Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats brought the fans out of the darkness on August 26. Veteran transfer Zach Calzada earns the QB1 job after career stops at Texas A&M, Auburn, and Incarnate Word. With this, Stoops maintains his tradition of naming transfer quarterbacks as the Kentucky starter. The Wildcats saw Will Levis (2021-22), Devin Leary (2023), and Brock Vandagriff (2024) in the last four seasons. And now Calzada has earned it. Now, that calls for big responsibilities, isn’t it? Sometimes, juggling two roles is a huge task.

Last year at Incarnate Word, Stoop’s quarterback ranked No. 2 in the FCS with 35 passing touchdowns. Besides, he came with 343 of 524 passes and 3,744 yards. In 2021, while at Texas A&M, Calzada led the Aggies to a stunning win over No. 1 Alabama, throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns. While Stoops will have multiple examples to trust his quarterback blindly, did Calzada bite off more than he can chew?

On August 26, KSR tweeted, “Zach Calzada isn’t worried about playing hero ball.” The quarterback ticks off all the boxes when it comes to mobility and athleticism with his big arms. And now he is going to push his limits for Stoops’ program. He shouldered almost all of the production at Incarnate Word. Now at Wildcats, what does Calzada promise to bring to Kentucky’s table? “I gotta be Clark Kent until it’s time to be Superman,” said Stoops’ quarterback. “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.”

Calzada will focus on handing the ball off, taking easy completions, and managing the game without unnecessary risks. And how does he think that Calzada is going to survive switching between dual roles?

By trusting Stoops and the other coaches. “Nobody needs to go out and do anything different. We’ve practiced. We’ve prepared. We have a great group of coaches who 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,” said the Wildcats’ quarterback. It looks like Calzada has already injected an interesting motto as they gear up to fight their “faceless” opponent.   

Zach Calzada’s cool mindset ahead of the 2025 opener

They say respect your opponents, but don’t get intimidated by them. That’s what Stoops’ quarterback is following for his program. The 2025 Kentucky football season kicks off on August 30, with a face-off against Toledo. With a starter like Calzada, fans are already expecting Stoops’ Wildcats to be crushing Toledo. But here comes the real catch. Kentucky is not naive to know that Toledo is a popular upset pick, which has also been predicted to win the MAC after multiple Power Conference wins in 2024.

In such a crucial time, Calzada wants his program not to lose its focus. “They’re going to play hard,” said the quarterback. “We go by the motto, ‘Respect all, fear none.’ Our opponent’s faceless. We’ve got a lot of respect for them, and we know it’s one of their bigger games of the season, so we gotta give them the respect they deserve and give them our best.”  

They know what Saturday has in reserve for them, yet the Wildcats won’t let the name on the jersey dictate their preparation; they’ll treat this game with the same seriousness as any other. Meanwhile, other than Calzada pushing himself to great limits, there is one other room that’s turning heads.

“I feel better about our run game,” said Mark Stoops. Courtesy goes to backup running backs Jason Patterson and Jamarion Wilcox. That’s because their workhorses, Seth McGowan and Dante Dowdell, have both been sidelined with minor injuries. No matter how Zach Calzada looks equipped to handle pressure, and running back room runs on full throttle, here comes a blunt reminder. The opener comes against Toledo, a team that stunned Mississippi State last season. Are the Wildcats about to fall victim to the very “faceless” foes they refuse to fear?