Zach Calzada reveals where he's grown the most since he's been at Kentucky

Veteran quarterback Zach Calzada is heading into his seventh and final collegiate football season. Calzada, who was a three-star coming out of Lanier (Buford, GA) in the Class of 2019, has played at Texas A&M (2019-21), Auburn (2022) and Incarnate Word (2023-24) before finally making it to Kentucky.

Mark Stoops and the Wildcat coaching staff will be looking for more consistent quarterback play this season, as former five-star arm Brock Vandagriff struggled mightily in his one season at Kentucky in 2024. Calzada passed for 3,791 yards and 35 touchdowns last season and will look to carry that success back into the Southeastern Conference this season.

The Buford, GA native discussed where he’s grown the most since he enrolled at Kentucky in December at Media Day on Thursday.

“I think really my relationships with the guys,” Calzada said. “I think that it’s hard to lead a group of guys when you don’t know them, and that’s been one of my biggest things since I got here is getting to know a lot of guys individually. Building those relationships up along with those connections and building that trust so come game time we’re a lot more of a cohesive unit.”

Calzada has experienced success in the conference once before, as his collegiate shining moment came in 2021 when he led the Aggies to a 41-38 upset over then No. 1 ranked Alabama. In that win, Calzada passed for 285 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception.

“I love that group,” Calzada said when discussing Kentucky‘s offensive line. “I’ve spent a lot of time with all of those guys and we’ve built really strong relationships. I’m excited to see how they perform this year. Even from the start of camp and going back to summer and spring, it’s probably one of the hardest working groups on our team. They’re some of the last to leave and the coaches are harder on them than anybody else we’ve got. Just seeing them take pride in what they’re doing and how they go about their days is awesome.”

The Kentucky offensive line allowed the fifth most sacks (35.0) and second most sack yards (291) in the SEC last season. With a re-tooled o-line and some strong playmakers at the wide receiver position (Ja’Mori Maclin, Kendrick Law and Hardley Gilmore IV to name a few), Calzada should certainly be an upgrade at the quarterback position for a Wildcat program looking to get back to a bowl game this season.