Another Kentucky football starter is opting out of Music City Bowl to prep for NFL Draft
A third Kentucky football player has opted out of the Music City Bowl.
Junior cornerback Carrington Valentine announced Thursday he was skipping the bowl game to declare for the NFL Draft. Valentine ends his UK career with 118 tackles, one interception and 16 passes defended.
“I truly believe that I have accomplished all there is to accomplish at the collegiate level,” Valentine wrote in an announcement posted to Twitter. “... I wish all of my teammates the best of luck in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31. We have forged some of the most memorable moments together. I will truly miss each and every one of you.”
A Cincinnati native, Valentine started 24 of 25 games for Kentucky across the last two seasons. His only interception came earlier this season in the win over FCS Youngstown State, but he also recovered a fumble in the loss to Vanderbilt.
ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. recently included Valentine in the group of players who “just missed” his top 10 cornerbacks ranking for the 2023 draft class.
With Valentine and super senior Keidron Smith both leaving, Kentucky must now replace both its starting cornerbacks. Redshirt freshman Maxwell Hairston saw limited snaps at the position as a backup this season. Sophomore Andru Phillips started the year at cornerback but played mostly nickel back in the second half of the season.
Kentucky wasted no time in finding a potential replacement for Valentine, landing a commitment from Cincinnati cornerback transfer JQ Hardaway later Thursday.
Hardaway appeared in 11 games for Cincinnati as a freshman, totaling seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack in 11 games. The Columbus, Georgia native, who played high school football in Alabama, was rated as a four-star prospect out of high school in the class of 2022.
Valentine joins quarterback Will Levis and running back Chris Rodriguez in opting out of the Music City Bowl to prepare for the draft.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 12:19 PM.