Where things stand with UK roster after adding possible running back starter
Running back was a clear need for Kentucky football in the spring transfer portal window, but the way the Wildcats filled that need this weekend has added more intrigue to the 2025 roster.
Former New Mexico State running back Seth McGowan committed to the Wildcats on Sunday. McGowan, who began his college career playing for current UK running backs coach Jay Boulware at Oklahoma, rushed for 813 yards and three touchdowns on 153 carries and caught 23 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Kentucky needed depth at running back with just four scholarship players at the position during spring practice but already had three running backs who appear to have earned a spot in the rotation. Rather than simply looking for a depth or developmental player, Kentucky appears to have added a legitimate contender to start in McGowan.
Now, the question becomes what happens with sophomore running back Jamarion Wilcox, who was Kentucky’s most dynamic offensive player last season but struggled to earn regular carries because he had not mastered the offense. Kentucky kept Wilcox in the fold through the December transfer portal window, but he was a clear third in the pecking order in two spring practices open to reporters, behind Nebraska transfer Dante Dowdell and redshirt freshman Jason Patterson.
If Wilcox, Dowdell, Patterson and redshirt freshman Tovani Mizell, who did not play last season while rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered as a senior in high school, all remain on the roster, running back looks like one of the stronger positions on the team. A year after Kentucky’s plan at the position was crippled by an injury to Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum, the Wildcats would be much better positioned to withstand the injuries one expects at a position that almost always loses key players at some point in the season.
If any of the current running backs elect to leave after the addition of McGowan, another depth option might be needed.
Players have until Friday to enter the transfer portal.
What to know about Seth McGowan
Kentucky will be the fifth school for McGowan. Nothing has gone according to plan for the former four-star recruit from Mesquite, Texas.
As a freshman at Oklahoma in 2020, he rushed for 370 yards and three touchdowns on 58 carries. He also caught 13 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown in eight games.
In May 2021, he was charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. McGowan, who eventually was sentenced to a year of probation after pleading guilty to a lesser charge, and two other Oklahoma players involved in the incident were kicked off the team. McGowan spent three months in jail after his guilty plea.
“That was a dark day,” McGowan told the Las Cruces Sun News in January of the day he helped steal marijuana, jewelry, high-dollar shoes, cash and other property in 2021. “I had myself in positions that weren’t corresponsive towards what I was really trying to do and what I’m really about. It’s not reflective of who I am or what I stand for.”
McGowan was not on a football roster for the 2021 season. He eventually enrolled at NAIA Texas College in 2022 but he did not record a carry that fall. McGowan then transferred to Butler Community College, where he totaled 125 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 39 carries in six games in 2023.
McGowan returned to Division I football in 2024 at New Mexico State, where he was able to show much of the promise that had excited Oklahoma fans as a freshman despite barely playing for three years.
“You see a lot of joy in him,” New Mexico State coach Tony Sanchez told the Las Cruces Sun News. “When you have something you love and that gets taken away from you, and then you get a chance to experience it again, I think you have a whole new appreciation for it.
“He’s a great teammate. He’s right there, fired up. He’s a true team guy. That’s been really refreshing.”
McGowan actually briefly entered the transfer portal in December before electing to return to New Mexico State for the spring semester. The reviews of his time there from coaches and teammates have been positive, but Mark Stoops is sure to have to answer questions about McGowan’s past after emphasizing rebuilding Kentucky’s locker room culture this offseason. The endorsement of Boulware, who initially recruited McGowan to Oklahoma, surely played a role in the decision.
What’s next for Kentucky in the transfer portal
McGowan is the third transfer to commit to Kentucky since the portal reopened last week, following wide receiver Hardley Gilmore (Nebraska) and edge rusher Lorenzo Cowan (USC).
Kentucky appears to still be pursuing wide receiver depth after offering former BYU receiver Keelan Marion, who caught 24 passes for 346 yards and one touchdown last season. He also scored two rushing touchdowns with 96 yards on 21 carries. Marion, who had reported 14 scholarship offers since entering the portal by Monday morning, is an elite kickoff returner with two return touchdowns last season.
UK hosted former Weber State tight end Keayen Nead for a visit over the weekend. Nead transferred to New Mexico State in December but spent just one spring practice with the Lobos before leaving the team. He caught just nine passes for 60 yards and one touchdown for FCS Weber State last season, but Kentucky has just four scholarship tight ends slotted for the 2025 roster.
Despite adding two defensive linemen in the December window, Kentucky is one of multiple schools scheduled to host Southeast Missouri defensive line transfer Jaylon Stone for visits in the coming weeks. Oklahoma, Illinois and Vanderbilt are also in the running.
UK has lost eight players to the portal since the end of spring practice: offensive linemen Daniel Mincey, Anfernee Crease, Marc Nave and Wallace Unamba; defensive linemen Kendrick Gilbert, Dennious Jackson and Darrion Henry-Young and cornerback Quavo Marshall. Of that group, Unamba, who transferred to UK from New Mexico in December, was the only player expected to be in the primary rotation at his position in 2025. Unamba signed with Virginia over the weekend.