LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky fans watching Saturday’s game against New Mexico State were reminded that in the Bluegrass region, it’s not just in horse racing that an unheralded long shot can win big. Kentucky football found its own high-performing, unheralded sensation Saturday afternoon in junior quarterback Stephen Johnson II.

If original plans had held, the 2016 Kentucky offense would be led by senior Patrick Towles, and Stephen Johnson II would be … well, he would be somewhere other than Lexington.

But the veteran QB Towles, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, and head coach Mark Stoops didn’t work out together at Kentucky in 2015. Dawson was fired, and Towles transferred to Boston College — which left the 2016 Kentucky offense in the hands of sophomore QB Drew Barker. And when it was time for a backup plan to Barker, the Kentucky coaches were scrambling. Enter Johnson.

Playing in a run-heavy offense at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Johnson planned to use his dual threat skills to impact a college football program. But it was going to be coach Doug Williams’s offense at Grambling State University.

Johnson redshirted in 2013 at Grambling, during which time Williams was fired. In 2014, Johnson won the starting job under a new coach, played well in four games and then suffered a high ankle sprain. Once he was healed, Johnson was no longer given reps as a starter, and so he moved on to College of the Desert where he starred as a sophomore in 2015, throwing for 3,210 yards. But post-JUCO, when it was time to move on to his third college, Johnson was hunting for an FBS school where he had a shot to play in his two remaining seasons.

He would be a spring enrollee, but as winter 2015 wound down, he was looking to choose between Hawaii and Arkansas State.

Enter the scrambling Kentucky coaches. Newly hired QB coach Darin Hinshaw was in the market for quarterback depth, as UK otherwise stood to face 2016 with only sophomore Barker, true freshman Gunnar Hoak, and walk-ons.

Kentucky extended a late scholarship offer, and Johnson was only too happy to become a Wildcat. However, so far in 2016, he was a clear second option to the highly-touted Barker, and had played only briefly at Florida in Week 2.

All of that changed on the third play of Saturday’s game with New Mexico State, when Barker either was injured or aggravated a prior injury. Either way, he was forced from the game, and UK, trailing 7-0, handed the QB reins to Johnson, who surprised many with a superb relief performance.

Sep 17, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Stephen Johnson (15) drops back to pass the ball against the New Mexico State Aggies in the first quarter at Commonwealth Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

After an initial three-and-out, Johnson’s Kentucky offense was rarely stopped the rest of the day. With Johnson in the game, Kentucky ran the ball very well, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. Johnson himself contributed with 10 carries for 51 yards on the ground. Not content to add only mobility to the offense, Johnson also crushed the Aggies with the pass.

He threw a dart to sophomore tight end C.J. Conrad, which went for a 72-yard score. He hit a gorgeous deep ball to WR Jeff Badet for 54 more yards. Screens, pop passes, rollouts, it was all working for Johnson, who finished 17-for-22 for 310 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

And suddenly the Kentucky offense might well be Stephen Johnson’s offense, fresh off what is believed to be UK’s first ever 300 yards passing/300 yards rushing offensive game.

“I thought he really calmed down and made some good decisions,” UK coach Mark Stoops said after the game. “He gets you a little off balance.”

For his part, Johnson seems to be an unusually level-headed college star. He was excited after the game because his parents and two siblings had come to Lexington to see the game.

“I was a little bit nervous the first drive,” Johnson said, “but after settling down, letting the game come to me, it got a little more comfortable.”

Even the coolest guy in the room had to smile a bit when he said, “It was a great day.”

True freshman running back Benny Snell, who starred with four rushing touchdowns Saturday, was  unequivocal in his praise for Johnson.

“I saw an animal,” he said of his quarterback’s performance. “He really did his thing. When his number was called, he was ready.”

Snell said he thinks Johnson should be the Wildcats’ starter moving forward.

At the moment, the UK quarterback situation is very much unknown. Stoops was unwilling or unable to update Barker’s status after the game, and the second question of his press conference was, “If he (Barker) is healthy, can you take Stephen out at this point?”

Stoops demurred, indicating, “I’m not going to make any decision like that right now.”

But for Johnson, the unlikely star, any shot is enough of a shot.

On his third college destination, across the country from his home, the late-recruited afterthought looks like he could end up being Kentucky’s answer for a season when the expectations had been unfulfilled.

It was a gloomy, rainy afternoon Saturday in Lexington when Barker went down, but figuratively and literally, the weather improved once Johnson took over at quarterback. Maybe it was an omen, and maybe UK football’s long shot will come up big.