By Alec Nederveld
Mark Stoops looks to continue their seemingly annual tradition of recruiting offensive skill guys from the Portal. In the past, guys like QB Will Levis and WRs Wan’Dale Robinson and Tayvion Robinson found a second chance in Lexington. Last year, the offense was retooled with starters like QB Devin Leary, RB Ray Davis, and T Marques Cox, to varying degrees of success.
As of publication, Kentucky has acquired five players from the portal. QBs Brock Vandagriff (Georgia) and Beau Allen (Georgia Southern), RB Chip Trayanum (Ohio State), and WRs Raymond Cottrell (Texas A&M) and Ja’Mori Maclin (North Texas).
Ignoring Allen, who is a depth guy, Kentucky looks to have three to four new starters. Vandagriff and Trayanum look like plug-and-play guys, replacing seniors Leary and Davis. Tayvion Robinson will also be graduating, giving room for Maclin to play in the slot. Cottrell’s position is a little dicier as a 6’3” receiver, but he improves the receiver position and will have four years of eligibility.
Vandagriff looks like the biggest acquisition so far. The former five-star from Bogart, Georgia, was buried on the Georgia depth chart, appearing in mop-up duty for thirteen games. He will have two years of eligibility for Kentucky.
Using the portal led to one of Kentucky’s four 10+ win seasons in 2021. However, the Wildcats fell back to earth, winning seven games in 2022 and 2023. This looks like the best class that Stoops has brought in, currently ranked fourth. Three of the new guys are Portal four-stars, and another was a 1,004-yard 11-touchdown receiver a year ago. Can these guys bring Kentucky back to ten wins?
