Xavier Peters, whose eligibility saga kept UK fans on edge last year, transferring
Xavier Peters might have been the most highly-touted transfer in Mark Stoops’ tenure as the University of Kentucky’s head coach. That hype won’t manifest on the field — at least not this fall.
Peters is transferring from UK to Garden City Community College, according to JuCo Football Forer, a junior-college football scouting service. A UK spokesperson confirmed that Peters is leaving the program.
Peters committed to Florida State as part of the 2018 class and played in two games as a true freshman for the Seminoles. After a lengthy waiver appeal, the NCAA granted Peters immediate eligibility at UK two games into the 2019 season. He played limited snaps in three games for the Wildcats as a redshirt freshman.
Coming out of Lakota West High School, Peters was considered the No. 5 overall recruit in Ohio and the 15th-ranked outside linebacker in the country. He was a consensus four-star prospect and was ranked as the No. 75 overall recruit nationally by Rivals.
A prominent current Kentucky player — senior quarterback Terry Wilson — played at Garden City for one season after a redshirt year a Oregon. It’s possible that Peters — who, if he qualifies academically, could return to the Division I ranks as soon as 2021 — could resign with Kentucky as part of that recruiting class, which currently consists of 11 players.
Stoops in late October of last season was asked why, by that point, Peters hadn’t received playing time. He cited a discipline concern.
“It’s our job to teach Xavier what our expectations are and how to handle your business here,” Stoops said then. “He has a hard time getting to things on time and doing things we ask him to do. So until he gets that straightened out he won’t play.”
UK will enter the 2020 season with four returning scholarship players who are listed as outside linebackers: redshirt freshman K.D. McDaniel, senior Jamar “Boogie” Watson, redshirt freshman J.J. Weaver and junior Jordan Wright.
Josh Paschal, a junior, started 13 games at outside linebacker for UK last season but was moved to defensive end in the spring. UK signed one outside linebacker — Sam Anaele, a four-star prospect from Florida — as part of its 2020 class.
This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 7:26 PM.
