Kentucky football 2024 offseason schedule: Spring practice, transfer portal dates and more

Perhaps the most important offseason of Mark Stoops’ Kentucky tenure is underway.

“We have to have a strong offseason,” Stoops said after Kentucky’s Gator Bowl loss to Clemson. “You can’t have so many negative yardage plays, runs that are not giving them a chance to get going, taking sacks, putting the ball on the ground, penalties. A lot of things that are on us as a staff.”

The first important offseason date passed Tuesday with the closing of the winter transfer portal window (though compliance departments have 48 hours to officially file the paperwork for a player to enter the portal after he informs his school of the decision to transfer, so it is possible more names of departing Wildcats will emerge by Thursday). Players already in the transfer portal can continue to commit to new schools, but non-graduates must now wait until the spring window to enter the portal.

Kentucky’s offseason roster makeover is already underway with the addition of six transfers and 21 high school seniors in December. Stoops has made one staff change with former Houston assistant Daikiel Shorts replacing Scott Woodward as wide receivers coach.

More work is left to be done though.

Here is a look at the key offseason dates to follow over the next eight months.

Jan. 8 (first day of the spring semester): The short break afforded returning players after the Gator Bowl will end with the first day of spring classes. This also marks the official start date for the mid-year transfers and early high school enrollees. That group includes transfers Raymond Cottrell (Texas A&M), Jalen Farmer (Florida), Jamon Dumas-Johnson (Georgia), Ja’Mori Maclin (North Texas), Chip Trayanum (Ohio State) and Brock Vandagriff (Georgia) and high school signees Cutter Boley, Hardley Gilmore, Hayes Johnson, Jiquavious Marshall, Terhyon Nichols, Jason Patterson, Brian Robinson, Aba Selm, Jacob Smith, Jerod Smith and Steven Soles.

Jan. 15 (NFL draft early entry deadline): The most obvious NFL draft decisions on UK’s roster have already been made with Trevin Wallace, Ray Davis and Andru Phillips headed to the draft while J.J. Weaver, Marques Cox, Eli Cox and Zion Childress return to Lexington for a final season of college eligibility. Linebacker D’Eryk Jackson is the only player with eligibility remaining who participated in UK’s senior day festivities this season who has yet to publicly announce his plans for 2024, but it would be a surprise if he is not back in Lexington.

Feb. 3 (Senior Bowl): Davis and Phillips have accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl, offering a chance for them to build their NFL draft stock. Phillips’ announcement took some fans by surprise, even though Stoops hinted it was a possibility after the Louisville game, but the invitation to the Senior Bowl shows scouts were high on his 2023 performance. Davis broke UK’s single season record for touchdowns scored in one season in Lexington and should continue to be a good ambassador for the program through draft season.

Feb. 7 (signing day): The traditional February high school signing period is likely to be quiet for Kentucky with almost all of the Wildcats’ targets in the class having signed in December. One name to watch is four-star Florida athlete Amaree Williams, the son of UK legend Moe Williams. Amaree was originally set to graduate in 2025 but announced in December he was graduating a year early. Amaree has visited Kentucky, but the Wildcats will have to beat a host of traditional powers, including Florida State, Georgia, Texas, Miami and USC to land the legacy recruit.

Feb. 27-March 4 (NFL scouting combine): We should find out in early February which of Kentucky’s NFL draft prospects receive an invitation to the annual scouting combine, but this event figures to be a showcase for Wallace. One could make a compelling argument that Wallace might have been best served by returning to college for another season to translate his eye-popping physical gifts to more consistent on-field production, but his athleticism will shine at the combine if he is invited as expected.

Early March (start of spring practice): UK has not announced dates for spring practice, but traditionally it begins the week before the university’s spring break, which is scheduled for March 11-15. Spring practice will be essential for Vandagriff beginning the process of mastering Liam Coen’s offense. This is when we will also learn about any schematic changes on both sides of the ball. The Blue-White spring game should return in April to cap spring practice after a one-year hiatus due to the turf replacement at Kroger Field last year.

April 16-30 (spring transfer portal window): Players who have graduated can enter the portal at any time. Players on a team with a head coaching change can leave immediately after that departure. Everyone else will have to wait until April to enter the portal. Kentucky is sure to lose at least a handful more players in this window who decide they are best served by looking for larger roles elsewhere after evaluating their standing in spring practice, but the staff will also need to guard against a late charge by traditional powers to lure the Wildcats’ best players away. By the time the window opens, coaches will have determined what holes still need to be filled on the roster based on spring practice performance. Kentucky signed eight transfers from the spring window a year ago, including key contributors Courtland Ford, Dylan Ray, Alex Raynor and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye.

April 24-27 (NFL draft): Unlike a year ago when UK quarterback Will Levis was the most-talked-about player on day one of the draft as he slipped to the second round, none of the Wildcats’ 2024 draft prospects are likely to be picked on day one. Whether Davis, Phillips or Wallace can work their way into a day two selection will depend on their performance in pre-draft showcase events. Dane Brugler, an NFL draft analyst for The Athletic, has already begun hyping Davis as a mid-round target for teams needing a running back.

May 13 (start of summer classes): Any transfer and high school additions who did not enroll in January can join the team on this date. There could be some high school players that do not enroll until the fall semester because they still have academic work to finish in the summer, but coaches will want the bulk of the class on campus to participate in summer workouts and conditioning.

June (recruiting camps): We already know some of UK’s top high school targets in the 2025 class (led by four-star linebacker Tavion Wallace, the younger brother of Trevin Wallace), but the June camps will offer a chance for coaches to further evaluate talent in the class. The camp schedule will be announced in the spring.

July 15-18 (SEC Media Days): With Texas and Oklahoma officially joining the SEC this summer, the league’s annual media days extravaganza is headed to Dallas. Conference expansion will surely be the most-talked-about story at the event, and the Stoops family’s ties to Oklahoma will mean Kentucky’s coach gets questions about the new league members. Locally, we’ll be more interested to hear about Vandagriff’s progress at quarterback and the outlook for Kentucky after back-to-back disappointing seasons that began with increased expectations.

Early August (preseason camp opens): The first week of August has generally brought the start of preseason practice. UK’s media day offers the first chance to hear from the newest Wildcats (and only chance to hear from the freshmen until they play in games). The fan day open practice usually follows on the first Saturday of August.

Aug. 31 (season opener): Kentucky opens the 2024 season against Southern Mississippi at Kroger Field. There will be little time to ease into the schedule as UK faces South Carolina and Georgia in weeks two and three.

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