Roster Rundown: No. 12 Sawyer Smith

Sawyer Smith is just one reason Kentucky's coaches should have a new sense of enthusiasm when it comes to the quarterback position looking ahead to the 2020 season.

He's next up in Cats Illustrated's Roster Rundown series.

Background: Smith was a Rivals.com three-star recruit as a high school prospect and ultimately signed with the Troy Trojans. There he was a backup for a couple of years before finally getting his opportunity to shine, playing in all of Troy's 2018 games as a redshirt sophomore and starting the last seven. He led Troy to a 5-2 record, throwing for 1,669 yards and 14 touchdowns, mostly in those games as a starter.

As Kentucky looked to bolster its quarterback depth chart ahead of the 2019 season, due to Gunnar Hoak's decision to transfer to Ohio State, Smith was a player the staff evaluated. Of course Jon Sumrall had coached at Troy and that connection couldn't have hurt but Smith seemed to like the opportunity to play in SEC, even saying at the time that he was content helping Terry Wilson to be the best quarterback he could be.

Smith got his opportunity in his first year when Wilson went down to a horse collar tackle against Eastern Michigan. The early returns were fantastic as he led Kentucky to a 21-10 lead against Florida, which was carried into the fourth quarter. UK lost that game and the next two -- Mississippi State and South Carolina -- that Smith started, perhaps in large part because he was banged up in the win against the Gators. It was a wrist injury against Florida and he later suffered a shoulder injury. It took him most of the rest of the season to get close to full strength again.

The difference in Smith's performance due to health was obvious as he was able to put pressure on a talent-laden Florida secondary when healthy but afterwards, injured, was incapable of throwing anywhere near as well.

During the spring Darin Hinshaw and the coaching staff singled Smith out for praise, indicating that he was looking as good as it was at the same point the previous year.

2020 Outlook: If Smith is back to the form that everyone saw against Florida early last season, and it seems that he is, he has a definite opportunity to factor into Kentucky's 2020 season.

Terry Wilson is widely assumed to be the favorite to start with his 12-3 record with the Wildcats but Smith appeared to be a very capable No. 2 going into last season.

A healthy Smith could be the most likely No. 2 even with Beau Allen, Nik Scalzo, and Joey Gatewood, who may be eligible, and we saw last season that a depth chart can be tested very quickly.