Zach Calzada injury: Mark Stoops reveals Kentucky QB's mindset while sidelined

The Kentucky Wildcats brought in veteran transfer Zach Calzada in to try and spark the offense through the quarterback position. However, through two games, that hasn’t quite happened. Now, on top of the slow start, Calzada is battling an injury.

It’s a difficult spot for Calzada to be in. On Monday, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops addressed the injury he has. In particular, he focused on the mindset that his quarterback has while recovering from the injury.

“Zach understands there’s things that we all can do better,” Mark Stoops said. “That he can do better. We probably left some plays on the field. He’s resilient. He’s been around. He’s a little beat up right now, but has to get himself healthy and get back out there as soon as he can, and he’ll be fine.”

Kentucky has remained relatively vague about the nature of Calzada’s injury. He appeared to suffer a shoulder injury during the fourth quarter of the loss to Ole Miss last Saturday. While the severity or exact nature of the injury aren’t clear, he wasn’t able to practice on Monday for the Wildcats.

Through two games, Calzada is completing 47.2 percent of his passes for 234 yards and an interception. He’s also rushed for 23 yards and a touchdown. That hasn’t been good enough for the Kentucky offense, though. That’s put some pressure on his job security, which a shoulder injury certainly doesn’t help going forward.

Redshirt freshman Cutter Boley replaced Calzada against Ole Miss. He would complete one of three passes for 38 yards. On top of that, Boley rushed for 14 yards in the losing effort. A four-star recruit in the Class of 2024, there has been support for Boley among the fanbase and he reportedly made a push for the starting job during Fall Camp.

Next up for Kentucky is Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are coming off a loss to FCS LIU. That should make for a fairly manageable game for the Wildcats. Still, questions are going to hang over the offense up until kickoff. In particular, it’s going to be interesting to see if Calzada is healthy enough to start. Regardless, Stoops does expect Boley to play during the game.

“I’m excited to see Cutter, and you know I say that about every position,” Stoops said. “When somebody gets hurt, I never want to see a player get hurt, but when that happens about every time I’ve been up here, I say, ‘I can’t wait to see so and so play.’ Right? So don’t overblow that for a quarterback, like everybody does. I’m always excited for the next man up, and I’m excited to see Cutter, and Cutter will absolutely play.”

Kentucky will host Eastern Michigan on Saturday, September 13th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.