LEXINGTON — Kentucky’s spring practice will end with the Blue-White game Friday night, but the biggest question of the spring is expected to linger well into fall camp: Who will be under center for the Wildcats when they open their season Sept. 1 against Central Michigan. The answer might say more about the direction of the Kentucky offense — and indeed, the UK program — than would be immediately obvious.

First, this job wasn’t expected to be open. Offensive coordinator Eddie Gran drew up a passing attack for sophomore starter Drew Barker before the 2016 season. In return, he got one great half (over 300 yards passing and four touchdowns), a couple terrible halves, and a season ending-injury from Barker. Indeed, Barker looked restless and gimpy as a junior and has now given up football entirely. In Kentucky’s moment of need, Gran turned the controls over the almost-zero-star JUCO QB Stephen Johnson. Johnson, who was rarely great on the stat sheet, had a steady demeanor, some solid RPO skills, and plenty of guts. He used all three qualities to lead UK to back-to-back seven-win seasons in 2016 and 2017.

But now Johnson is gone, Barker is a college student, and Kentucky’s QB job — with apologies to redshirt freshman Danny Clark — seems to be heading to either redshirt sophomore Gunnar Hoak, who is finishing his third spring in the program or to transfer sophomore Terry Wilson, who is finishing his first semester in Lexington. The decision might hinge more on the philosophy underlying the 2018 season than on the two passers.

Hoak is a 6-4 pocket passer from Dublin, Ohio. He enrolled early at Kentucky to be a part of 2016 spring practice, and after his redshirt season, gave an impressive performance in the 2017 spring game. Even when running the second-team offense against the first-team defense, Hoak outplayed Stephen Johnson. He finished 16-for-24 passing for 174 yards and two touchdowns, with much of that production coming against the first-team defense. Perhaps more impressive than his numbers was his steadiness and moxie. Hoak avoided negative plays and kept drives alive, even when he was throwing to walk-ons against Kentucky’s starters. Of course, during the 2017 season, he sat behind Kentucky’s senior starter, but experience is still his to claim.

The book on Hoak is that he’s incredibly accurate, smooth in the system, and is perhaps both more mobile and more of a big-play threat than outsiders would first notice. His performance in last year’s Blue-White game showed significant promise. That said, he’s never played a snap of FBS college football.

But neither has his competition, Terry Wilson. Wilson is a 6-3 JUCO transfer who had committed to Oregon. He comes to Kentucky with a reputation for speed and big-play passing ability. He was a highly-regarded high school recruit, and Kentucky held off Nebraska and Florida to sign him in December after his year of junior college at Garden City Community College.

Wilson’s meal ticket is his athleticism and big-play ability. His RPO abilities and big-time arm will allow him to make plays which the other Kentucky QBs can’t make. That said, he’s greener than the stadium grass, and in the SEC, much of Kentucky’s offensive blueprint been giving the ball to Benny Snell and hitting the occasional downfield pass or QB run as a change of pace. When Kentucky has avoided mistakes, they’ve been able to compete in the SEC.

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All of this makes for a philosophically interesting QB battle. Does Kentucky elect for experience, a steady hand, and a cleaner mid-range passing game? Or do the Cats go all in on a young talent, realizing that he could create big plays or big mistakes? Realistically, the key might be which QB can approximate the other’s best attributes. If Hoak can look nifty on scrambles and hit some big plays in Friday’s Blue/White game, that’s a good sign for him. If Wilson can look crisp in the pocket, seem in command of the offense, and avoid negative plays, that will help his situation.

So far, the coaches have claimed to be pleased with both players. You’ll hear from others that Hoak has consistently outscored Wilson in the coaches’ film grades, but in Wilson’s first practices as a Wildcat, that’s hardly surprising. Expect Hoak to enter the Blue/White game with a slight advantage — whether he can extend that advantage or loses it could be the first and biggest clue about the direction of Kentucky’s program in 2018.