Mark Stoops finds first transfer, new WR coach, but he faces another push for Vince Marrow
The first additions in Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football offseason makeover Saturday were overshadowed by news of another possible departure.
Former Southern Cal defensive end Sam Greene became the first player in the transfer portal to announce his commitment to Kentucky while FootballScoop.com reported Stoops was set to hire South Florida wide receivers coach L’Damian Washington for the open position on his staff.
But the biggest news of the afternoon was FootballScoop’s report that Bill Belichick was targeting UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow for a spot on his inaugural North Carolina staff.
Marrow, who also coaches the UK tight ends, has turned down interest from multiple programs to remain at Kentucky over the last 12 seasons but the opportunity to work for Belichick “presents a potentially all-new dynamic,” according to FootballScoop, which notes Marrow and Belichick are represented by the same agency.
As for the additions to Kentucky’s program, Greene is the first of what is expected to be 15-20 transfers added to the roster in the coming weeks.
He totaled 15 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack in 12 games as a redshirt freshman at USC last season. The 6-foot-1, 255-pound Washington, D.C., native is a former three-star high school recruit. He arrives at a position of need for Kentucky as the Wildcats will need to replace all three starters on the defensive line from 2024.
Washington previously worked with UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan at his alma mater Missouri in 2020. Hamdan was Missouri’s wide receivers coach that year while Washington was its director of player development. Since then, Washington has made stops at Southern (2021), Oklahoma (2022) and South Florida (2023-24) as wide receivers coach. He also carried the title of passing game coordinator at South Florida last season.
As a player, Washington caught 100 passes for 1,735 yards and 15 touchdowns for Missouri from 2010 to 2013.