Quarterback decision still looming

There is a battle being waged for Kentucky’s starting quarterback position. Senior Morgan Newton and sophomore Maxwell Smith are competing for a lone spot under center, and Joker Philips claims the war is far from over with more than a few weeks remaining before Kentucky’s first kickoff against Louisville on the 2nd of September.

Joker Philips addressed the question of his quarterback after the third day of Kentucky’s preseason camp, making it clear a decision was likely still weeks away.

“Still hard to evaluate after three days, especially when you’re installing, but we’ll take it slow. Still got two weeks before I would like to get it done, which means you’ve got two scrimmages. But we’ve got seven days of install that we’re trying to build up to the first scrimmage. We’ll see if it shakes itself out then, but probably not. We don’t want to make a decision after scrimmage one. It’s probably way too soon.”

I think all fans would rest a little easier knowing their quarterback was decided. There’s already overwhelming fan support for Smith to take the bid, but early indications from camp seem to suggest Newton is the sharper of the two at the moment.

Either way, Joker seems to like what he’s seeing. “A lot of encouraging things, but there’s some discouraging things, too,” Philips said. “Which comes with only being out here three days, which comes with putting in new plays every day. I just like the leadership that we have out of that position… all four of those guys have great leadership, great presence. Those are the things that are encouraging.”

The battle may still be waging for the man taking snaps, but in Joker’s eyes the squad is going to benefit either way.