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Terry Wilson battled through knee injury last season

Wilson’s promising start to the season took a bad turn, and now we know why.

Jason Marcum - Sea of Blue

Terry Wilson had an up-and-down first year in Lexington.

After struggling in his collegiate debut against Central Michigan, Wilson put on a show in Gainesville while leading Kentucky to its first win over Florida in over three decades.

Wilson followed that up with a great outing vs. Murray State, as it appeared the redshirt sophomore was really coming into his own.

But that took a bad turn against Mississippi State, as Wilson threw for just 71 yards with one pick while rushing 11 times for 18 yards. That’s when Wilson’s poor play really began, as he would throw for under 140 yards in each of his next three games, one of which was an 18-yard dud in a 14-7 home win over Vanderbilt.

After rushing for 223 yards and two scores in his first three games, Wilson would finish with just 324 yards and two scores over his final 10 games, including a four-game stretch in which he ran for just 44 combined yards vs. Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee and Middle Tennessee.

Turns out, Wilson suffered an injury against Mississippi State that was far more serious than UK ever let on, according to Dick Gabriel and Adam Luckett:

There were rumors of some type of leg injury with Wilson late last season, so it’s no surprise to see this finally come out. It was clear he wasn’t the same guy we saw against Florida when Kentucky’s offense took a nose dive in the middle of the season, which was due mainly to the offense’s inability to establish a consistent passing game.

Thankfully, Wilson got better and had a solid finish to end the season, including 340 total yards and four scores against Louisville.

One thing’s for sure: Wilson is ready for talking season to end so he can prove all his doubters wrong when Kentucky’s 2019 campaign begins.