Calzada 'Excited' to Be Starting Season Opener
On Monday, Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops announced that Zach Calzada would be the team’s starting quarterback in Saturday’s season opener against Toledo. On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan and Calzada spoke to the media for the first time since the announcement.
When Hamdan and the UK staff were recruiting Calzada out of the transfer portal, they liked what they saw.
“There’s always a human element to it. I think he’s got a contagious personality,” Hamdan said. “When you go through this process in the transfer portal, it’s three, four days and you’re making a critical decision on somebody. There’s a lot of people rooting for him. He’s a guy who’s willing to put in the work. He’s a guy that wants to be around everybody, that wants to bring people together and I think we’re fortunate in that regard from the leadership standpoint. We think he has a lot of those qualities.”
Hamdan knows that it will be important to play within the system while taking chances when they present themselves.
“We’re sticking to our game plan, the regular plan,” Hamdan said. “Every game, at the quarterback position, you’ve got to pick and choose your battles and pick when to be aggressive and when not to be.”
The same goes for Calzada, as far as making the big plays.
“It will be the first live action for him,” Hamdan said. “Making plays down the field when the opportunity presents itself. When it’s not there, vertical runs, throwing checkdowns. Creating flow in our offense by taking what they give you.”
After playing at Incarnate Word the last two seasons, Calzada is happy to be back in the Southeastern Conference and is ready for the chance he has earned.
“I’m excited. Just ready for the opportunity,” Calzada said. “I’ve been waiting for this for a while, so I’m just excited to go out and play. We’ve been waiting six, seven months, so just to get back out on the field and play important games that matter to us and a lot of other people is exciting.”
When asked what he has improved on during the spring and fall, Calzada again cited the system.
“I think just growing in the system, learning to play within the system,” Calzada said. “I spent a lot of time with Coach Bush. Just knowing when to take certain chances and when to keep us ahead of the sticks and just operating in the offense.”
Calzada knows that he may have to be the hero at some point, but until then, he’s happy to be human.
“I like to go by the saying that I’ve got to be Clark Kent until it’s time to be Superman,” Calzada said. “That might be in game one, it might not be. Just doing whatever the team needs me to do.”
Calzada is excited to be under center for the season opener on Saturday, and he’s ready for the opportunity to play in the SEC again.
