Kentucky Football: Mark Stoops says Drew Barker will play vs EKU; Has wanted to play him

The Kentucky Wildcats will face EKU this Saturday, and head coach Mark Stoops is already making it clear he wants to get his backup quarterback some action.

Though Patrick Towles is the clear-cut starter, Stoops still wants to see what his backup QB is capable of. The opportunity for him to play hasn't presented itself though with Kentucky being in close games in all four of their contests thus far.

Against EKU, it hopefully won't be as close, which should present a chance for Barker to get his first college snaps.

Stoops says he has wanted to get Drew Barker in the game, but opportunity has not been there. "I would love to play him in this game."

— Jon Hale (@JonHale_CJ) September 28, 2015

Stoops says Drew Barker definitely will play in this game.

— Jon Hale (@JonHale_CJ) September 28, 2015

Barker, a redshirt freshman, is a 6-foot-3, 216-pound former four-star recruit from Burlington who was rated the No. 5 pro-style quarterback prospect in the country by Rivals for 2014. He threw for 6,264 yards, rushed for 3,931 and accounted for 113 total scores at Conner High School.

In four games this season, Barker hasn't even taken a snap as Towles has been on the field for every offensive play. While it's good that Barker hasn't been needed, one play could see him go from backup to full-time starter if something were to happen to Towles.

Stoops knows this, and that's why he's chomping at the bit to get his backup QB some live action in hopes of having him better prepared in case he does have to play significant snaps.