Transfer Portal Diaries: Closing the Book on Chaos (for now)

This little old Transfer Portal Diary has given you daily morning updates over the last few weeks. Now it’s time to close this book, if only for a week or so.

The dead period has arrived. Schools cannot host visitors from the transfer portal until Jan. 1. That means most of the chaos is coming to a standstill, but only for a moment. Here’s where things stand after a hectic couple of weeks.

Two More Kentucky Wildcats Could Commit

The Wildcats’ work isn’t done yet. It’s 9:30 am EST and I already thought two players committed this morning. False alarm, but maybe not for long.

Kameron Olds and Chris Murray are a pair of EDGE players who visited over the weekend. The former most recently played at Kent State and has one year of eligibility remaining. The latter can spend two years at Kentucky after earning all-conference honors in 2024. Kentucky already has one EDGE commitment, but they could use BOFA deez players. It would be a nice exclamation point on the first few weeks of this hectic transfer portal cycle.

Quick Look at the Transfer Portal Class

Kentucky addressed most of its needs by locking in 13 players, four of which are on the offensive line. That still might not be enough in the trenches. They could use a starting-caliber left tackle and those don’t grow on trees.

Kendrick Law and Dante Dowdell are nice skill pieces to pair with Zach Calzada. If the Cats’ finish things off the right way at EDGE, you’d definitely give this group a passing grade, but as we discussed last week on 11 Personnel, there’s not exactly a whole lot of star power on this roster.

• OG Josh Braun
• OT Alex Wollschlaeger
• OL Wallace Unamba
• LB Landyn Watson
• EDGE Sam Greene
• WR J.J. Hester
• QB Zach Calzada
• TE Henry Boyer
• WR Kendrick Law
• RB Dante Dowdell
• DT Jaden Williams
• CB Kevis Thomas
• C Evan Wibberley

No Idea Where the Dane Key Talk Originated

But boy, would I love to know. While you were attending Christmas parties, rumors of his return were circulating around the internet. Kentucky could use another X-receiver, but I highly doubt Dane Key decides to return for a fourth season in Lexington. Georgia is the favorite to secure his services after he visited Nebraska over the weekend.

A Transfer Portal Player to Keep an Eye On

After whiffing year after year after year, Hugh Freeze put himself together a roster during this transfer portal cycle. Eric Singleton, the No. 1 wide receiver in the transfer portal, committed to Auburn this morning. He’ll be catching passes from either Jackson Arnold or Ashton Daniels next fall.

Why is this noteworthy? Auburn already has Cam Coleman on the outside. Is Horatio Fields going to get any run at all in this crowded room? It was down to Kentucky and Auburn for the X-receiver. If things aren’t signed on the dotted line, Fields might have some second thoughts. I’m not saying, just saying…

Kentucky Transfers Landing in the Power Conference Ranks

Nine of the 21 outgoing transfers have landed at Power Conference programs. Most of them will log significant snaps and about half of them will be good at their next stop. Why is this noteworthy? It’s evident of two things.

1. Talent acquisition has not been a problem for this Kentucky football program.
2. One man’s trash is another’s treasure.

That’s a brutal idiom to describe the reality we experience in the transfer portal. A player leaving Lexington may not be considered a loss, while his commitment is celebrated elsewhere. I say it to remind you that when Kentucky brings in somebody, it’s not always an upgrade. New objects are shinier than old ones, even if they don’t function as well as the old reliables.

To bring it back to the roster, Kentucky might have hit it out of the park to complete this transfer portal class. You might think all of these players stink. None of it matters as much as how well they play together, something we haven’t seen on a consistent basis in far too long.