Kentucky's transfer portal departures

The transfer portal has made the college football offseason a lot more exciting and has given coaches some degree of flexibility in roster management. It has also given that freedom to the players looking for a change in scenery.

UK is welcoming several transfers into the program and may add another player or two before the next football season, but a lot of players have transferred out as well.

Here's a rundown of where former UK players will be next year.

QB Nik Scalzo — Samford

For a long time it sounded as though Scalzo was going to enter the portal and then he did but took his name out. This time he signed with Samford. He will have an opportunity to compete for the starting position there whereas he probably would have been buried on the depth chart for the rest of his career at Kentucky.

Samford also brought in Northwest Mississippi C.C. quarterback Michael Hiers as a mid-year transfer. He was formerly at Murray State. Rivals ranked him the top pro style JUCO pro-style QB nationally so there will be a competition.

RB Travis Tisdale — Valdosta State

Kentucky fans approaching middle age or older will remember that Tim Couch successor Dusty Bonner transferred to Valdosta State, where he won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in Division II football. Tisdale is a native of Georgia so the move back to his home area makes sense. The Blazers from the Gulf South Conference reached the Division II Regional Championships in last year's playoff and it would seem to go without saying that Tisdale will be stepping into a situation that includes a lot of playing time. It was not a surprise when he transferred from Kentucky because of the emergence of JuTahn McClain and La'Vell Wright. Tisdale is one of three mid-year transfers and one of seven transfers for the program lined up overall, including the only running back and the only player from the FBS level. He will be a headliner there.

WR Isaiah Epps — Tulsa

Epps is from Oklahoma so Tulsa made sense as a landing spot. He battled injury throughout his time at Kentucky and held a lot of promise as a vertical threat but was looking for a better situation for his last year. Last season Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin passed for 3,254 yards (59.4%) with 18 touchdowns but 16 picks. So there were plenty of big plays but Epps should upgrade the receiver room enough for the passing game to take a step forward next year. Tulsa has had seven 1,000-yard receivers since 2015. The Golden Hurricane was 7-6 and defeated Old Dominion 30-17 in the second Myrtle Beach Bowl last season.

WR Tre'Von Morgan — Miami (OH)

Morgan is a native of Massillon, Ohio so he will be in his home state after just a short stint with Kentucky. The Wildcats were going to give Morgan an opportunity at tight end and that was on the heels of successfully moving Izayah Cummings into that hybrid position so it seemed like the right course of action. UK had initially recruited the towering receiver from Michigan State after a positive experience with Ahmad Wagner in the offense in recent years, another very tall transfer who developed into a mismatch because of his size. Miami-OH recently announced six transfers, including Michael Dowell (Michigan State), Corey Suttle (Iowa State), and Ty Wise (Indiana) from the Power Five level. Miami-OH was 7-6 last year with a win in the Frisco Football Classic bowl game. It was only the Redhawks' second winning season (excluding their 3-game 2020 COVID season) since 2010 but head coach Chuck Martin has not been below .500 since 2017.

Morgan's quarterback at Miami-OH will be Brett Gabbert, the brother of former Mizzou quarterback Blaine Gabbert, now a backup to Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Brett had 26 touchdowns and six picks as a sophomore last year. The team is also losing Jack Sorenson at receiver. He had 76 catches for 1,406 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.

OT Naasir Watkins — Liberty

Once a starter for Kentucky when Landon Young was injured at offensive tackle, Watkins probably could have been a starter in 2022 if injuries had not derailed his career at Kentucky. But he has continued to work back and will play for Liberty for a year. After a 10-1 season in 2020, Liberty finished 8-5 in Hugh Freeze's third season with the Flames. Liberty has won bowl games in three of its four seasons at the FBS level. Watkins is one of five mid-year transfers for Liberty, the others being Auburn DL Dre Butler and BYU TE Brentley Hanshaw. A Maryland native, Watkins will be close to home at the Lynchburg school. Not surprisingly Liberty highlighted many of UK's team rushing accomplishments from while Watkins was playing when it announced his transfer.

OT Jake Pope — Illinois State

When Pope signed with Kentucky it was apparent that he would need some time in the strength and conditioning program. It did not seem like he was on track to compete for a starting position at UK even with the open competition for both spots going into next year. Pope was injured at UK last season after spending the previous two years on the practice squad. Eli Cox was the only other offensive lineman signed by the Wildcats from that 2019 recruiting class and the lack of tackles from that group is one reason UK is rebuilding the depth chart and roster now. Illinois State competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds were 4-7 in 2021.

DL Isaiah Gibson — Marshall

Marshall has had a strong defensive identity in recent seasons. The Thundering Herd were No. 1 in the nation in points allowed (13.0) two seasons ago. That's the context for Gibson's arrival at the program. Gibson was part of a three-man battle for Kentucky's starting boundary tackle position along with Octavious Oxendine and Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald last season. Oxendine was injured but is returning this year and Abadi-Fitzgerald has moved on. It's conceivable that Gibson could have played a fair number of snaps at Kentucky this year but the experience of not playing much down the stretch in 2021 seems to have prompted the move.

Gibson was not only mid-year transfer announced by the Thundering Herd last month. Purdue's Anthony Watts, also a defensive tackle, has also joined the program so Marshall has strengthened the interior of its defensive line in a significant way.

LB Jared Casey — Indiana

Kentucky gave Casey an opportunity at both inside and outside linebacker positions but he was not able to break into the rotation in a lasting way in spite of his four-star ranking coming out of high school. But landing at Big Ten member Indiana is a sign that there's still plenty of hope regarding Casey's future. The fact that inside linebacker is one of the two deepest positions on the roster for UK looking ahead to 2022 probably made his decision easier. He could have up to three years of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 year in 2020.

Indiana has hit the portal very hard this offseason after a surprisingly down year in 2021. Other additions include CB Jonathan Haynes (Ole Miss), DT Patrick Lucas (Ole Miss), DL LaDarrius Cox (Ole Miss), LB Bradley Jennings (Miami), WR Emery Simmons (UNC), RB Shaun Shivers (Auburn), RB Josh Henderson (UNC), DE JH Tevis (California), QB Connor Bazelak (Missouri), and LB Myles Jackson (UCLA).

LB K.D. McDaniel — UCF

With the Wildcats down a number of players in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa a number of players lower on the depth chart had an opportunity to put together some tape for potential transfer destinations. McDaniel got a bit of playing time in that game and was regarded as a solid pass rushing prospect throughout his time at Kentucky even if he could not unseat Jordan Wright or JJ Weaver to get on the field for more regular snaps.

UCF defensive coordinator Travis Bryant said of McDaniel after announcing his transfer, "KD McDaniel is coming from Kentucky. He gives us some juice off the edge, that pass rusher that we need losing Big Kat. We're getting a guy that can generate some pass rush. He's a guy we're very excited about from South Georgia. He's a guy that you watch his film, has a really good skill set, can bend off the edge and get to the quarterback. Very excited about him. He has time on task. A veteran guy. He played 30 snaps in the bowl game."

LB Marquez Bembry — UCONN

Over the past couple of years the Wildcats would call upon Bembry for spot duty contributions after transferring into Lexington. UCONN head coach Jim Mora seems excited about the addition of Bembry, saying, "“He can do a lot of things well. He’s got strong hands, he’s violent at the point of attack [and] he has great leadership qualities.”

Bembry played 306 snaps for Kentucky last year and that's nothing to sneeze at. About 200 of those were on special teams. The Randy Edsall era (Part 2) ended early last season and the Huskies finished 1-11 but appear to be banking on the portal as an opportunity for a quick turnaround. UCONN has not won more than three games in a season since 2015.

RB/LB Torrance Davis — TBD

When Davis signed with Kentucky as a three-star prospect from Ohio it was widely assumed that he was a bit of a project whose real potential was based on his natural athletic ability and physique. He turned out to be pretty raw and UK gave him a shot at linebacker and also running back but the quick exit indicates he didn't take to either spot in a way that would have gotten him on the field anytime soon. CI's Travis Graf has learned that Davis is likely to play at the JUCO level somewhere next year.

CB Cedrick Dort — Wisconsin

This is perhaps the most noteworthy exit of the offseason for Kentucky. Dort has been a long-time starter at cornerback, a position that is now a depth issue for the Wildcats. The Florida native started 25 games in his Kentucky career and his departure means UK will be breaking in Andru Phillips or another starter opposite Carrington Valentine. Dort was regarded as more of a cover corner throughout his time at Kentucky.

Dort won a lot of games at Kentucky and should next year in Madison as well. Wisconsin has been ranked in the Top-10 or Top-20 of some early lookahead polls that have the 2022 season in mind. Two Wisconsin corners entered the portal themselves this year. Dort is not the only defensive back Wisconsin is bringing in. Toledo's Justin Clark and UCLA's Jay Shaw are also now Badgers, as is Bryce Carey from Northern Illinois, although he's a safety all the way. Dort should be in the mix to compete for a starting spot or a lot of snaps at Wisconsin.

DB Moses Douglass — Alabama A&M

The Kentucky legacy was a heralded four-star prospect from Ohio but didn't crack the playing time rotation in the secondary at Kentucky. The forecast for playing time should be much better at Alabama A&M so it will be a very different experience at the school for Douglass, who should be playing extensively in games for the first time since high school.

Former Kentucky commitment and Miami quarterback Jarren Williams is also at Alabama A&M.