Transfer portal tracker: 2021 Kentucky football players hunting for new homes
The University of Kentucky’s roster will look much different in 2022.
Going back to fall camp, UK has had 15 players enter the NCAA Transfer Portal in the 2021-22 school year. As recently as a few seasons ago that would have prompted concern, but with the NCAA allowing immediate eligibility for first-time transfers into and out of FBS programs, transfer decisions are becoming more frequent across the country.
This is normal, now.
In Kentucky’s case, most of its departures this year come among players who logged few snaps during their first few years on campus.
Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops expects Kentucky’s roster situation to continue to be fluid possibly well into the summer. Two of UK’s biggest additions ahead of the 2021 season — linebacker Jacquez Jones and offensive tackle Dare Rosenthal — didn’t enter the transfer portal until well after spring football camps at their previous schools (Ole Miss and LSU, respectively).
“Each situation is different,” Stoops said. “ ... There’s some (attrition) that’ll happen right now at mid-term and there’s some that will happen probably throughout the summer and post spring practice.”
Below are the UK football players who have entered the transfer portal since the start of the 2021 season.
Marquez Bembry
Signed: 2019 (transfer, Jones County Junior College)
Current college: UConn
Notes: A middle linebacker who will have one year of eligibility as a “super senior,” Bembry started two games in the 2020 season and played in UK’s last 23 games. He had nine tackles this season, one for a loss, and 37 total tackles as a Wildcat.
Jared Casey
Signed: 2019 (Ballard; Louisville, Ky.)
Current college: Indiana
Notes: Was expected to be part of a thin linebacking corps in 2021 but mostly played only on special teams in 11 games, recording eight tackles and a quarterback hurry. Played in all 11 of UK’s games in 2020, recording 20 tackles and two tackles for loss. Former four-star prospect whom Rivals rated as the No. 15 outside linebacker in the country.
Torrance Davis
Signed: 2020 (Garfield Heights; Cleveland, Ohio)
Current college: TBD
Notes: Was a longtime commit but late signee to the 2020 class. Was recruited as a linebacker but moved to running back following the 2020 season. Never recorded a carry at Kentucky, and did not play in the 2021 season. Former three-star recruit signed with UK over Pittsburgh, Bowling Green and Toledo.
Cedric Dort
Signed: 2017 (Dwyer; Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
Current college: Wisconsin
Notes: A starter in 26 of his 44 career games, Dort racked up 19 tackles this season as one of UK’s most experienced cornerbacks. He will have one season of eligibility remaining at his next school. In 2019, Dort was recognized by Pro Football Focus for having not allowed a single touchdown in 12 games as one of UK’s starting corners. He has seven pass break-ups in his career.
Moses Douglass
Signed: 2019 (Springfield; Springfield, Ohio)
Current college: Alabama A&M
Notes: Defensive back’s dad, Maurice, was a defensive back at UK for two seasons and played 11 seasons in the NFL. Played in only four games during the 2021 season, finishing with four tackles. Appeared in 10 games over his first two seasons.
Isaiah Epps
Signed: 2017 (Jenks; Jenks, Okla.)
Current college: Tulsa
Notes: After playing in all 26 games as a true freshman and sophomore, Epps took a redshirt season in 2019 to heal a foot injury that kept him off the field for most of the 2020 season as well. He played in every game for UK during the 2021 regular season but missed its appearance in the Citrus Bowl after suffering an injury in a car accident. He was fifth on the team in 2021 with 11 receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown, his first as a Wildcat.
Joey Gatewood
Signed: 2020 (transfer, Auburn)
Current college: Central Florida
Notes: Former four-star prospect and top-50 player coming out of high school. Enrolled at UCF prior to the start of the 2021 season and was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA. Quarterback started one game for UK during the 2020 season, his only season with the program. Entered the transfer portal soon after UK named Will Levis as its starting quarterback for the 2021 season.
Isaiah Gibson
Signed: 2019 (Springfield; Springfield, Ohio)
Current college: Marshall
Notes: Played in 16 games over his first three seasons, including six in the 2021 campaign. Finished his UK career with nine tackles. Was considered a top-50 defensive tackle coming out of high school, where he was a teammate of fellow transfer Moses Douglass.
Colin Goodfellow
Signed: 2017 (St. Ignatius; Cleveland, Ohio)
Current college: Kentucky
Notes: A walk-on who debuted in 2020 in relief of a sidelined Max Duffy, Goodfellow was Kentucky’s full-time punter in 2021 following an injury to freshman punter Wilson Berry, the Wildcats’ only punter on scholarship. Goodfellow averaged 46.3 yards on 45 punts.
UPDATE: Goodfellow removed his name from the transfer portal and remained with the team through the spring semester.
K.D. McDaniel
Signed: 2019 (Tift County; Tifton, Ga.)
Current college: Central Florida
Notes: Saw action in eight games this season, recording 11 total tackles and three quarterback hurries, but was unable to carve out a consistent role for a team that spent all of 2021 in search of pass-rushing promise down the roster. Ole Miss, Tennessee and South Carolina were among the other contenders for his services out of high school.
Tre’Von Morgan
Signed: 2021
Current college: Miami (Ohio)
Notes: Morgan came to UK by way of Michigan State, where he spent two seasons as a wide receiver. He was considered the No. 1 receiver in Ohio as part of the 2019 recruiting class but played in only three games with the Spartans before transferring. The 6-foot-6, 218-pound sophomore was moved to Kentucky’s tight end room midseason but never saw the field in 2021.
Jake Pope
Signed: 2019 (St. Thomas Aquinas; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Current college: TBD
Notes: Offensive lineman never played for UK in three seasons. He committed to the Wildcats over Florida State, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Purdue and Virginia.
Earnest Sanders
Signed: 2020 (Beecher; Beecher, Mich.)
Current college: TBD
Notes: Regarded as a top-100 receiver in the country, Sanders never really got into the mix as a receiver at Kentucky. He worked with the program’s tight ends toward the end of his second season and in the Wildcats’ most recent spring camp. He played in two games and will have up to four years of eligibility at his next school.
Nik Scalzo
Signed: 2019 (Cardinal Gibbons; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Current college: Samford
Notes: Former three-start prospect who was featured on the Netflix series “QB1: Beyond the Lights”. Underwent ACL surgery at the end of his final high school season and again on the same knee after injuring it during UK’s 2019 fall camp, through which he was thought to be the Wildcats’ No. 2 quarterback as a true freshman. Was UK’s No. 3 quarterback throughout the 2021 season, in which he made his debut, during UK’s final home game against New Mexico State. Never attempted a pass as a Wildcat. He announced his commitment to Samford, which competes at the FCS level, on Dec. 11.
Travis Tisdale
Signed: 2019 (Lowndes; Valdosta, Ga.)
Current college: TBD
Notes: It became clear throughout the season that UK’s stockpile of running backs would get thinner going into 2022. Tisdale scored his only career touchdown as a true freshman against UT Martin, and had 124 all-purpose yards in 10 games played over three years. He signed with UK over Nebraska, Ole Miss and Penn State.
Naasir Watkins
Signed: 2017 (Our Lady of Good Counsel; Laurel, Md.)
Current college: Liberty
Notes: He did not play in 2021 and was limited to just one game in 2020 due to a knee injury, but prior to that Watkins had played for UK’s offensive line in 24 games, including all 13 in the 2019 season. He was a consensus three-star recruit coming out of high school who signed with UK over Baylor, Temple and Old Dominion.
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
