Film Room: Brennen Ward

Kentucky only has two scholarship quarterbacks on the spring 2024 roster. Despite having Stone Saunders committed in the class of 2025, the Wildcats needed another quarterback in this high school class. Gahanna (Ohio) Lincoln junior Brennen Ward has been a known option for a few weeks now.

The Greater Columbus native camped at Kentucky last summer and has received heavy interest from Indiana, Missouri, Syracuse, and Virginia. The No. 20 prospect in Ohio camped at Kentucky last June, visited Lexington for Kentucky’s win over Florida in September, and received an offer from Vince Marrow in February before making the trip to Lexington for junior day. After getting to speak with new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan during a mid-week unofficial visit to kick off March, Ward decided he had seen enough.

The three-star quarterback shut down his recruitment with a commitment to Kentucky on Thursday. Marrow has once again helped close on another recruiting target in the class of 2025.

What will Brennen Ward bring to Lexington? The class of 2025 prospect is a pocket passer who plays with pace, touch, and shows a play extension skill set.

Downfield touch

When you roll Brennen Ward’s junior tape there are numerous good throws shown down the field. In Gahanna Lincoln’s shogun-heavy offense, Ward does a good job playing within the system and delivering the football on time. That helps lead to finding explosive plays in the passing game.

When vertical opportunities arrive, Ward hits open targets showing excellent touch and a very catchable ball with excellent loft.

Ward’s first two throws are excellent over-the-shoulder passes delivered with great time and accuracy. The route runner on the top rep does not help the quarterback with the ball tracking, but the ball is delivered over the outside shoulder and within range. On the second rep, the outside receiver gets an inside release off a go-ball, and you simply cannot throw this pass even better.

Even when going down the seam on a switch release concept, Ward hits his target directly in stride for a huge play.

Brennen Ward can hit the home runs in the passing game.

Multi-level accuracy

The timing and on-target throws do not just show up when stretching the defense deep. Brennen Ward also shows a good feel playing within the structure of the offense. That means hitting targets on time and delivering accurate throws in the intermediate game. Ward can also extend plays and still drop pinpoint throws.

On a three-step drop in the shotgun, Ward gets the ball out on time and throws with accuracy. Just outside the red zone, the quarterback shows the ability to layer the football without losing velocity lifting the ball over the linebacker for a touchdown score. You want to see feel in the pocket. Ward does a good job maneuvering in the pocket without taking his eyes off targets. Even when his feet get hot, Ward flashes good lower-body mechanics that get him aligned with his target and spit out some more accurate throws.

The feel for the position and accuracy jump off the screen.

Brennen Ward is a nice start for Bush Hamdan

Brennen Ward plays in a modern scheme at Gahanna Lincoln that should be similar to what Bush Hamdan will install at Kentucky. The high school prospect plays with good accuracy and can hit down-the-field throws on top of the ability to play off-platform. There also appears to be some run game potential even though you do not see it much on film.

The high school quarterback owns excellent touch on vertical routes with multiple over-the-shoulder bucket throws on his junior tape. Ward flashes a good feel for the pocket and where to re-locate against the rush. The Kentucky commit owns a translatable skill set to become a quality Power Five starter.

Ward’s junior tape looks like a four-star prospect.