Two Former Kentucky Wildcats Find New Homes in the Transfer Portal

A pair of former starters for Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football team have discovered a new collegiate destination in the transfer portal.

Thursday morning we learned cornerback Cedrick Dort will be transferring to Wisconsin. The grad transfer will have one year of eligibility remaining in Madison.

Dort had a tenure at Kentucky that was filled with peaks and valleys. He played in nine games as a true freshmen, then was redshirted the following season. He started in 12 games in 2019 and did not allow a touchdown. As a junior he played second fiddle to Kelvin Joseph. The Florida native returned to start for most of the 2021 season, but Quandre Mosely took a lion’s share of the snaps.

Dort received exceptional grades from PFF, but did not record an interception during his time at Kentucky. In his final season he also failed to register a pass break-up. Dort’s UK career concluded with 51 tackles, seven passes defended and one forced fumble.

Naasir Watkins will be playing for a team next fall that started the 2021 season ranked in the top 25. Next season the offensive tackle will suit up for Hugh Freeze’s Liberty Flames, reports the Liberty Champion.

Hailing from the D.C. metro area, Watkins started in his first game as a redshirt freshman in 2018, filling in for the injured Landon Young. It was his only career start, but he played in every other game of the 10-win season. The following year Watkins was Kentucky’s third tackle, contributing significant snaps to spell Young and Darian Kinnard. Unfortunately, a knee injury in the 2020 offseason derailed his UK career, preventing him from playing another snap as a Wildcat.

Best of luck to the former Cats that found landing spots in the transfer portal to play one final college football season.