Photo by John Kirkpatrick

Team Kentucky has launched the West Kentucky BBQ Belt, a collection of barbecue restaurants to experience in western Kentucky. Eighteen cities in western Kentucky are part of the mobile passport initiative, including Owensboro. 

The campaign features stops at Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn, Old Hickory Bar-B-Que, Ole South Barbeque, and Smoke House. The initiative also includes stops at Kentucky Lake, Paducah, Henderson, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Franklin, Russellville, Mayfield, and Madisonville. 

“Barbecue is Owensboro, and Owensboro is barbecue,” said Dave Kirk, destination management manager for Visit Owensboro. “Its history stretches all the way back to our founding. Having a signature style of barbecue with mutton over hickory smoke with a vinegar-forward sauce is a huge tourism draw for mutton. Owensboro is an absolute must-stop on the trail.”

Kirk cited several awards and recognitions the restaurants have earned throughout the years. Owensboro is highly touted in the barbecue world, from Southern Living and USA Today to KY Monthly, KY Pitmasters, and more.

Anyone interested in participating in the mobile passport program can access a pass at wkybbq.com. After selecting “get your pass,” a passport is delivered via text message and email to the user’s phone. No app is required, and the pass can be accessed on a phone’s home screen. 

After visiting a participating restaurant, present the phone to a staff member to check in and redeem. The pass remains valid for 365 days after the time of purchase. 

The program’s website reads: 

Dotted along backroads and rolling hills that snake through Western Kentucky is a little-known culinary passage known as the BBQ Belt, where blink-and-you-might-miss-’em gems of the meat and molasses variety hide in plain sight. BBQ joints are locally owned by families and friends who have been protecting their craft and recipes for generations. It’s within the faded walls of the sweet and smoky BBQ joints along the Belt where hardworking pitmasters and their crews have been keeping the fire burning day in and day out, never putting an inkling of thought into “putting us on the map.” Carolina. Tennessee. KC. Texas. We love ’em all. But we ain’t them, and they ain’t us. Taste for yourself.

It felt like summer at Kroger Field. Kentucky kicked off the month of June by hosting hundreds of campers for a Sunday Showcase Camp. A little rain couldn’t keep a future Cat off the field.

Driving summer rainstorms peppered the landscape off and on all afternoon. It drove some of the players to the newly renovated indoor facility, but many of Sunday’s stars roughed it through the rain. Spectators were treated to a few special moments from the most talented young players in the state of Kentucky and a future Wildcat quarterback.

Brennen Ward Works Out with Bush Hamdan

Only a few weeks after he was hired to be the next quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Kentucky, Bush Hamdan zeroed in on Brennen Ward. Two weeks later, Ward was a Wildcat and today the two got a chance to work out together for the first time.

A year ago, Cutter Boley made frequent trips to campus to work out with Liam Coen and various wide receivers Kentucky was evaluating at the time. Ward provided a stark difference to Boley in stature. The latter was all arms and legs last summer, whereas Ward has already filled in quite a bit. He has a powerful lower half, which helps him effortlessly spin the ball down the field. We saw him sail one pass in the air over 50 yards. The ball gets out of his hand quickly and flies on a rope to his target. At one point Hamdan said, “He’s gonna be a monster,” and I can’t say I disagree.

Seneca Driver Stole the Show

Quarterbacks are the engine of college football programs. As delightful as it was to surprisingly see a future Kentucky QB passer on Sunday, Seneca Driver was the guy everyone was talking about.

Driver is one of a few prospects — like TE Maddox Hager and ATH Demauriah Brown — who made the trip from Boyle County with head coach Justin Haddix. Driver is also one of the few 6-foot-6 prospects I’ve seen move like a 6-foot-1 wide receiver. Oh, and he just finished his freshman year of high school. The guy looks like he could suit up for SEC Saturdays this fall. Driver is well on his way to becoming a four-star, top-300 talent who could provide the ideal centerpiece for Vince Marrow’s tight end room.

Kentucky Offers Noah King

See that pass Driver caught? That was over one of the most athletic players at the camp. Driver and Noah King went toe-to-toe all afternoon and King won his fair share of one-on-ones. The three-star talent from Cincinnati wowed the coaches when he clocked in a sub-4.5 40-yard dash. Kentucky offered King a scholarship shortly after his performance and an official visit is on the horizon. KSR will have more on King in the very near future.

DJ Waller looks like a Kentucky Cornerback

Kentucky football camps aren’t just a chance for us to see prospects up close. It’s also our first time seeing many of the new players in-person for the first time. Terhyon Nichols looked like he gained about 20 pounds since I saw him at his commitment ceremony last July. I never met with DJ Waller during his initial recruitment, but holy cow. That is one impressive-looking athlete.

Waller looks more like an EDGE, which makes him the ideal Mark Stoops cornerback. He’s every bit of 6-foot-2, but that doesn’t accurately depict his length. He’s filled into broad shoulders and has a pair of enormous mitts at the end of his long arms. Put him in there with Deone Walker among the first guys off the bus this fall.

Renovations Underway at Kroger Field

Scaffolding completely covers the home of the Kentucky football program. New ribbon boards are being installed, but it currently has left the foundation of the upper deck bare, revealing the Ring of Honor that covered Commonwealth Stadium for decades. In addition to the new ribbon boards, Kentucky is upgrading to an LED lighting system this fall.

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If you were on KSR+, you already received live updates from the camp and checked out Luckett’s notebook from the event. We got so much more where that came from.

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Dawayne Galloway is one of the best high school prospects in the state of Ohio. He’s already earned four-star status and is ranked No. 142 overall from the 2025 class by the On3 Industry Ranking. And since he’s a talented football player from Ohio, it didn’t take long for Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow to take note.

Galloway was offered by the Wildcats back in September, received an in-home visit from Marrow in January, and then unofficially visited UK in February. Next, he’ll officially visit the program later this month. Galloway will be in Lexington from June 18-20 for his official. KSR first reported the news on Saturday night.

Along with Kentucky, Galloway has four other official visits currently scheduled. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound cornerback begins his official to West Virginia today and will also make stops at Purdue (June 7), Syracuse (June 14), and Penn State (June 21).

Galloway is down to a Top 12 list of schools, which he announced in late February. Kentucky made the cut, as did Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, Colorado, Georgia, Central Florida, Penn State, Texas A&M, Michigan, and Syrcause. But so far, only five of those dozen are set to receive official visits. Nearby Ohio State has been in the mix but has yet to extend a scholarship offer.

Of note, Galloway will officially visit Kentucky at the same time as four-star wide receiver Andrew Marsh out of Texas. Marsh is ranked No. 61 overall in the 2025 class and is being recruited by UK’s new wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts. The elite pass-catcher has additional OVs locked in with Southern California (June 7), Texas (June 14), and Oklahoma (June 21). Marsh officially visited Washington in May.

June was already shaping up to be a significant month of recruiting for Kentucky’s staff. With Galloway in the mix too, it just got that much more important. The Wildcats currently have six 2025 commits, including one other defensive back in four-star safety Martels Carter.