Signing Day Profile: QB Terry Wilson
Cats Illustrated is blowing out the coverage of college football's first early signing period by providing detailed analysis of every new Wildcat.
Bio in Brief
Quarterback Terry Wilson
6'3, 200 pounds
Garden City C.C. (Garden City, Kan.) / University of Oregon / Del Oro, Okla.
Rating: Three-stars (5.6)
Other offers: Florida, Baylor, Indiana, Ole Miss
Recruiting Overview
Wilson only emerged on Kentucky's recruiting radar after Lawrenceville (Ga.) Central Gwinnett quarterback Jarren Williams decommitted from Kentucky for the second time. It quickly became clear that Darin Hinshaw and Mark Stoops still wanted a quarterback in the 2018 class, and Wilson's name emerged as one to pay attention to right away.
Vince Marrow took the lead in Wilson's recruitment, visiting his school and watching his bowl game. Shortly after that, Wilson took an official visit to Kentucky. That followed a crazy week that included several shakeups to his plans. Initially, Wilson was scheduled to visit Kentucky. Then, that visit was cancelled and replaced with plans to visit Florida. After that, it seemed like a mid-week trip to Kentucky was on tap, with Florida and Nebraska providing stiff competition. But finally, Kentucky convinced Wilson to visit over the weekend after all.
Wilson committed to Kentucky on his official visit to Lexington, spurning an offer from new Gator coach Dan Mullen and deciding not to wait on Nebraska, whose new coach, Scott Frost, had known him well from their stint at Oregon.
Scouting Report
Wilson has been clocked at 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash and his speed is one of his best assets as a quarterback. He has been recognized as an excellent athlete since he was one of the top high school seniors in the state of Oklahoma several years ago.
He has always had recognized arm talent with the ability to put good velocity on the ball, but Wilson has been more of a work in progress with his arm.
Wilson made plenty of big plays at Garden City in his lone season as a JUCO starting quarterback but he did have 15 turnovers in the fall. Much of that was due to a young, struggling offensive line early in the year. He created big plays with his arms and legs, powering an offense that scored nearly 35 points per game and posting an 8-3 record as a starter, although his accuracy was only OK.
Forecast for 2018 & Beyond
Wilson will be a part of the offseason quarterback competition to succeed Stephen Johnson as Kentucky's starter. Nothing has been promised to him, but he, a senior Drew Barker, and a redshirt sophomore Gunnar Hoak will be the leading contenders to win the starting job. Wilson's dual-threat ability with Kentucky's run-heavy tendencies and run-favorable personnel could make him an intriguing option to win the job.
Wilson will have three years to complete three seasons of eligibility at Kentucky, giving him more game time than the average JUCO prospect.
Quotable
"He's as smart a guy as I've been around as far as the game of football. He was at Oregon and he was obviously competing for a starting job there. He's not as laid back as somebody like Eli Manning. I'd give him the alpha (label) just because he's the quarterback and he's imposing. He's built. He's a leader. Ask any guy on the team and they would tell you the same thing. Jeff Sims, the coach, always talks about character guys, especially at the JUCO level. There's never been any problem in the classroom or on the field and his mom is as class a lady as you'll ever meet. So personality wise he's going to fit in well anywhere."
- Garden City broadcaster Mike Pilosof on Wilson
