In all honesty we are moving goal posts with this question. The portal is what??? Two years old and we are asking where all the all Sec transfers are?
Only pff 3rd teamAs to portal players on the o-line, only Dare Rosenthal comes to mind, and I don’t think he was All-SEC.
How time flys!Two years old and we are asking where all the all Sec transfers are?
I had to look up the years. The portal was introduced in 2018. The one time free transfer rule was in ‘21. Then the anytime transfer rule didn’t happen until 2024.How time flys!
This is the fifth season that the portal has affected college football. We brought in Levis, Rosenthal and at least two other starters for the ‘21 season, the first with the portal.
The qb out of Cincy may be the only Ohio recuut they’re after. They’re only a couple recruits in KY they are interested in. I doubt they have a commit from Ky this year. It is a down year in state. Next year Ky had several P4 type recruitsIt is my understanding that none of the eight (8) 2026 commitments are from Kentucky or Ohio. Hopefully, this will change going forward …
Jordan Crutchfield - outstanding prospect. Strong tackler. A killer in space. Superior size, excellent athleticism, surprisingly fast. Product of an area where hs football competition is excellent. Holds at least 6 SEC offers including FL and defensively-minded TX A&M. ESPN rates him as an "80" prospect.
Stoops goes after the best available prospects from throughout UK's growing recruiting footprint. We already have two commitments from TX. As BereaCat says, this is a weak class inside KY.It is my understanding that none of the eight (8) 2026 commitments are from Kentucky or Ohio. Hopefully, this will change going forward …
Stoops goes after the best available prospects from throughout UK's growing recruiting footprint. We already have two commitments from TX. As BereaCat says, this is a weak class inside KY.
I’m no analyst but UK recruited Strickland. The only others that may have had committable offers were iirc Busch and Hope. They didn’t really push for hard for those guys though. Hope was supposed to OV not sure if that happened but he has since decommitted from UL and committed to Purdue. There are 4-5 decent players in KY this year but stoops and company went after who they wanted![]()
2026 Top Football Recruits in Kentucky
The 247Sports rankings are determined by our recruiting analysts after countless hours of personal observations, film evaluation and input from our network of scouts.247sports.com
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Highest-rated Class of 2026 football recruits from Kentucky - Bluegrass Live
Fabricio Barili // Shutterstock Highest-rated Class of 2026 football recruits from Kentucky The recruiting race for the Class of 2026 is already heating up — not just on the field, but in the increasingly complex ecosystem of modern college football, where NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals...bluegrasslive.com
It is my understanding that none of the eight (8) 2026 commitments are from Kentucky or Ohio. Hopefully, this will change going forward …
Why is it important to have players from Kentucky and Ohio? Kentucky's has one player in the top 250 and he is in the 200's. To get where UK wants to be recruiting has to be better than that. If you want to be a top team every kid in your class has to be a kid everyone of the top teams are after. Your ex recruiting coordinator was always patting him self on the back with his recruiting when in fact he would win 1, maybe 2 recruiting battles a year. Doesn't matter who the coach is when you are at a big talent disadvantage.
CMS played the only game he could play and give himself a chance to win by shortening the game, running the ball, taking care of the ball, running game clock down between plays and playing defense. Fans didn't like winning that way so he tried to get away from that with a more modern approach and here you are.
But the bright side is, instead of that 37m buyout, buy CMR some talent.
I think they were able to do well in Ohio for years due to the fact that Kentucky afforded Ohio kids the SEC within a short driving distance, so with Stoops/Marrow connections there they were able to have a lot of success. But times have changed now, the B1G is more on par with the SEC and pay-for-play is now a much more important factor then geography.I don't think we should be recruiting Ohio guys just for the sake of recruiting Ohio guys. If there is someone there we want that can really bring something to the team, then sure. Go after them with a vengeance. But if we can get similar guys from out of places like Georgia, Florida and Texas, I'm not going to complain. In most cases, I think the kids from down south are overall superior football players.
I think they were able to do well in Ohio for years due to the fact that Kentucky afforded Ohio kids the SEC within a short driving distance, so with Stoops/Marrow connections there they were able to have a lot of success. But times have changed now, the B1G is more on par with the SEC and pay-for-play is now a much more important factor then geography.
Take a deep breath. We are just behind Ole Miss and UTn and ahead of USCjr and Mizzou, all of whom have outperformed us immensely in recent seasons. The sky is not falling yet, despite what some will have you believe. https://247sports.com/Season/2026-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/While a players star ranking doesn’t matter to an extent, there is a clear correlation between recruiting rankings and success in the field in college football. Are there exceptions here and there? Sure. But take a look at teams that are consistently ranked in the top 25 in recruiting and take a look at the teams that are consistently ranked in the polls. Recruiting rankings matter.
UK has the #8/#10 portal ranking this year.Yes, Vince Marrow and Mark Stoops has signed top 30 classes. I remember one June/July they had the top ranked class. But Marrow isn't here anymore. With so little in state talent that could help improve it. I've not seen it start this poorly, with these headwinds.
Oregon at 26 and Alabama at 44? How is that relatable to Kentucky at now 83. I could see those schools climbing to Top 15, yes. They are in on very top ranked players who win football games. We are on one.
Do I give Stoops credit for transfer portal? No, not the one we're going in to this season with. When we've had portal success on the field, it's been with players who were supposed to be good. I can't think of many surprises. Well, we got one great player from Arkansas. And the rest are some guys who did ok in the MAC and MWC.
Zero stars does not mean worse than 3 stars. It means no evaluation by their analysts as of yet. This just means that haven’t been to the camps that Rivals has attended. I usually check 247 and On3, then maybe ESPN too. This often happens to players who play multiple sports, who don’t have the time/money or energy to hit the camp circuit.We just got our 8th. We were at 2.14 average star ranking after 7 on Rivals. The 8th also has no stars at the moment, so that will drop us to 1.86 on Rivals.
Well, woopity shyts. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone gets in the transfer portal. We have the 8th best collection of players who couldn't start at other schools. I'm supposed to be excited we're replacing Key and Brown with a couple backups who have less than 250 yards receiving? And those are some of our best additions. Braun and Wolschlaeger will be improvements.UK has the #8/#10 portal ranking this year.
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2025 All Teams Football Transfer Team Rankings
2025 all-teams football transfer team rankings by Rivals.comn.rivals.com
https://247sports.com/season/2025-football/transferteamrankings/