Mark Stoops confirms Hardley Gilmore is practicing with Kentucky, cannot play in bowl game

Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats signed a strong early signing class on Wednesday, one that included the likes of four-star receiver prospect Hardley Gilmore.

And Gilmore is getting a leg up on his classmates, already on campus, Stoops confirmed.

“He is. He is here, yeah,” Mark Stoops said. “I don’t really want to get into the details of some of that, but we had a waiver and have some extenuating circumstances that he is here.”

The four-star prospect was one of Kentucky’s top signees in a class that ranked 25th nationally as of Thursday afternoon.

So now that Gilmore is on campus, will he be able to take part in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against Clemson?

“He cannot, but he can practice,” Mark Stoops explained.

That extra practice time should definitely help the talented youngster get better prepared to play as a freshman in 2024. Coaches often credit the additional developmental time before the rest of the early enrollees arrive as an additional spring practice.

Gilmore will look to take the most of it, learning as much as he can so his natural skill can take over in the fall.

Kentucky celebrating Jamon Dumas-Johnson addition

One addition that Kentucky made recently that wasn’t part of the signing class but was instead part of the transfer class is former Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson.

He’s one of the bigger names to hit the NCAA transfer portal this cycle, and he’s a talented one. Kentucky landed him.

“He brings an awful lot to our football team. … He has a burning desire to bring that winning culture with him,” Mark Stoops said, according to the Louisville Courier Journal’s Ryan Black.

A junior in 2023, Dumas-Johnson was expected to be a star in the middle of the Georgia defense in his third season of playing. And while he played well during the time he was available, an injury ended his season after nine games.

Dumas-Johnson was a finalist for the Butkus Award in 2022 and was considered one of the favorites to potentially win it in 2023, being named to numerous All-American teams in the preseason. He exploded for 70 tackles, four sacks and nine tackles for loss in 2022.

He left Georgia with 17 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, one interception, six passes defended and 125 tackles in 38 career appearances.