UK eyeing recruits, transfers during crucial stretch

Dec. 4—As Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops and his staff continue building for the 2023 campaign and beyond, the Wildcats have a few areas in which they'll have to improve moving forward.

As Stoops continuously addressed during the regular season, there were consistent parts of UK's on-field product that fell short of expectations, and considering the expected losses of Wildcats through the transfer portal, there will be more positions that need upgrades.

Currently, Kentucky has 13 players committed for the Class of 2023 — the Cats are looking to add to that during the two-week recruiting window that opened Thursday — and is also expected to lean heavily on incoming transfers. The transfer window opens Monday and closes Jan. 18, 2023, with players able to switch schools once without losing any eligibility.

The incoming Wildcats are currently ranked 49th in the nation and only 12th in the SEC, ahead solely of league foes Vanderbilt and Missouri. If that holds, it would be the lowest-ranked class in Stoops's tenure at Kentucky. That means UK coaches are either planning to go full blitz on recruiting in the next few days, or they'll remain focused on the transfer portal — likely a combination of both.

The 2023 class is led by a quintet of four-star prospects: Avery Stuart, a 6-foot-2 defensive back out of Alabama Christian Academy; 6-3 wide receiver Shamar Porter out of Nashville Ensworth; Grant Godfrey, a 6-3 linebacker from North Gwinnett in Georgia; and Jaremiah Anglin Jr., a 6-1 defensive back from Lake Wales, Florida.

Stoops has also dipped into the in-state pool for four three-star recruits: Tommy Ziesmer, a 6-2 edge rusher who recorded four tackles, blocked a kick and rushed for a 7-yard touchdown in Boyle County's 32-26 KHSAA Class 4-A state championship win over Corbin on Friday at Kroger Field; 6-8 offensive tackle Malachi Wood, who helped Madison Central go 9-4 and reach the quarterfinals of the Class 6-A playoffs; Ty Bryant, a 6-foot athlete that rushed for 11 touchdowns, including a game-sealing 51-yard scoring scamper against Owensboro in the Class 5-A semifinals; and 6-4 wideout Jakob Dixon, who made 64 catches for 1,089 yards and 15 touchdowns in a middling season for Pleasure Ridge Park.

In total, Kentucky has put most of its attention on wide receivers (four), offensive linemen (three) and defensive backs (three).

That comes as a solid contingency plan, considering UK recently lost five wideouts (Tae Tae Crumes, DeMarcus Harris, Chauncey Magwood, Chris Lewis, Rahsaan Lewis) to the transfer portal, and an additional pass-catcher in tight end Keaton Upshaw joined them on the way out. With those six commanding only an 11.3% share of receptions this season, there wasn't likely to be much playing time for them anyway, but the Cats still need capable bodies for depth.

In a similar vein, UK needs all the help it can get on the offensive line. Wildcats coaches insist that their protection wasn't as bad as the 42 sacks surrendered this year would suggest, but help is certainly needed.

Of the early transfer portal announcements, the Cats have been linked most with former Glasgow High School star Tanner Bowles, a 6-5 tackle who joined Alabama as a four-star recruit in 2019, and Marques Cox, a 6-5 tackle who was a three-star prospect for Northern Illinois in 2018.

UK will also have to address its hole at starting quarterback, with Will Levis announcing his intention to turn pro despite having another year of eligibility due to the NCAA's blanket COVID waiver. Reserve signal-callers Kaiya Sheron and Destin Wade could step into that role, with Wade adding a rushing element as well, but expectations are for Stoops — and perhaps his new offensive coordinator, when that hire is made — to use the portal again, much like they did to land Levis from Penn State.

So far, UK's list of commits for next season don't come close to filling in the Cats' needs.

They'll also have to manage the expected departure of All-SEC rusher Chris Rodriguez to the draft and the transfer of backup Kavosiey Smoke, whether that's finding a reserve already on the roster to assume workhorse responsibilities or bringing someone else in.

UK's linebacking corps will also take a hit, with Jacquez Jones, DeAndre Square, J.J. Weaver and Jordan Wright all potentially leaving.

Such is life now in college football, where recruiting high schoolers, recruiting transfers and re-recruiting your own players are all key aspects of retaining talent. For Stoops & Co., the next two weeks will be one of the most important stretches of the offseason.