Another position battle was settled on Monday when Kentucky coach Joker Phillips announced that Maxwell Smith would be the starting quarterback for the Wildcats when they meet Louisville on Sept. 2 at Louisville’s Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
“The first thing I would like to say is how proud I am of Max and Morgan (Newton) and how they have handled this,” Phillips said. “They have both done a great job of preparing and both done a great job of competing. This is one of the tougher decisions I have had to make. We have two quarterbacks that we feel like we can win with, but the guy that gives us the best chance to win at this point (gets the job.)
“A lot of things go into making this decision. There are a lot of different ingredients. We have to think about leadership and both of them are great leaders. Both of them have great knowledge of our offense. I think consistency and who can get the ball into the end zone and who can continue to lead this offense. Max Smith, we feel, gives us the best chance to win at this point, and he will be our starting quarterback versus Louisville.”
Smith, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound sophomore from Granada Hills, CA., has been competing with senior Morgan Newton for the starting job. Smith played in eight games as a freshman and completed 84 of 153 passes for 819 yards and four touchdowns and was named Freshman All-SEC by the league’s coaches. He was intercepted four times.
“It wasn’t obvious, it was tough,” Phillips said. “Again, a lot of factors are involved. I think Max had an upper hand by getting all those reps in the spring too. That had a lot to do with it. You saw him getting more comfortable with every snap he got and you can see a little bit more of it in this fall camp.”
It was an important decision in a season that screams for improvement on offense if the Wildcats are to improve on last season’s 5-7 record. Kentucky’s passing game and scoring offense was the worst in the league. The Wildcats also missed out on going to a bowl game for the first time in five years.
There were reasons to point to, such as having to play 11 true freshmen and having Newton struggle as the starter before injuring his shoulder and missing the rest of the season — and the spring — after undergoing surgery.
That opened the door for Smith, who started three times at the end of the season and injected some life into the offense.
“I think by the way they practiced it was evident that Max was probably a little more productive at this point. They both have done a good job. I am excited about having both of them on the team and what they can do for us,” offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said.
With an 11-14 record in his first two years as Kentucky’s coach, this could be a pivotal season for Phillips. Kentucky fans had gotten comfortable with a mid-level or minor bowl game at the end of the football season, and breaking a string of five straight bowl games last season put Phillips squarely behind the eight-ball for the 2012 season.