Stoops talks Terry Wilson, Joey Gatewood on SEC Teleconference

After a superb performance against Ole Miss, Terry Wilson struggled vs. Mississippi State, completing 8 of 20 passes for only 73 yards and a touchdown, along with 50 yards on the ground on 13 carries. On today’s SEC Teleconference, Stoops acknowledged Terry’s tough day vs. the Bulldogs, but cited other factors that contributed to it, such as dropped passes by wide receivers and poor protection from the offensive line.

“He is better,” Stoops said of Terry’s growth during his Kentucky career. “That doesn’t mean each and every game. This past week definitely wasn’t one of his stronger performances. Hopefully he’ll bounce back and have a complete game this week. But overall, he’s more experienced, he understands the offense. We have to help him in certain situations, stepping up at wide receiver, giving him some protection. So, there was a combination of things this past week that didn’t look very pretty but overall, he is a more complete quarterback.”

Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood made an appearance late in the Mississippi State game, rushing twice for five yards and throwing one incomplete pass. Although Stoops maintained that Terry is Kentucky’s starter, he also said he is confident that Joey Gatewood OR Beau Allen could step in if need be.

“Definitely impressed with Joey and you definitely can see the talent. I think he picks things up very well. He goes through his progressions. He can put the ball anywhere on the field and he’s big and physical, so we’ll see where it goes. Terry is our starting quarterback and we really need Terry to have a big game here this week but Joey’s ready to go, along with Beau Allen. I’ve been super impressed with Beau Allen as well. Again, I think both of those quarterbacks are progressing well behind Terry.”

The backup quarterback is always the most popular guy on the team, but odds we see Gatewood if Terry struggles again on Saturday?