After offseason of hype, UK football’s 2024 transfer portal class has been a bust so far
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Preview: Kentucky at No. 7 Tennessee
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Tennessee football game at Knoxville.
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The list of factors that led to Kentucky football being on the brink of losing its eight-year bowl streak is not short.
The collapse of the Wildcats’ once vaunted offensive line, injuries on defense, too-frequent turnover on the offensive coaching staff and a lack of locker room leadership in the transfer portal/NIL era immediately jump to mind. But recruiting failures cannot be dismissed either.
Mark Stoops and company entered 2024 with the expectation that as many as 12 incoming transfers could play key roles, filling obvious holes on the roster.
Eight games into the season, the 2024 transfer class looks like a bust.
Of the 13 transfers signed by Kentucky during the 2023-24 offseason, only former Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson can be classified as a clear win, and even his addition has not been enough to prevent a second-half swoon from the Wildcats defense.
Former Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum has played only a handful of snaps due to injuries. Former Georgia quarterback Brock Vandagriff has shown glimpses of promise but was benched for the second half of Saturday’s loss to Auburn and is at risk of losing his starting job for the rest of the season. Former Texas A&M wide receiver Raymond Cottrell, the other addition given a four-star transfer rating by the 247Sports Composite, did not even last at UK until summer before reentering the portal after apparently being buried on the depth chart.
Wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was one of only 25 players in the country to record at least 1,000 receiving yards while starring for North Texas last season but has essentially disappeared from UK’s offensive game plan with just six catches all season. With former Tennessee tackle Gerald Mincey and former Florida guard Jalen Farmer occupying two starting spots and former Alabama assistant Eric Wolford returning to lead the unit, UK’s offensive line has taken a step back from 2023 when the group appeared to have made progress from an abysmal 2022 season.
Former Michigan cornerback DJ Waller was unable to win a starting job in preseason camp then has looked overmatched at times since filling in for the injured Maxwell Hairston across the last four games. Former Alabama safety Kristian Story is carving out a larger role down the stretch after an interception in a big moment at Florida but has thus far been unable to overtake inconsistent starters Jordan Lovett and Ty Bryant at his position.
Even punter Aidan Laros, the best punter at the FCS level last season at UT Martin, has failed to present a substantial upgrade at one of the worst positions on UK’s roster last season, displaying the inconsistency that prevented him from winning the starting job in camp since supplanting incumbent Wilson Berry. Former Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt and former UAB wide receiver Fred Farrier were added as backups, so it’s difficult to complain about their contributions other than to note they have yet to prove ready for the larger roles Kentucky’s current crisis has pushed them into. Quarterback Beau Allen, a walk-on now in his second stint at Kentucky, has yet to play in a game.
More than half of the 2024 transfer class has eligibility remaining after this season, so there is still time to flip the narrative, but there has certainly been no Wan’Dale Robinson, Will Levis or Ray Davis type of instant impact. For as much grief as Devin Leary received for failing to live up to his hype as the top-ranked transfer quarterback last season, he would represent a significant upgrade from the quarterback play Kentucky has received thus far in trying to replace him.
Assuming Stoops is back as Kentucky’s coach next season, the best hope for a quick turnaround will be a large transfer portal haul this winter. Between graduation and early entry to the NFL draft, UK could lose more than a dozen starters after the season, and recent form suggests younger players on the roster are not ready to fill those holes.
But in order to pin 2025 hopes on transfer impact, the staff will need to be far better in its evaluation of potential additions than it was last offseason.
There could be early help from a 2025 high school class that includes seven commitments ranked as four-star prospects by the 247Sports Composite, but it would be dangerous to assume any will be ready to play major roles from day one. The need for portal reinforcements could be exacerbated if Kentucky loses any expected 2025 contributors to the draft or outgoing transfer.
The NCAA’s expected move to add 20 scholarships to football rosters next season will necessitate further additions, though schools will not be required to fill all 105 scholarships and some of those new scholarships could be awarded to current walk-ons.
Finding reps for young players across the final four games could be key in illuminating which positions need to be prioritized in the portal. The bye week after Saturday’s game against Tennessee should provide an opportunity for coaches to get an extended look at redshirting players who can appear in up to four games without losing a year of eligibility.
UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow hinted Monday while filling in for Stoops on his weekly radio show that some of those redshirting players could play more in the final month.
“It’s different now with transfer portal or NIL,” Marrow said. “Your team really changes year to year, so you tell these recruits coming in you’re going to be on the team, we’re playing four or five freshmen right now.
“I think you’ve just got to stay consistent. When you’re losing a little bit, it makes your job harder, but that’s what I live for. I love recruiting.”
Saturday
Kentucky at No. 7 Tennessee
When: 7:45 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Records: Kentucky 3-5 (1-5 SEC), Tennessee 6-1 (3-1 SEC)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Series: Tennessee leads 84-26-9
Last meeting: Tennessee won 33-27 on Oct. 28, 2023, in Lexington
This story was originally published October 30, 2024 at 7:00 AM.
