Kentucky DL Darrion Henry-Young Enters the Transfer Portal

It looked like the wave of Kentucky football transfer portal departures had slowed to a screeching halt. Seven players hopped into the transfer portal on the first day it opened. Focus turned to pending arrivals with two commitments on Thursday. That made Friday afternoon’s news a bit surprising.

Defensive end Darrion Henry-Young is entering the transfer portal, he shared on social media. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Henry-Young was a prolific prep prospect at Cincinnati powerhouse Princeton High School. The four-star talent was the second-ranked player from the state of Ohio and a Top 150 player in the 2020 recruiting class. Kentucky got him on campus for a few visits, but he ultimately signed with Ohio State.

He spent two seasons in Columbus before testing the transfer portal waters and landing in Lexington. A 6-foot-4, 290-pound athlete, Henry-Young had exceptional explosiveness for his size, making him a potential pass rush threat with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end.

Kentucky fans saw some of that talent flash in 2023. He tallied 10 tackles, including 2.0 for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry. Things were trending in the right direction when the injury bug bit.

Henry-Young suffered a torn ACL against Mississippi State that forced him to miss the entire 2024 season. He was able to participate in spring practice, but that injury clearly set him behind the 8-ball. The Cats sought out another pass-rusher at his position in the transfer portal, Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace, who also previously attended Princeton High School. Clearly behind the aforementioned transfer and sophomore sensation Jerod Smith, Henry-Young is looking to play elsewhere for his final year of eligibiliity.

Kentucky Football Transfer Portal Tracker

The transfer portal is open for business and so far we know of eight players in the spring portal after 21 players entered the portal in the winter.

• DL Keeshawn Silver (Committed to USC on Dec. 19)
• DB Avery Stuart (Committed to Ball State on Jan. 5)
• LB Jayvant Brown (Committed to Temple on Jan. 9)
• TE Tanner Lemaster (Committed to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 22)
• TE Khamari Anderson (Committed to Arizona State on Dec. 22)
• TE Jordan Dingle (Committed to South Carolina on Dec. 18)
• OL Courtland Ford (Committed to UCLA on Dec. 17)
• OL Ben Christman (Committed to UNLV on Dec. 27)
• OL Dylan Ray (Committed to Minnesota on Dec. 21)
• OL Koby Keenum (Committed to Mississippi State on Dec. 22)
• DL Tommy Ziesmer (Committed to EKU on Dec. 15)
• WR Dane Key (Committed to Nebraska on Dec. 24)
• WR Barion Brown (Committed to LSU on Dec. 14)
• WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (Committed to Tulane on Jan. 7)
• WR Brandon White (Committed to Hawaii on Dec. 28)
• EDGE Tyreese Fearbry (Committed to Wisconsin on Dec. 22)
• EDGE Noah Matthews (Committed to Delaware on Jan. 7)
• EDGE Caleb Redd (Committed to Kansas on Dec. 20)
• RB Chip Trayanum (Committed to Toledo on Dec. 24)
• QB Gavin Wimsatt (Committed to Jacksonville State on Jan. 5)
• DL Kendrick Gilbert
• OL Daniel Mincey
• OL Anfernee Crease
• CB Jiquavious “Quavo” Marshall
• IOL Marc Nave
• OL Wallace Unamba
• NG Dennious Jackson
• DL Darrion Henry-Young

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. Keep closer tabs on the Cats with at KSBoard. Not a KSR+ member? Try it out today.