Ex-Cats begin finding new homes after UK football gets shut out in NFL Draft

The University of Kentucky was the only football team in the Southeastern Conference that didn't have a player's name called in the NFL Draft, which wrapped up on Saturday night.

But some ex-Cats are still going to get their shot at making an NFL roster.

In the hours after the draft concluded, Oklahoma wide receiver Jeff Badet, who joined the Sooners as a graduate transfer after his junior year at Kentucky, tweeted that he will sign as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings.

Shortly after that, UK receiver Garrett Johnson tweeted that he will be joining the Chicago Bears.

Senior linebacker Courtney Love, who transferred to UK from Nebraska after his freshman season, also tweeted that he will be joining the Cleveland Browns for rookie camp. Love won the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy, an award that honors college football’s top community servant.

In his senior year with Oklahoma, Badet caught 26 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns. In his three years with Kentucky, Badet totaled 82 receptions, 1,385 yards and seven touchdowns.

In four years with UK, Johnson caught 156 passes for 2,095 yards and 11 touchdowns. Johnson had 168 total tackles in his UK career.

Seniors Cole Mosier (offensive tackle) and Austin MacGinnis (kicker) are among UK's top remaining contenders to receive free-agent offers.

Kentucky is one of only three teams from Power Five conferences to have had no players selected in the last two NFL drafts. Duke and Iowa State are the others.

This story was originally published April 28, 2018 at 9:18 PM with the headline "Ex-Cats begin finding new homes after UK football gets shut out in NFL Draft."