Kentucky must have funds available to land offensive linemen from transfer portal

Another transfer portal season is around the corner for the Kentucky football program and once against the Wildcats will be in the market for multiple offensive line transfers. There are five high school prospects committed in the class of 2025 one year after the program signed four high school prospects in the 2024 cycle but those young players need time to develop.

After signing eight offensive line transfers in the last two offseasons, Kentucky will likely need another big haul when the first window of college football free agency officially begins. The Wildcats are scheduled to lose starters at left tackle (Marques Cox), center (Eli Cox), and right tackle (Gerald Mincey). It’s likely that the new starters at those positions could come directly from the portal.

Kentucky will need available cash to fill those roles.

“Everybody is going after offensive linemen. They’re very expensive,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops told Tom Leach on his radio show this week. “Just to be honest, defensive linemen and offensive linemen are very expensive.”

The football program is entering a critical offseason. Earlier this week, Stoops admitted that Kentucky’s staff had a five-hour personnel meeting at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility to go over the roster and what is needed moving forward. It’s clear that more out of the building help is needed in the offensive line room.

Expect Kentucky to be active shoppers again at the position moving forward. The Wildcats will remain buyers at the offensive line negotiation table in free agency until the program increases its hit rate on signing and developing high school prospects.

But your budget is your budget at the end of the day. Kentucky will have multiple other positional needs in the portal this offseason. Will the Wildcats have enough money to adequately fill all needs? Only time will tell but we do know that the need in the offensive line room is near the top of the priority list.

Want more coverage of the Cats? Join KSR+

KSR has been delivering UK Sports news in the most ridiculous manner for almost two decades. Now, you can get even more coverage of the Cats with KSR+. In the middle of a busy summer of recruiting for the basketball and football programs, now is the perfect time to join our online community. Subscribe now for premium articles, in-depth scouting reports, inside intel, bonus recruiting coverage, and access to KSBoard, our message board featuring thousands of Kentucky fans around the globe. Come join the club.

Luckett’s Recruiting Notebook: What to monitor one month away from December signing day