Notre Dame Transfer Jacob Lacey Schedules Kentucky Visit

A day after throwing his name into the portal, a talented Kentucky native is planning a trip to Lexington. On Thursday Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman revealed defensive tackle Jacob Lacey stepped away from the program to transfer to another school at the end of the season. Friday night Josh Edwards from The Cats Pause reported Lacey will be in Lexington next weekend when Kentucky hosts Mississippi State.

The Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren product was the No. 3 player in Kentucky in 2019 and chose the Fighting Irish over Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and Tennessee. As a senior he won a 5A State Championship with the Spartans. The 5A Player of the Year totaled 80 tackles, 34.0 TFLs, 14.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his senior season of Kentucky high school football.

A 6-foot-2, 280-pound interior lineman, Jacob Lacey played in 38 career games at Notre Dame, tallying 35 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. In Freeman’s first win as a head coach, Lacey starred. He recorded two sacks in a dominant performance in the trenches.

Jacob. Lacey.#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/pTnzYTIlm7

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 21, 2022

By ending his season now, Jacob Lacey gets to retain a redshirt season. The Kentucky native will have two years of eligibility remaining.

The transfer portal is continuously churning. Kentucky wasted no time throwing its name into the Jacob Lacey Sweepstakes. The expeditious action could benefit the Wildcats’ defensive line over the next two seasons.

Another Big Defensive Line Visitor

Jacob Lacey will not be the only big-time defensive line target on campus. Steve Wiltfong reports four-star prospect Kendrick Gilbert has scheduled an unofficial visit to Kentucky for the Mississippi State game. The Indianapolis Cathedral athlete, ranked as the No. 194 player overall in the On300, officially visited Kentucky over the summer before ultimately committing to Purdue. The Cats are putting Gilbert on flip watch.

“They’re taking their time to get to know my family and really just doing behind the scenes things like no other school is doing right now,” Gilbert told 247 Sports after his Friday night football game. “The program they have and how upcoming they are. Coach (Mark) Stoops is doing real good up there. I believe in what he’s doing. All-around their defense is playing great and seeing Deone Walker play as a true freshman doing good and making plays is really promising to me.”