A couple of hours after Kentucky added a weapon in JJ Hester, Kentucky added their quarterback for the season. Zach Calzada made it official on his X/Twitter this afternoon. “I got one more in me,” the seventh-year quarterback posted making the move to Lexington official. Calzada will bring SEC experience and absurd production to Lexington, something Kentucky has never been able to put together with their previous portal quarterback additions. There is a lot of career to go through, so let’s get started.
Player Background
Calzada was a three-star and top five hundred recruit out of Lanier High School in Buford, Georgia. He committed to Texas A&M and got extended run in year three in College Station after Haynes King went out with an injury. He threw for 2,185 yards and 17 touchdowns on 55.9% while leading the Aggies to an 8-4 record including a win over #1 Alabama. Calzada shined in this game throwing for 285 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception while putting up 41 points on a defense that only gave up 19.8 points per game. Calzada transferred to Auburn after the season, but didn’t play due to a change at offensive coordinator and injury. He moved to Incarnate Word and played two seasons putting up 6,386 yards, 54 touchdowns, and only 18 interceptions in an air raid system. Calzada has big game experience and has put up big numbers in multiple offensive systems.
Program Fit
Calzada played in an air raid system at Incarnate Word but played in a pro-style offense for Jimbo Fisher at A&M. He shows off good accuracy and quick decision making as he was asked to make a lot of underneath throws to open up the shots down the field. Calzada rushed for 471 yards and 5 additional touchdowns showing off the ability to scramble and make plays with his legs in short yardage situations. He fits Hamdan’s ideal style of quarterback with mobility and intermediate accuracy as he completed 60% of his passes and 10 touchdowns on passes from 10-20 yards. He has a baseball-style throwing motion that can lead to some inconsistency and longer time to throw, but 2.88 seconds for time to throw suggests Calzada has put in work to improve this potential weakness.
Position Outlook
Calzada projects to immediately take over the starting role with the departures of Brock Vandagriff and Gavin Wimsatt. True freshman Cutter Boley was given the keys to the program late in the season, but Boley was never supposed to play in his first season (or his second). Boley needs some development physically and with his decision making so learning behind Calzada in his seventh year of college football could prove beneficial for the promising young prospect. Stone Saunders is joining the program this offseason as someone the staff is super high on, and Brennan Ward will join him in the QB room this season. Kentucky is set at quarterback with Calzada and Boley for the foreseeable future and Bush Hamdan’s evaluation process will be put on full display as he brings the FCS transfer back to SEC country.
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