Joey Gatewood commits to UCF

UPDATE

According to 247 Sports’ Brandon Marcello, Joey Gatewood has committed to the UCF Knights.

As a second-time college transfer who is not yet a graduate, Gatewood will now have to receive an NCAA waiver to be eligible to play for the Knights this fall. The NCAA granted a one-time transfer eligibility exception to all Division I athletes last spring, but it only applies if the athlete has not yet transferred.

This means Gatewood probably won’t be eligible right away with the season set to begin in two weeks, but we’ll hopefully get to see him back on the field at some point this fall.

Just days after entering the transfer portal, it appears Joey Gatewood has found his next home.

According to On3’s Matt Zenitz, Gatewood is trending toward joining the UCF Knights.

If this comes to pass, he would reunite with Gus Malzahn, who originally recruited Gatewood to Auburn back in the Class of 2018. Malzahn was fired this offseason before being hired as the next head coach at UCF, replacing Josh Heupel following his move to Tennessee.

This past year at Kentucky, Gatewood made just one start vs. Georgia, where he completed 15/25 passes for 91 yards and no interceptions. He also had 23 rushing yards and a fumble in the 14-3 defeat. He finished the season 17/35 passing for 109 yards and one interception to go with 25 rushes for 62 yards.

To be fair, Kentucky’s offense was a mess under the now departed Eddie Gran, but Gatewood was still unable to impress new offensive coordinator Liam Coen enough to beat out Will Levis for the job.

Best of luck to Gatewood wherever he lands next.