LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kaiya Sheron started at quarterback in place of injured senior Will Levis in No. 13 Kentucky's 24-14 loss to South Carolina on Saturday night.
Mystery preceded this defeat as Levis entered Kroger Field with a boot on his left foot and did not participate in pregame warm-ups. Earlier this week, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops referred to a finger injury Levis suffered in last week's 22-19 loss to No. 9 Mississippi, but didn't mention any foot injury and remained mum on the quarterback's status on Thursday.
Levis was dressed in a warm-up suit with a hoodie pulled over his head as his teammates went through final preparations. Sheron, a redshirt freshman, was announced on the video board as the starter for the Wildcats (4-2, 1-2 SEC) just before kickoff.
Sheron finished 15-of-27 for 178 yards with two touchdown and an interception, as Kentucky was held to its lowest output since losing 30-13 to top-ranked Georgia 30-13 last season.
"A first-time starter, in position to be successful, I don't think our team played with the normal competitive character that our teams generally play with," Stoops said, referring to Sheron. "That's obviously the job of the head coach to get the team prepared and put them in the position to be successful."
ESPN's Mel Kiper said this week that he would bet on Levis being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Several NFL scouts ESPN has talked with also think Levis will be a top-5 pick and a top-10 pick at worst.
Before Saturday night, Levis, who broke out for 2,827 yards passing and 24 touchdowns last season, had started all 18 games for Kentucky since transferring from Penn State. This season, he has completed 68% of his passes for 1,405 yards and 12 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
Levis completed 18 of 24 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns last week at Ole Miss but fumbled twice inside the 20 late in the loss.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
