‘Going to be superstars.’ Ex-Cats C.J. Conrad, Maxwell Smith to coach against UK with EKU.

C.J. Conrad and Maxwell Smith both occupy a distinct place in the recent history of the Kentucky football program.

Conrad, a UK tight end from 2015-18, is best known for catching a game-winning touchdown pass from Terry Wilson on an untimed final play to give the Wildcats a one-point win at Missouri in 2018.

Smith, a UK quarterback from 2011-13, was behind center for Mark Stoops’ first win as Kentucky’s head coach, a 41-7 romp against Miami (Ohio) in 2013.

These two men will return to Kroger Field on Saturday afternoon, but this time they’ll be trying to mastermind a monumental college football upset against the Wildcats.

Conrad and Smith are both in their first seasons as position coaches at Eastern Kentucky: Conrad is the tight ends coach and Smith is the quarterbacks coach.

They both joined the coaching staff of EKU head coach Walt Wells this summer.

“Both of them are going to be superstars in the profession,” Wells told the Herald-Leader.

Following their playing careers in Lexington, Conrad and Smith stuck around and gained experience on Stoops’ Kentucky coaching staffs.

Conrad, who caught 80 passes for 1,015 yards and 12 touchdowns as a Wildcat, worked as a graduate assistant and an offensive quality control aide for UK from 2020 through this past summer.

Smith, who made 11 starts at quarterback for the Cats and threw for 3,070 yards and 21 touchdowns at UK, spent three seasons as a graduate assistant under Stoops in Lexington.

During his Monday media conference, Stoops acknowledged the familiarity that will come with having Conrad and Smith on the opposing sideline.

“They’re competitors, believe me. You ask them and I know they love UK and have strong relationships on this staff, but I expect them to want to go in there and try to rip our eyeballs out,” Stoops said.

Even the head man at EKU, Wells, holds recent, strong ties to UK: Wells was a quality control aide for Kentucky in 2018 and 2019 before being hired in Richmond.

“I needed Kentucky more than Kentucky needed me,” Wells said of his arrival in Lexington.

But what about the two former UK players turned EKU coaches?

“They’re both young guys, so they bring a lot of energy. They love coaching … I’m really happy they’re here,” Wells said.

“(When) you’ve got coaches that aspire to be head coaches, they’re going to do their job well because they know they’re being evaluated by not just me, by other people, the people that make the decisions here.”

When Wells reached out to Stoops and UK associate head coach Vince Marrow to ask about Conrad’s chops as a coach, Wells said they “couldn’t rave enough about him.”

But it’s Smith who occupies a higher-profile role on the EKU coaching staff, in part because of the generational talent the Colonels have at quarterback.

Sixth-year quarterback Parker McKinney entered the 2023 season as the Football Championship Subdivision’s active career leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.

McKinney owns the all-time EKU records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass attempts, completions and total offense.

Last season under the direction of former EKU quarterbacks coach Trent Steelman, McKinney set single-season school records for completions (315), attempts (459), completion percentage (68.6%), passing yards (3,956) and passing touchdowns (33).

But last Saturday’s debut of the player-coach pairing of McKinney and Smith was a difficult one: EKU lost 66-13 at Cincinnati.

McKinney was 13-of-24 for 177 yards, along with one touchdown pass and two interceptions.

“He comes in and everybody thinks, ‘Oh, you’ve got it easy because you’ve got Parker McKinney.’ That’s probably the hardest job on the staff right now,” Wells said of Smith, who finished his college playing career as the starting quarterback at San Diego State.

How did McKinney assess his first game with Smith as his position coach?

“Obviously, every time I would come over to the sideline (Smith) was positive with stuff, which is always great as a quarterback,” McKinney said. “He was also telling me what he saw and different stuff that maybe I could do out there, or certain reads … A lot of just helpful stuff over on the sideline that could help me for the next drive whenever I went out there.”

Smith’s EKU coaching debut came amid trying personal circumstances.

In late August, Smith’s youngest brother underwent successful open-heart surgery to remove a tumor.

Just prior to the start of the 2022 EKU football season, Wells suffered a heart attack himself. Earlier this year, Wells’ brother — longtime Tennessee high school football coach Bobby Wells — died of cancer.

“I’m here for Maxwell if he ever needs me to be,” Wells said. “Life is bigger than football.”

EKU still seeking first football win over UK

Regardless of the distinct dynamics that will exist Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field for Conrad, Smith and Wells, they will be united in the effort to try and score a significant upset win for EKU.

The Colonels and Wildcats have only played each other in football on five previous occasions, all of which were won by UK.

But there have been several close calls, including each of the last two meetings between the schools.

In 2015, EKU led UK by 14 points with five minutes to go, only for the Wildcats to stage a major comeback and win 34-27 in overtime.

In 2017, EKU had a 16-10 advantage late in the third quarter, but UK scored the final 17 points of the game to win 27-16.

While Wells was obviously disappointed in last week’s 53-point loss at Cincinnati, he felt the physicality of his football team was a positive to take from the game.

“Where we lacked on Saturday was the trust and the consistency to do the things that you have to do to win in games like that when you’re an FCS opponent going against an FBS opponent,” Wells said Tuesday, noting the inexperience on EKU’s roster.

“You can’t go out and make silly, stupid mistakes over and over and over again and expect to win.”

“A physical mistake, that’s recruiting, there’s a lot of things that go into that. That’s human development, the list goes on and on and on,” Wells added, referencing some tough-love EKU team meetings that have occurred following the loss to Cincinnati.

“But mental mistakes — lining up, assignments, alignments, technique — that’s on you. That’s on us if we’re not coaching it well, and that’s on you if you’re not going out there and performing when you’re supposed to.”

Saturday

Eastern Kentucky at Kentucky

When: 3 p.m.

Live video broadcast: SEC Network Plus (online only)

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Eastern Kentucky 0-1, Kentucky 1-0

Series: Kentucky leads 5-0

Last meeting: Kentucky won 27-16 on Sept. 9, 2017, in Lexington

UPDATED: Where to watch, how to follow Saturday’s Kentucky football game vs. EKU

Blue Preview: Storyline, odds, who to watch for UK football vs. Eastern Kentucky

First Scouting Report: Against EKU, can UK football overcome a bevy of ex-Cats?

‘It’s going to be different.’ Ex-UK football standout will soon seek to beat the Cats.

‘It will be really weird.’ Ex-UK starting QB is gearing up to coach against the Cats.