Secondary transfers are adjusting quickly to Kentucky's scheme

In the free transfer era of college football, roster construction is a brand new ballgame. For coaching staffs, high school recruiting can be a clear comp to the draft, and transfer recruiting is this sport’s version of free agency.

Winning on signing day is the best way to secure long-term success, but it’s not the only piece to the puzzle. Free agency can be used to find some stars, but its top use should be for programs to supplement their rosters yearly.

At Kentucky, Mark Stoops had a clear need in the secondary heading into 2022. The Wildcats had a lot of snaps to replace and not enough young talent on the roster ready to fill the holes. Meanwhile, the play on the field also needed to be upgraded. The Wildcats landed three transfers — Zion Childress, Jordan Robinson, and Keidron Smith — after spring football. Each is going through their first fall camp in Lexington.

Defensive coordinator Brad White likes what he’s seen from the trio through one week.

“Those guys can transition quicker than a standard incoming freshman who never had this volume of defense before,” White told reporters about the secondary transfers on Wednesday. “The terms may be different, but from school to school a lot of schools run similar coverages. Or at least a couple that are similar that they can sort of tie words and terms.”

“They can come up to speed quicker, and we’ve been lucky. The transfer DBs are smart, they’re conscientious, so they pick it up a lot faster than most.”

Two players stick out from an experience standpoint.

Keidron Smith is in his fifth season of college football and started 29 games over four years at Ole Miss. The South Florida native has played multiple positions while recording 223 tackles and 26 pass breakups/interceptions in his career.

Zion Childress spent two seasons at Texas State where the former high school quarterback started 14 games. The Texas native collected 135 tackles and 10 pass breakups/interceptions before entering the portal. Like Smith, Childress played multiple positions while in the Sun Belt.

That on-field experience and production is showing up in practice. The additions are making an early impact.

“Keidron brings a savviness, an intelligence to the game. Zion is really natural in zone coverage,” White said. “He does a nice job there at safety. He’s picked it up quick. Jordan is just so long — still working on the technique. When all the dust settles, in the long term, he’s going to be a really good player.”

Robinson will need some time to adjust, but both Childress and Smith should help Kentucky this year. The former appears to be a very good scheme fit for the defense who is playing a traditional safety spot right now. Smith gives the Wildcats some needed size at cornerback as the transfer and Andru Phillips are competing for snaps opposite of Carrington Valentine.

The competition is making a difference early in camp.

“The biggest thing they offer is competition,” White said about the transfers. “You walk in — especially if you’re a transfer — and I think everybody sits up a bit higher in their chair. Everything we do…is to improve the roster. It makes people uncomfortable which is good. As soon as you get comfortable, you get complacent. But the nice thing is that group, specifically the DBs, have all checked their egos at the door and they want wants best for that room.

Kentucky has more depth in the secondary due to some key transfer additions during the summer months. That should lead to improved play on the field.