Linebacker stands out as major position of need for Kentucky entering offseason

Will Stein has had the head football coach job at Kentucky for less than a week now. The 36-year-old is currently back in Eugene helping No. 5 seed Oregon prepare for a home playoff game against No. 12 seed James Madison. When there are breaks from game prep, Stein will get to work on building his staff, roster retention, and building a transfer portal plan. One position on defense stands out above the rest.

Kentucky appears to have a major need at linebacker.

The Wildcats start this offseason with only five full scholarship players in the position room after not adding one player during the early signing period. Starters Daveren Rayner (69 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two interceptions, two sacks) and Alex Afari Jr. (61 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one pass breakup) are both out of eligibility. Only one other player at this position played more than 100 snaps last season.

Grant Godfrey started multiple games for Kentucky as a redshirt sophomore in 2024 and finished the season with 34 tackles and two tackles for loss. The former class of 2023 recruit appears to be in line to become a full-time starter in 2026 but there are a lot of unknowns after him. Antwan Smith has been the only other player to receive rotational snaps at linebacker. Quintavion Norman, Devin Smith, and Kris Thompson have all yet to play really any type of role.

Kentucky will enter January with a linebacker room that needs some help. Stein must get a defensive coordinator and linebackers coached locked in quickly. Once that occurs, UK must assess the state of this position and come up with a plan for the portal. It seems clear that finding a plug-and-play starter at linebacker will be at the top of the needs list this offseason. Adding multiple players at this position feels like a necessity.

This program has a big need at linebacker.

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