Four games into the year, Kentucky has been named a transfer portal loser.
Through the first four games of the year, the Kentucky Wildcats have struggled offensively against SEC opponents, and many thought with the transfer portal additions stacking this roster, it might be a different story.
Coming into the season, Kentucky was ranked No. 21 in the transfer portal class, and that seemed fair due to the additions from players coming from Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, but that on-field talent hasn’t been necessarily the case.
Kentucky was recently listed as a loser coming out of the transfer portal, according to Brad Crawford of 247 Sports.
On the offensive side, Kentucky went nine straight quarters without scoring a touchdown. They finally scored in the second quarter against Ohio through the help of running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. Kentucky went on to win 41-6 against Ohio.
One of Kentucky’s key pieces coming from the transfer portal was supposed to be the addition of Ohio State RB Chip Trayanum, but he hasn’t played a snap this year after breaking his hand. Hopefully, when Trayanum is fully healthy, he can bring in more depth to the running back room.
Another problem has been quarterback Brock Vandagriff, who came from Georgia. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in three straight games, with the last one coming against Southern Miss. He had three touchdowns in that game.
Granted, the offensive line hasn’t helped him much, Vandagriff not throwing a single touchdown in those games is a bit concerning.
For the wide receivers, North Texas transfer Ja’Mori Maclin was expected to have a bigger impact on the offense, but so far, he has only had five catches for 87 yards.
Defensively, Alabama defensive back transfer Kristian Story hasn’t had too much of an impact, only having four tackles so far this year. The one plus in the transfer portal has been former Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Dumas-Johnson has had 13 tackles and one interception on the year.
Time for the rest of these guys to change the tune on how Kentucky’s 2024 transfer portal class will be viewed. Or else it could be a long rest of the season.