Zach Calzada Makes Honest Confession to Take Mark Stoops’ Bottom-Line Warning on the Chin

In his Kentucky debut, Zach Calzada battled through growing pains, but the Wildcats still escaped with a 24-16 win over Toledo. And the QB1 went 10-for-23 for 85 yards with one interception, while his receivers managed just four catches for 12 yards. He was even tackled in the end zone for a second-quarter safety. So after the game, Mark Stoops didn’t sugarcoat it. “I don’t think it was his best effort. I think he’ll tell you that. We have to be better around him. There are a lot of things we can do,” Stoops told Tom Leach. He then delivered a blunt warning to Calzada.

“Zach’s gotta hand the football off. Bottom line, we had the edges protected. I think he got a little spooked, but we had it protected. You’ve just got to get some tough yards there.” stated Stoops. Honestly, those are tough words for a seventh-year QB. Calzada won the job over redshirt freshman Cutter Boley because of his experience, but now, that mistake was the kind of rookie error Kentucky simply can’t afford. And interestingly, Calzada didn’t get defensive. He accepted the warning with humility.

According to Jack Pilgrim’s August 31 tweet, the quarterback made it clear he believes in this group. “It felt good being out there for the first time with all these guys,” he said. “There were some ups and downs, but I feel good about these guys and we’re gonna get better.” Still, Calzada knows the work ahead. “I gotta go back and watch the film,” he admitted. “My decision-making, I gotta put the team in better situations. We’ll go back and watch the film, do that next week.” But what did Calzada say about the safety?

QB1 was not pleased with his Kentucky debut

“I gotta put the team in better situations. … The message to the team is that we have to get better and we will get better.”

READ: https://t.co/TjCTaYqUW9 pic.twitter.com/N3JOO0SfLB

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) August 31, 2025

Here, he didn’t dodge it. “That was my fault,” he admitted. “At the end of the day, the guy made a good play, but I gotta hand the ball off. That’s on me. That was my fault.” Kentucky had actually shown some life early on offense. Calzada hit JJ Hester down the right sideline for 32 yards on 3rd-and-10, a throw that looked like the start of a scoring drive. But the play was overturned, and the momentum stalled. The Wildcats were forced to punt. Following that, what could’ve been a statement start turned into another missed chance. Looks like Kentucky’s passing peaked on the opening drive.

“I think JJ getting called out of bounds was big. We felt really good after that, but we just have to bounce back and play the next play. Any adversity, we have to be able to bounce back,” admitted Calzada. TEs carried the load with 74 yards on five catches, while WRs combined for just 12 yards. Still, Calzada insisted the chemistry isn’t broken.

“Definitely, we just have to go back and watch the film,” he explained. “We were hitting really well in camp, I think we just missed a couple of those by fractions. I gotta give them better passes, give them a chance to go make a play.” So, for him, week one was about shaking off rust and learning what to fix. But the good news? They did it in a win. And that’s why Mark Stoops, despite the rocky debut, still believes Calzada will get better.

Kentucky HC’s take on Zach Calzada

After Sunday’s game, Mark Stoops insisted nothing seemed off with Zach Calzada before kickoff, but admitted the veteran QB looked like he was “pressing” once Toledo’s defensive line started applying pressure. “They did have some pressure, you know, I don’t think Zach was real comfortable. I think that led to some incompletions and some of our timing, and things that I’d like to improve on,” stated Stoops. And Calzada’s struggles only fueled louder calls for freshman Cutter Boley, the highly touted backup Stoops has labeled the program’s future. Still, the HC made it clear he’s sticking with his seventh-year starter.

“He cares, he wants to play well. He cares about his teammates, and I think he’ll look at this film and there are things he could do better, but that’ll be the same with everybody who played. Everybody can improve, and hopefully he’ll make a big jump and just settle in and play some ball,” explained Stoops. Now, despite the season-opening win, Mark Stoops made it clear there’s plenty to fix.

“Offensively, I felt like we were going to get in rhythm, and we hurt ourselves,” said Stoops. And OC Bush Hamdan echoed the same frustration, stating, “Do I think Zach looked in rhythm? No. Did I feel in rhythm? No.” But it wasn’t all on him. Kentucky’s receivers offered little help, and Calzada didn’t make things easier on himself either. Now let’s see how they respond with their next opponent.

The post Zach Calzada Makes Honest Confession to Take Mark Stoops’ Bottom-Line Warning on the Chin appeared first on EssentiallySports.