Transfer Bio Blast: Jalen Farmer

The first transfer portal window is nearly two weeks old. To say we’ve seen a ton of player movement would be an understatement. Teams worked rapidly to get targets on campus for visits with another dead period arriving after this weekend. A surprise visitor was on Kentucky’s campus over the weekend.

Florida offensive guard Jalen Farmer entered the transfer portal on Dec. 5 and recently took two visits to a pair of SEC programs. Kentucky and Tennessee are currently battling for the SEC transfer with three years of eligibility remaining.

KSR’s Bio Blast is now going to take a closer look at Farmer as Kentucky looks for offensive line help in the transfer portal.

A familiar recruit

Jalen Farmer (6-5, 310) was a three-star recruit in the class of 2022 out of Covington (Ga.) Eastside. A top-100 recruit in the Peach State, Farmer committed to Dan Mullen‘s staff at Florida during the 2021 season. However, the bottom fell out on Mullen and Florida fired the head coach during the season.

That opened up this recruitment.

Offensive line coach Eric Wolford had Kentucky in prime position to complete a flip. Then the coaching carousel happened. Wolford departed Lexington for Alabama and continued to recruit Farmer. The prospect never decommitted from Florida despite delaying his signing until February. That opened the door for some other teams. Auburn got the prospect on campus for an official visit.

In the end, Farmer decided to stick with his original commitment and signed with the Gators.

Just a couple of seasons later, Farmer is back on the market. Kentucky is once again pushing to add the offensive lineman who will be a redshirt sophomore in 2024 with three years of eligibility remaining.

True offensive guard

Kentucky needs help at offensive tackle. There is no denying that. Entering the 2024 season, there only appear to be four true tackles on the roster.

Marques Cox and Courtland Ford are your likely starters. Nik Hall and Malachi Wood are still in the development face. Kentucky needs to add some depth at offensive tackle. That likely will not be Jalen Farmer.

The former three-star recruit was an interior offensive line prospect and that remained true at Florida. If added by Kentucky, Farmer will plug in at guard behind Jager Burton, Ben Christman, Dylan Ray, and Paul Rodriguez. The Wildcats are quickly building depth in the interior.

If Farmer commits to Kentucky, this offensive line will have multiple options at guard.

Limited experience

Jalen Farmer has spent two years in the SEC. The Georgia native has only played in four total games. In his two seasons at Florida, the former three-star recruit did not see much game action.

In his true freshman season, Farmer preserved his redshirt playing in only two games logging 29 total offensive snaps in appearances against Eastern Washington and South Carolina. As a redshirt freshman in 2022, Farmer played in two games against McNeese and Vanderbilt logging 27 total snaps at right guard.

Last year, Kentucky added Ben Christman and Dylan Ray. Each brought limited playing experience to Lexington. The latter became a full-time starter at left guard. If added, the Wildcats will be hoping that Farmer can carve out a quality depth role early and potentially become a starter on the offensive line down the road.

Jalen Farmer would be an add for the future, but could possibly provide quality depth instantly.