Kentucky's KD McDaniel announces transfer to Central Florida

Kentucky linebacker KD McDaniel has found his next home. Less than a month after putting his name in the transfer portal, the sophomore pass-rusher announced Monday evening he will be continuing his football career at Central Florida.

“First and foremost I would like to thank Coach Stoops (and) OLBU coaches (and) for sure thank all of BBN for being so loyal (and) believing in me and staying on my a** all (these) years I’ve been at Kentucky maturing me into a young man,” he wrote. “Making this decision was (really) hard for me because of the chemistry I had with my brothers. (The) brotherhood we had was unbreakable from hard times & good times, wouldn’t trade those group of guys for anything in the world.

“Beyond blessed to have been a part of (four-time, back-to-back) bowl championship (teams), something special that I’ll never forget in blue & white. I thank my academic advisor Ricky for staying on me & keeping it 100% real about life & school. Really appreciate you for not giving up on me not once, you always had faith in me even when I didn’t have faith in myself and I wanted to appreciate you for that!

“With all that being said I am announcing that I will be transferring to The University Of Central Florida to continue my academic & football career as a Knight! I Love You BBN.”

Tieed 4Life BBN 💙 pic.twitter.com/IDsmA17c8U

— KD MACK (@mcdaniel_kd) January 3, 2022

A role piece in the front seven

McDaniel signed with Kentucky in 2019, choosing the Wildcats Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee out of high school. He was a consensus top-40 outside linebacker in the class and was rated as a top-70 prospect out of Georgia after earning first-team all-region honors as a junior and senior.

The 6-2, 250-pound linebacker played nine games in his first two years in Lexington before playing nine in 2021. He racked up 17 total tackles across three seasons as a Wildcat, including two in Kentucky’s win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl. His best game as a Wildcat came when he recorded two solo tackles and three QB hurries against New Mexico State in November.

Class of 2019 struggles

McDaniel is one of 13 players in Kentucky’s 2019 class to hit the portal, joining Moses Douglass, Isaiah Gibson, Jared Casey, Travis Tisdale, MJ Devonshire, Shawnkel Knight-Goff, Nikolas Ognenovic, Cavon Butler, Tra Wilkins, Amani Gilmore, Nik Scalzo, and Jake Pope.

Of that class, only JJ Weaver, Taj Dodson, Tae Tae Crumes, Marquez Bembry, Quandre Mosely, Jalen Geiger, DeMarcus Harris, and Eli Cox remain.