Father of Destin, Keaten Wade claims Kentucky 'didn't keep their promises'

Not all entries into the transfer portal end amicably on both sides. That appears to be the case in Lexington when it came to the decisions of the Wade twins, QB Destin Wade and OLB Keaten Wade, to transfer from Kentucky.

Steve Wade, their father, recently spoke with Main Street Maury about his son’s decisions to enter the portal. It came down to the dishonesty he says came from the Wildcats’ program in regards to playing time, specifically for Destin Wade.

“They didn’t keep their promises up there. We’re not going to go for that,” Steve Wade said. “I’m mainly talking about Destin, not Keaten. They let Keaten play but he still didn’t get the reps he should have gotten as being a starter.”

Keaten Wade made several appearances on Kentucky’s defense during their two seasons with the program. He was able to total 51 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a pass deflection as a potential building block for the unit.

However, it was the lack of opportunity for Destin Wade that seems to have led to this decision. He made just one appearance as Kentucky’s starter in the Music City Bowl last year after Will Levis opted out. He went on to throw for 98 yards and a pair of pick-sixes on a 53.3% completion rate in a 21-0 loss to Iowa.

That situation combined with no snaps this season to make up for that outing are reasons that Wade cited as issues that rubbed them the wrong way.

“They threw him in that bowl game and never did give him a chance to redeem himself under circumstances that nobody could have really did anything with with Iowa being the No. 2, No. 3 defense in the country,” Steve Wade said. “We were promised by (Liam) Coen that Destin ‘was too good an athlete to just be sitting on the bench.’ We did our part and we trusted in Kentucky to do theirs.”

The poor play of Devin Leary in spots this season only compounded the matter. In Wade’s opinion, any of the other quarterbacks on the roster, including his son, could have done better than Leary.

“Destin could have been just as good as that quarterback we had this year (in Leary),” said Steve Wade. “There’s nothing any of those guys sitting in that quarterback couldn’t have done (that Leary did).”

As far as the quarterback spot, the Wades may have also seen the writing on the wall. With Leary likely moving on, Kentucky already has another four-star quarterback committed to their upcoming class. There’s also plenty of rumors regarding a potential addition at the position through the portal.

Again, not all breakups are mutual ones, especially in the era of the transfer portal. Still, it’s very obvious that the Wades don’t have positive reviews from their time at Kentucky.

That’s why, as of Monday, both Wade twins are on the move to another team.

“They didn’t give (Destin) an opportunity to even compete. So we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” said Wade. “He has got to get on the field somewhere.”