At Kentucky, Alabama transfer Kendrick Law has thrived in featured role
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- Kentucky coaches shifted scheme to feature transfer Kendrick Law as primary target.
- In eight games Law doubled his receptions and surged to 351 yards with three touchdowns.
- His play raised freshman roles and could anchor Kentucky receiving corps beyond 2025.
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The version of Kentucky football’s offense on display the past month as quarterback Cutter Boley has found his footing looks little like the scheme envisioned when the Wildcats opened the season.
But at least one preseason prediction has held true.
“A lot of the things we’ll be doing this year will go through Kendrick Law,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan predicted at the preseason kickoff luncheon in late July.
After a 2024 season in which Kentucky ranked 112th nationally in passing yards per game (184.8) and with the quarterback position uncertain and the top two receivers both leaving via the transfer portal, it was unrealistic to expect the Wildcats were going to be able to attract the top available wide receivers in the portal last winter.
Instead, Kentucky coaches would need to find multiple receivers with the talent to perform in the SEC but with some other factor that might have held their careers back to this point.
For several of the wide receivers Kentucky added that factor was a troubling injury history. For Law, it was a lack of opportunity on a loaded Alabama roster.
“At Bama, he had a limited role,” wide receivers coach L’Damian Washington said. “I think this is the most football he’s probably played since high school. And I think whenever you spend three years at an institution and you’re not getting utilized the way that he’s able because of his talent level, something about your confidence kind of takes a ding.
“I think what you’re seeing right now, each week his confidence is just growing, growing, growing.”
Law was rated as a four-star prospect as a high school senior in Louisiana. 247Sports ranked him as a top-100 prospect in the class of 2022.
At Alabama, he played immediately as a freshman, catching eight passes for 103 yards in 2022. He started three games as a sophomore but finished the year with just 15 catches in 13 games. His production dropped as a junior to 10 catches in 10 games.
Law proved himself as a talented kick returner at Alabama but failed to secure a featured role in the offense. With one season of eligibility remaining, he entered the transfer portal last year, eventually landing at Kentucky, which had lost top receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown.
“I think it’s exactly how we envisioned,” Washington said. “I think the hard part with the portal is, you wish instantly, week one, that continuity with the quarterback, the offensive coordinator, and the whole group hits. But sometimes because of the portal and the addition of every new guy, it takes a while.
“But I think he’s playing ball right now at a high level. You’re seeing what he’s capable of. And I love everything he’s doing on and off the field.”
Despite Hamdan’s preseason prediction that the offense would run through Law, he did not record a catch in the season-opening win over Toledo. Part of that slow start can be attributed to a minor injury that caused Law to miss valuable time in camp, but coaches quickly corrected course in Week 2, when he caught six passes for 44 yards against Ole Miss.
Law’s role has particularly flourished since Boley took over at quarterback and Hamdan tweaked the offense to prioritize quick reads and short passes for Boley.
In the past five games, Law has 22 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns. The vast majority of those yards — like on his 71-yard touchdown catch-and-run against Tennessee — have come after the catch, when Law uses his physicality and athleticism to break through tackles and turn short passes into explosive plays.
“He’s a guy that’s really versatile,” Boley said. “Can make a lot of things happen with the ball in his hands, and he’s a guy that we have to continue to get the ball to more, 100%.”
In just eight games this season, Law has already doubled his career high in receptions (30) and topped his career high in receiving yards (351) by more than 200 yards. After scoring just one touchdown in three seasons at Alabama, he has scored three already as a Wildcat.
Those numbers have essentially matched what Brown did last season for Kentucky in a similar role in three fewer games.
“I think you could see he’s a dynamic player, and a player here that could be featured,” UK coach Mark Stoops said. “He’s definitely a guy when you get the ball in his hands, he’s making some things happen. We’re glad we have him.
“I’m not just saying this, but I absolutely love him as a person. He is just a great human, unbelievably passionate, just a great teammate, cares. I just can’t say enough good things about him, how tough he is and what he’s doing for us and the mentality that he has.”
Law has just one season of eligibility at Kentucky, but his locker room impact could leave a lasting legacy even if the Wildcats do not rally for a surprising finish this year.
In recent weeks, freshmen DJ Miller and Cam Miller have seen their roles at wide receiver expand. In the transfer portal era, it is no guarantee Kentucky will keep talented young playmakers, but if the Millers and other young receivers learning from Law this season stick around, it is likely UK fans will continue to hear his name as a key figure for years to come.
“I don’t think being featured a lot is the main thing for me,” Law said. “I just want to end up getting the win. If I get no targets, or if I block the whole game, or if I run down on kickoff, or I catch all the points, as long as we get the win at the end of the day.
“I think that’s what the program is looking for, and that’s what we need.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 6:45 AM.
