Kentucky Football is Open for Business in the Second Transfer Portal Window

Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football program was active during the first transfer portal window. The Wildcats’ landed immediate impact playmakers, like QB Devin Leary and RB Ray Davis. Just because there are seven new transfers on the team, doesn’t mean their work is finished.

The second transfer portal window will be open May 1-15, allowing football players to enter during the two-week period and play for a new team this fall. Mark Stoops said his program will be in the market, but reminded the BBN it’s a two-way street.

“I would like to make some additions still and I would like the current guys to stay intact,” Kentucky’s head coach told Matt Jones on Thursday’s edition of Kentucky Sports Radio.

“That is something that is strange and it’s difficult to work with, to have two options at the portal. Because when we come back, you go through the bowl season and you come back in January, you’d like to know what the heck your team is going to be as you roll into the fall of ’23. You’d like to know exactly what you have with the addition of your guys you already signed that are reporting in the summer. Hopefully, our playmakers, our guys will stay intact and then because it’s available, sure, we can add some. The rules are what they are. So you’d like to add a few as well.”

As Stoops said, the rules are the rules. The college football landscape is dramatically different than what it was when Mark Stoops arrived at Kentucky ahead of the 2013 season. He’s adapting with the times and embracing the changes.

“You have to strive to keep up and change with the times because it’s constantly evolving.” He later added, “If you don’t like change, you’re gonna like irrelevance even less.”

Positions Kentucky May Pursue in the Transfer Portal

By KSR’s count, Kentucky currently has 82 players on scholarship, giving the Wildcats three vacancies they can fill in the transfer portal. Even though Mark Stoops would prefer to keep his roster intact, there will likely be some attrition down the depth chart. Kentucky can add up to three, maybe more players in the transfer portal window, but where?

Two positions stand out above the rest: right tackle and placekicker. “Competition” is the word used whenever right tackle is discussed publicly, which means neither Jeremy Flax or Deondre Buford has taken the next step to assert himself as RT1. Rebuilding the Big Blue Wall is of utmost importance and adding one more player may be the final piece of the puzzle.

There are also a couple of other areas of concern Kentucky may address. While the Wildcats have two solid, experienced starting inside linebackers, there aren’t too many players behind them. Inside linebackers get hurt. It’s inevitable. They need more than one reliable reserve.

Elsewhere, you could see Kentucky take a stab at a quarterback if it’s the right fit. Devin Leary will only be in Lexington for one season. Somebody is going to lose a QB competition at Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia. If one of those players catches Liam Coen’s eye, spending a year as a backup before emerging into a starting role might be appealing for a former five-star prospect.