew this was the decision we were going to make, I wanted to give people like Joey the opportunity to transfer and to go somewhere. If you wait another week, then he’s trapped here,” Stoops continued. “I thought it was the right decision to let them know where we stand, and he appreciated that.”
Levis played in eight games for the Nittany Lions last season, starting one. He completed 33 of 55 passes for 421 yards and one touchdown.
“We just simply made the best decision for our football team to win games,” Stoops said.
Stoops said the decision would leave Gatewood and Beau Allen rotating with one another for the backup spot, but with Gatewood entering the portal, Allen will assume the backup duties for the Wildcats.