Zach Calzada Doesn’t Need to be Superman for Kentucky

For most of the preseason, buzz around the Kentucky quarterbacks was all about Cutter Boley. The redshirt freshman made significant strides throughout fall camp before Mark Stoops ultimately revealed that it’s Zach Calzada who will be under center to start the season.

Now, Kentucky fans are left wondering what to expect from their quarterback, especially one who described himself as a “game manager.” That’s not necessarily inspiring for fans, even though it’s had that effect on his teammates.

“He’s got a contagious personality,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said Tuesday. “You never know. When we go through this process, particularly in the transfer portal, it’s three or four days where you’re making a critical decision on somebody. I think there’s a lot of people rooting for him. He’s a guy that’s going to put in the work, a guy that loves to be around everybody, that wants to bring people together. I think we’re fortunate from a leadership standpoint because he has a lot of those qualities.”

From a physical standpoint, we know Calzada is a mobile athlete with a big arm. Mark Stoops believes the reason why Calzada is emphasizing his role aws a game manager is because the guy loves to let it rip.

“I think he’s tried talking himself into that because he likes to get the ball down the field and take some shots,” Stoops said Monday. “I think that’s just through coaching, because when things are there, and checkdowns are there, and keeping the chains moving, those are things he has to do, and he’s done a better job with that.”

Calzada shouldered almost all of the production at Incarnate Word. For this Kentucky offense to be successful, it starts with the run game behind the offensive line, then making the most of opportunities through the air down the field.

“I gotta be Clark Kent until it’s time to be Superman,” said Calzada. “It might be in game one and it might not be. I’m just playing within the system and doing whatever the team needs me to do.”

Emotions will be high when Kentucky opens the season against Toledo. Before the game begins, he’s resisting the urge to give in to his emotions and focusing on doing his job. That message isn’t for him; it’s for the entire Kentucky football team.

“We just all need to do our job and play within the system,” said the Kentucky quarterback. “Nobody needs to go out and do anything different. We’ve practiced. We’ve prepared. We have a great group of coaches that are going to put us in the best situations, in the best positions to go make plays. I think we just need to do our job, play within the system, run the ball, execute. For me, it’s taking completions, and not trying to do too much.”