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Transfer Portal Bio Blast: Mi'Quise Grace

Adam Luckettby:Adam Luckett•about 10 hours•

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South Dakota DL Mi'Quise Grace
South Dakota DL Mi'Quise Grace, via Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The winter transfer portal window closed on Dec. 28. We’ve seen some heavy player movement in this free agency period. Teams are working rapidly to close these fast-paced recruitments and are currently hosting prospects on visits before the spring semester begins.

Kentucky perhaps closed on its biggest recruiting win of the offseason. Mi’Quise Grace is a Cat.

The FCS transfer will be a redshirt junior in 2025 with two years of eligibility remaining. After a dominant season playing for one of the best teams in the FCS last season, Grace should make an immediate impact in Lexington on Brad White‘s defense.

KSR’s Transfer Portal Bio Blast is taking a closer look at Kentucky’s 17th transfer addition of the offseason.

Cincinnati native begins his career in the FCS

Mi’Quise Grace was a defensive end prospect in the 2022 high school recruiting cycle who recorded 15 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks as a senior for Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton. But the recruiting interest never truly picked up.

Navy, South Dakota, Robert Morris, and Virginia State were some programs to offer Grace during his senior year at Princeton. Grace decided to sign with the Coyotes.

Grace played in four games as a true freshman in 2022 and preserved his redshirt. The defensive end played in 13 games and earned one start as a redshirt freshman in 2023. Grace finished that season with 34 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 24 pressures. South Dakota finished that season at 10-3 and bowed out in the FCS quarterfinals. That set the foundation for Grace’s monster year as a redshirt sophomore in 2024.

Star turn in 2024

South Dakota has one of the best seasons in program history as the program reached the FCS semifinals for the first time. The season ended with a 31-17 loss to Montana State in Bozeman but the Coyotes won 11 games and had a terrific run.

Mi’Quise Grace was a big reason why.

The redshirt sophomore was named a first-team All-American and was the Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year. Grace finished the season with 64 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, three pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

Grace entered the transfer portal on Christmas Eve and signed with Kentucky less than three weeks later spurning interest from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Mississippi State.

Luckett’s scouting notebook

Kentucky has a hole to fill at 3-4 defensive end after losing Tre’vonn Rybka and Octavious Oxendine off the roster. Mi’Quise Scott should help fill that hole in 2025 as some of the young players on the roster in Lexington continue to develop.

The FCS transfer is a plug-and-play starter. This is my scouting write-up on Kentucky’s latest transfer portal addition.

Mi’Quise Grace (6-4, 255) played defensive end in South Dakota’s even front. Sets hard edges as a run defender flashing the power to hold the point against offensive tackles. Adding more strength is an area for improvement. Shows a good long arm move as a pass rusher and can get tackles on skates. Wins with power more than bend. Good movement skills provide value on stunts.

A 4-3 defensive end who should hold up well in Kentucky’s odd front. Grace is another transfer portal addition with some pass rush juice but shows good hand striking in run support and should give the Wildcats a solid addition in the run game. True two-way value with playmaking put on tape.

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2025-01-12