Kenny Minchey is being asked to do two things at once: protect the football and know when to take off.
That balance has become a central point of Kentucky’s quarterback conversation as the Wildcats move toward their Sept. 5 opener against Youngstown State. Minchey, the Notre Dame transfer, has shown enough in camp to earn praise from offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and coach Will Stein, but both coaches made it clear after Saturday’s second intrasquad scrimmage that his legs have to be part of the plan.
“Our goal for him has been that he’s got to go run somewhere between five and eight times a game. He had a big scramble for about 40 (yards) in a two-minute (drill) today,” said Sloan.
“I thought he had a couple vertical scrambles that took us out of maybe a zero-yardage play, put us into second and six-type situations, which is huge. That’s what he needs to do.
He’s mobile.”
Stein has been pushing the same message, but with one major caution: he does not want Minchey taking unnecessary punishment against Southeastern Conference defenses. Still, the staff sees the quarterback’s mobility as a way to unlock the offense.
“We really stressed to him, this week more than ever, ‘We need to see you use your feet. You have good skill with your feet, so run.
Push the pocket, and run,'” Stein said. “He’s got a black jersey in practice, so he can’t get touched, but he can still learn to push the pocket and go take off.
“That has to happen for us. The best guys in the country and in the world can use their feet to go get first downs.”
Minchey arrived with a lot to prove. The four-star recruit threw just 29 passes across three seasons at Notre Dame, which is part of why he made the move to Kentucky. He also came because Stein and Sloan have a reputation for developing quarterbacks.
Stein said Minchey is still early in the process because he has not been a starter, but the progression has been obvious.
“He’s still a guy that hasn’t played and started games, so there’s going to be some growing pains in practice to get him to where he needs to be,” Stein said. “But Kenny’s had an elite camp.
He’s at a really good camp; he’s improved. I thought he had his best week of practice.”
That growth showed up in Saturday’s final preseason scrimmage, when Stein said Minchey “played within himself and went where the ball was supposed to go.”
For Stein, that kind of decision-making matters as much as any highlight throw. He wants the quarterback to stay calm, take the easy play and avoid forcing the issue.
“Even the best players, it’s just about taking the easy money. You don’t have to force plays down the field.
You don’t have to get antsy if you just make the correct play each time,” the Kentucky coach said. “The ball is going to move forward.
That’s not just with new players, it’s young and old.
“Playing quarterback, it’s an art and a science. You’ve got to understand the down and distance, you’ve got to understand the situation, and you’ve got to play to that situation and know that you have really good players around you.”
That last part is a big piece of the equation. Stein said the better Kentucky’s supporting cast performs, the easier the job becomes for Minchey.
“When you’ve got a great offensive line and good tight ends and backs and receivers, you’re the point guard. I don’t want Kenny to feel like he’s got to go win us a game,” Stein said. “There’s going to be times in the game where he’s going to have to go make plays, but the key I think for all young quarterbacks is to know that more quarterbacks on Saturdays lose the game for their team than they do for than they do win it.
“More of them lose it than they do win it with making bad decisions, putting the ball in jeopardy, not using their legs when they have to.”
Stein also acknowledged that all of that gets tougher when the competition level rises. But he said Minchey has handled the early part of camp well, especially when it comes to ball security.
“When you can eliminate the bad first, that’s when you can take another step as a quarterback,” Stein said. “I think he’s looked really good. He’s done a good job with taking care of the football.”
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