Kentucky football backup quarterback, Lexington native Beau Allen to enter transfer portal

LEXINGTON - Will Levis is the unquestioned starting quarterback for Kentucky football this fall, but the race to back him up just lost a contender.

Former four-star recruit and Lexington native Beau Allen announced Wednesday he would transfer from Kentucky, ending his UK career after appearing in five games across two seasons. Allen, UK's No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart last season, was set to battle with Iowa transfer Deuce Hogan and former Somerset High School star Kaiya Sheron to serve as Levis's primary backup this fall.

While Allen failed to win the starting job a year ago in a three-way battle with Levis and Joey Gatewood, who later transferred to UCF, his commitment to Kentucky in high school was considered one of the more important wins of the Mark Stoops era at the time.

Rivals.com and ESPN both rated Allen as a four-star recruit as a senior at Lexington Catholic High School. He reported scholarship offers from Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Washington State, West Virginia, Maryland, Duke, Cincinnati and others.

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Allen's pledge ended a string of bad luck for UK in recruiting quarterbacks.

In both the 2017 and 2018 classes Kentucky lost long-time quarterback commitments Mac Jones (Alabama) and Jarren Williams (Miami) after they blossomed into four-star prospects and began receiving attention from powerhouse programs. Before Allen, Kentucky had not signed a four-star high school quarterback in the Rivals.com rankings since Conner High School star Drew Barker in 2014. Barker's college career ended early due to injuries.

Unlike Jones and Williams, Allen kept his commitment through signing day, helping hold together a 2020 recruiting class that ended up as Stoops' best yet UK.

Allen, whose father, Bill Allen, served as a backup quarterback for Kentucky in the 1980s, appeared in two games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season as a freshman. He played in three games last season, completing 8 of 12 passes for 92 yards.

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In the 2022 spring game, Allen completed 4 of 11 passes for 75 yards but was hurt by several drops by his receivers.

With Allen leaving, Hogan, a former four-star recruit who transferred to Kentucky as a walk-on, becomes the favorite to win the backup job. Hogan appeared in one game as Iowa's third-string quarterback last season but did not attempt a pass.

Jon Hale: jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jonh.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Beau Allen: Kentucky football backup quarterback to transfer