Kentucky football: Wildcats lose QB to transfer portal

Terry Wilson entering the transfer portal raised eyebrows with the Kentucky football team.

With one year’s worth of collegiate eligibility remaining, Kentucky football starting quarterback Terry Wilson has opted to enter the transfer portal after the Wildcats’ bowl win over the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

Wilson announced his intentions to transfer on Monday night. While he was never the most prolific passer at UK, he did lead the Wildcats to two bowl victories in three seasons. He goes down in Kentucky football history as a legend simply for the fact he was able to beat two arch rivals in the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers in his time in Lexington.

What does this mean for Kentucky and Wilson for 2021?

We have to believe former Auburn Tigers quarterback Joey Gatewood was really pushing Wilson for the starting job in practice. While Wilson had been the 2018 starter before, an injury-plagued season in 2019 allowed another Kentucky legend in the form of Lynn Bowden Jr. to take over for him in the interim, en route to winning the illustrious Paul Hornung Award.

Overall, Kentucky should be one of the better teams in the SEC East next year. While the ‘Cats will not contend for a division title with the likes of Florida and the Georgia Bulldogs ahead of them, we understand firmly that Mark Stoops‘ team was significantly better than the 5-6 record they showed this year. If this was a normal season, UK would have won around eight games.

Wilson may want to play in a spot where he will not be pushed as often by a guy like Gatewood backing him up. Though he is more of a runner than a thrower, Wilson has been instrumental in some of the best wins in the Stoops era in Lexington. While the time of his transfer is a bit odd, given UK just beat a top-25 team in NC State in the Gator Bowl, we must respect his decision.

Wilson transferring leaves the door wide open for Gatewood take over Big Blue Nation in 2021.

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