Development, recruiting must fill holes for Kentucky at cornerback

There was buzz building this week that junior cornerback Carrington Valentine had played his last snap for Kentucky football. That became real on Thursday morning.

After three years in the program, the Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller product has declared for the NFL Draft and will not be participating in the Music City Bowl on New Year’s Eve. The Wildcats now have some rebuilding to do at cornerback.

Super senior Keidron Smith will also be departing for the NFL after the season as the Ole Miss transfer does not have any eligibility remaining. That puts the Wildcats in a tough spot as Brad White’s defense will now have to replace both starters at outside cornerback.

There is still a lot of roster building to be done. But for now, let’s take a look at Kentucky’s personnel to see where the Cats stand at the cornerback position moving forward.

Current roster lacks experience

Kentucky will head to the Music City Bowl with five scholarship players after Keidron Smith. However, there is a lack of experience after CB3.

— Andru Phillips: The redshirt sophomore has played over 300 snaps on defense this season recording 30 tackles and five pass breakups while playing mostly nickel. Phillips should be considered the top option to start at cornerback.

— Maxwell Hairston: The redshirt freshman only played two defensive snaps in SEC play this season, but the Greater Detroit native is someone the coaching staff talked positively about during fall camp.

— Jordan Robinson: A surprise add in the transfer portal last season, the former Division II cornerback did not make an impact this year. However, the South Carolina native has multiple years of eligibility remaining, and brings great size (6-4, 202) to the position.

— Elijah Reed: The Louisville (Ky.) PRP product took a redshirt season in his first year on campus, but that was expected. The in-state recruit was a later riser who seems to have a high ceiling at the position.

— Andre Stewart: A three-star recruiting win out of Greater Atlanta, the 5-foot-11 cornerback also took a redshirt his first season on campus and will look to compete for playing time in year two.

— Alex Afari Jr.: Perhaps the biggest wild card of this position is this former blue-chip recruit. The West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West product played over 250 defensive snaps this season as Kentucky’s hybrid Sam/Nickel. However, the coaching staff wanted to work Afari at cornerback when he arrived on campus. A move back outside for the talented young player could be on the table.

Immediate help could be available

When you look at the 2023 recruiting class, Kentucky has three defensive backs committed. Two will likely play outside cornerback in Lexington.

Avery Stuart is one of two top-300 recruits in the class as Kentucky went into Alabama and beat Florida State head-to-head for the blue-chip defensive back. Stuart seems to have the traits to succeed in a zone-heavy scheme and could be a good fit to play cornerback immediately.

But he’s not the only one.

Nasir Addison was a low three-star recruiting win for Kentucky in New Jersey, but there is a lot to like about the former Maryland commit. Addison flashes good play speed on tape to go along with very good size and flashes of physicality.

Kentucky might be able to count on one of these newcomers to provide some snaps in the fall.

Kentucky must visit the transfer portal

Entering the offseason, Kentucky had time to assess its options at cornerback and see where the program stood at the position heading into spring ball. That is no longer the case.

The Wildcats are losing two starters and do not have a clear answer behind them outside of Andru Phillips. A trip to the waiver wire is a requirement now.

In the past, Kentucky has been very good at finding transfers that can play. Junior college products Brandin Echols and Lonnie Johnson both went on to be draft picks after a short period of time in Lexington. Kelvin Joseph also enjoyed a big year at Kentucky. There is a track record of getting cornerback transfers to the NFL.

Expect Kentucky to sell this to prospective targets in the portal. Already, we’ve seen UK issue an offer for Alabama transfer Khyree Jackson. The Cats have already hosted Cincinnati transfer JQ Hardaway for a visit. Earlier this week, Syracuse transfer Duce Chestnut entered the portal and the New Jersey native appears to be a player that could be a good fit in Lexington. Meanwhile, Ohio State transfer Jantzen Dunn is a target and could potentially play cornerback.

The Wildcats will almost certainly assess their options in the transfer portal. UK must get at least one cornerback transfer that can come in and be an instant starter. This is now a pretty big need for the program.