So far as football commitments go, they don't get much bigger than Joey Gatewood's decision for Kentucky on Thursday.
Gatewood was on the cusp of winning the starting job at Auburn, losing out only to the most prolific freshman passer in Tiger history, and he will arrive at Kentucky with a huge profile, literally and figuratively, as a towering and athletic quarterback who once ranked among the nation's top recruits.
In this regular Cats Illustrated "Take Two" feature, you'll read two opinions on what it all means for Mark Stoops' program.
Travis Graf: On the surface, Kentucky lands their highest-ranked quarterback prospect since Tim Couch. Gatewood was a top-60 player coming out of high school with offers from pretty much every football blue blood in the country. This is the type of athlete that Kentucky isn’t used to having until recent years. An absolute physical freak that can sling the ball and run the ball at a high level.
Gatewood fits Kentucky’s offensive scheme perfectly and will battle it out for the starting spot with Beau Allen over the next few years. Gatewood becomes Kentucky’s third high-profile transfer in the last year, joining Xavier Peters and Kelvin Joseph. Gatewood keeps Kentucky’s positive recruiting momentum going and adds more swagger to Kentucky’s already promising backfield.
Justin Rowland: This is huge on so many levels. Let's start with the fact that he could really become Kentucky's best quarterback in a really long time. There's no guarantee that will happen and it's usually unwise to set expectations too high especially for quarterbacks, but given the way Kentucky wants to run its offense and Gatewood's skill set, it seems like a perfect fit. UK has had gutsy quarterbacks in recent years but part of taking the next step and really competing for a championship is complementing that increasingly dominant defense and run game with a real gamebreaker behind center.
Gatewood is also going to really help Kentucky's recruiting efforts. He's been through the process before and he's older so I doubt he's going to be hitting up guys as frequently as a high schooler might, but the name and the background will resonate and some very talented guys will see this as ever more evidence the program is taking a big leap forward. UK's coaches will sell this hard to recruits.
If Gatewood is eligible next year I believe he will be a real candidate to fight it out for the starting job, whether Terry Wilson is healthy or not. If he can't play until 2021 then he'll have a full year to learn the system, gain credibility off the field with his teammates, and then become the likely starter for the last two years of his high school career.
