Kentucky will have 7 players at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine

Phase one of the 2022 NFL Draft season wrapped up with the Senior Bowl on Saturday afternoon. Phase two will begin at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

From March 1 through March 7, 324 college prospects will make the trek to the home of the Colts to go through interviews and testing drills in hopes of improving their draft stock.

The Kentucky football program will be well-represented at the event. On Tuesday, the NFL released the official list of participants and seven Wildcats made the cut.

Yusuf Corker, Luke Fortner, Darian Kinnard, Marquan McCall, Josh Paschal, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Dare Rosenthal will all be participating in this year’s combine. The 2022 draft has a chance to be a special one for the Kentucky football program as the Wildcats are producing pros at a very good clip.

Most players invited to NFL Scouting Combine:

Georgia 14
Alabama, Oklahoma 11
LSU, Texas A&M 9
Arizona St, Cincinnati, Michigan, Ole Miss, Penn St 8
Baylor, Kentucky, Ohio St 7
Iowa St, Oregon, San Diego St, Virginia Tech 6
Arkansas, UNC, Notre Dame, UCLA, USC 5

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) February 9, 2022

Recruiting translates

Of the seven Wildcats making the trek to Indianapolis, five were former high school recruits for the program. Luke Fortner was a super senior from the class of 2016. Meanwhile, two players are coming out of both the 2017 and 2018 classes.

Everyone but Fortner was a former blue-chip recruit.

Yusuf Corker was a four-star add out of Metro Atlanta, and Josh Paschal was a huge top-250 recruiting win from the DMV. Marquan McCall was the No. 2 player in Michigan, and Darian Kinnard was a significant get out of Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius.

Once on campus, Kentucky’s coaching staff continued the development, and all four became significant contributors to the program.

Recruit and develop is not just a slogan for three-star recruits. It still matters with players who have a hyped-up recruiting backgrounds.

Transfer portal hits

After the 2020 season, Kentucky leaned into the transfer portal. The Wildcats brought in six Power Five transfers and made a big splash immediately.

Four of those six became immediate starters, and two should be draft picks this season. Wan’Dale Robinson has a chance to climb into the end of the second round, and Dare Rosenthal should be a Day 3 pick at offensive tackle.

College football is all about talent accumulation, and the transfer portal has created another method. The Wildcats seem to be ahead of the curve and can now sell draft success when recruiting players in the portal.