UK offers JUCO quarterback

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops took the first steps to building a new offense by hiring offensive coordinator Eddie Gran and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw this week, but the new coaches must solve a growing concern about quarterback depth.

The first step to addressing the shortage of quarterbacks on the roster created by the transfers of Patrick Towles and Reese Phillips may have come this week with a scholarship offer to three-star College of the Desert quarterback Stephen Johnson II.

Johnson completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 3,210 yards, 34 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 10 games as a junior-college sophomore in 2015. He also gained 429 yards and eight touchdowns on 126 carries.

Johnson is ranked as the No. 5 dual-threat junior-college quarterback in the country by the 247Sports Composite, which averages the ratings of the four major recruiting services. He signed with Grambling State out of high school but transferred to the College of the Desert after he redshirt freshman season.

Arkansas State and Hawaii have also offered scholarships to Johnson, who would have two seasons of eligibility remaining after transferring to an FBS program.

Gran, Hinshaw join Kentucky football staff

Redshirt freshman Drew Barker is currently the only scholarship quarterback on UK’s roster, but 2016 three-star recruit Gunnar Hoak is scheduled to join him during the spring semester after graduating early from Dublin Coffman High School in Ohio. UK also returns former Male High School quarterback Davis Mattingly, a walk-on who redshirted during the 2015 season.

Email Jon Hale atjahale@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter@JonHale_CJ.