By Keith Taylor
Special to the NKyTribune
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has put starting quarterback Patrick Towles on notice as the Wildcats prepare for their last Southeastern Conference game of the year.
Following a dismal performance in last week’s 27-3 loss at Georgia, Towles’ job appears to be in jeopardy as Kentucky prepares for Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt.
“We’ve addressed it with Patrick and he understands that,” Stoops said Monday. “He accepts that. He’s got to go out, perform and produce just like everybody else on our team.”
Although Stoops stopped short of making an immediate change at the position, he did indicate the practice schedule this week would be tweaked to give backup quarterback Drew Barker more repetitions in the pocket.
“We’ll handle it slightly different with the quarterback reps,” Stoops said. “Drew gets quite a few reps throughout practice anyway and the way we rotate guys, he’s in there quite a bit with the (first team). It will be slightly different.”
On the team’s depth chart, Towles is still listed No. 1, although he threw for a season-low 96 yards in the loss at Georgia last week. He threw for 218 yards in a 42-16 defeat at Mississippi State and accounted for just 184 passing yards in Kentucky’s 52-21 setback to Tennessee.
Although Towles has regressed during the past three games, Stoops didn’t place all the blame on his starting quarterback for the team’s recent four-game slide, adding a share of the offensive struggles should be placed on the offensive line and the receivers.
“One thing about him, he’s been resilient,” Stoops said. “He’s had some good games and some bad games. It’s not all on him. We need to play better around him. Offensively when you (watch) film and you look at the play of the other 10 guys, it’s not up to par as well.”
Barker has appeared in two games this season and completed 8 of 11 passes for 47 yards and one interception. He threw for 42 yards late in the team’s loss at Mississippi State. Stoops said he will make a final determination on the starter by the end of the week.
“We will see how the week goes,” Stoops said. “Whoever gives us the best chance to go into Vandy and win will take the first snaps. If we feel confident in both guys and one is struggling then we will go to the other.”
Stoops said Barker’s strength is his ability to make “quick decisions” in the pocket.
“We all know that is important,” Stoops said. “One thing you see from him that you really like is that he is decisive in what he is doing.”
Overall, Stoops isn’t happy with the entire squad and was disappointed in the outcome last week. The Kentucky coach said the Wildcats lacked the confidence they needed to beat the Bulldogs.
“I would be lying if we didn’t say there was some frustration,” he said. “You’re always looking at ways to get better, eliminating mistakes and getting your players to play at the highest level they possibly can. That’s what I’m going to do and what we’re going to do as an organization.”
While Kentucky’s quarterback situation is an uncertainty, running back Stanley “Boom” Williams is expected to return to the lineup after missing last week’s game because of an elbow injury.
“He should be fine,” Stoops said. “He was in good spirits (last week), but will have to play with some form of a brace on his elbow. Hopefully, he’ll be able to handle that, protect the football and play like we need him to.”
Game time set: The kickoff for Kentucky’s game against Charlotte on Nov. 21 has been set for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers University of Kentucky athletics for KyForward.com.