Is Kentucky trending for Auburn star QB transfer Joey Gatewood?

Is Kentucky a realistic landing spot for Auburn quarterback and former top-40 recruit Joey Gatewood?

It’s certainly trending that way.

This morning on Kentucky Sports Radio, Matt Jones teased the potential transfer – without calling him out by name – to start the show before spilling the beans after the next break.

“It does look like the transfer thing is out,” Jones said. “It’s Joey Gatewood, the quarterback from Auburn that is transferring because Bo Nix has that job in perpetuity. He is looking at a number of schools, but I’m here to tell you, Kentucky is right there for him. Not just in the mix, and I’m not saying we’re the leader, I’m just telling you this is not just a list of schools and Kentucky is one of them. I’m telling you Kentucky is in. They have a very good shot at getting him. That doesn’t mean they will, and I’m not making a prediction, but I’m telling you it’s serious interest.”

Woody Wommack of Rivals.com also released a report highlighting potential transfer options for the former four-star quarterback, listing Kentucky first in the process.

Potential landing spots: Kentucky, Florida, Florida State. Gatewood’s Twitter activity appears to show interest in the Wildcats, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Florida schools get involved, especially after the Seminoles hire a new coach.

Taking a look at Gatewood’s recent social media activity, the former four-star prospect has recently followed Vince Marrow, Lynn Bowden, and Kelvin Joseph on Twitter.

Bowden also went back and retweeted Gatewood’s transfer announcement from October 30.

Gatewood, a Jacksonville, Florida native, was ESPN’s third-ranked dual-threat quarterback and No. 36 overall player in the 2018 recruting class.

The 6-foot-5, 233-pound redshirt freshman has appeared in seven contests this season, completing 5 of 7 passing attempts with two touchdowns to go with 29 rushes for 148 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Last week, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn commented on Gatewood’s decision to transfer, saying “he wants to be a starting quarterback.”

When 2019 five-star quarterback and true freshman Bo Nix won the starting job this summer, it became apparent that Gatewood would need to explore his options.

“Joey Gatewood has entered the transfer portal and decided to move on,” Malzahn said. “I really appreciate Joey, the thing about it, when he didn’t win the starting job earlier he chose to stick around. Most quarterbacks in this day and age in time would have quit, he didn’t do that. He is at a point now where he wants to be a starting quarterback. He wants to start looking at schools now so he can find the right spot, and I respect that. He is a fine young man and really respect everything he has done for our program and everyone will be rooting for him moving forward.”

Nix also weighed in on Gatewood’s decision on Saturday, telling reporters that “he was put in a bad situation” at Auburn.

“I think everybody was a little surprised [with the transfer news],” Nix said. “Joey, he’s a great guy. I really wish nothing but the best for him. I mean, he was put in a bad situation and so, I mean, I don’t know what he’s going through, nobody else on the team knows what he’s going through but when we’ve talked, he’s in a good spot, he feels like.”

Gatewood, who would likely need to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, would likely practice behind Kentucky quarterbacks Terry Wilson and Sawyer Smith next season before taking over as the team’s starter for his final two years of eligibility starting in 2021.

Needless to say, this could be massive news…

While we wait for an update, check out Gatewood’s ridiculous senior highlights:

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