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May 17, 2023

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Kentucky added plenty of experience via the transfer portal this offseason

Kentucky added plenty of experience via the transfer portal this offseason signing 12 players to help fill its 2023 roster.

It added several projected starters at key positions, including at quarterback (Devin Leary), running back (Ray Davis) and left tackle (Marques Cox), while also adding lots of important depth at positions of need.

The portal additions help fill the voids of three starters taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, including quarterback Will Levis, a handful of other starters who signed undrafted free agent deals, a flock of graduates and over 10 players who opted to leave the program via the portal including starting defensive lineman Justin Rogers (Auburn) and four-year contributor Kavosiey Smoke (Colorado).

Since the transfer portal era began, Mark Stoops has added several future stars, including Levis (Penn State), wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (Nebraska), who set the UK single-season reception and receiving yards record in 2021, Jacquez Jones (Ole Miss) who was a two-year starter at middle linebacker and cornerback Keidron Smith (Ole Miss) who earned All-SEC second-team honors for the 2022 Cats.

While not at all 12 of the players Stoops and his staff added via the portal this offseason would be first-year starters, many have multiple years of remaining eligbility to make an impact in future years, while others will be starters and have a great say on whether or not UK will be improved from its 7-6 2022 campaign.

Here, we rank all 12 of the Wildcats' offseason transfer portal additions from who is projected to have the biggest impact on the 2023 Cats and whose projected to have the least and be an impact player in the years to come instead.

1. Devin Leary, QB (NC State): This one is a no-brainer. Leary will be the Cats starting quarterback this fall and was one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal this offseason. The 2022 ACC Preseason Player of the Year will have the biggest say of anyone on the entire roster on whether or not the 2023 season is successful or not.

2. Marques Cox, OT (Northern Illinois): Cox started 33 games at left tackle during his time at Northern Illinois and will slot right in as the Cats starting left tackle this fall. Last season, UK got little quality left tackle play after it was forced to shift guard Kenneth Horsey outside to a position he was far less comfortable playing. Cox should be a great help to Leary and the entire Big Blue Wall.

3. Ray Davis, RB (Vanderbilt): Davis was one of just four running backs in the SEC last season to run for 1,000 yards at Vanderbilt. He's likely to be Kentucky's featured back this fall and while UK will remain a balanced offense under Liam Coen, Stoops and Coen still love to run the rock.

4. Keeshawn Silver, DL (North Carolina): Silver was a five-star high prospect who figures to slide in and replace Rogers at defensive tackle this fall. The 6-foot-4, 322-pound defensive lineman turned heads during spring practice and will play next to Deone Walker as UK hopes to improve its run defense that was the weakest link of an otherwise great defense last fall.

5. JQ Hardaway, DB (Cincinnati): Hardaway was someone Kentucky wanted badly out of high school but instead played his 2022 freshman season at Cincinnati. He's now in Lexington after ranking as the transfer portal's 75th best player and 13th best cornerback. As a Wildcat this fall, he has a great chance to take over a starting cornerback job with Carrington Valentine and Smith now in the NFL.

6. Courtland Ford, OT (USC): Ford will bring more starting experience to the Big Blue Wall as he started 13 career games at left tackle during his time at USC. He'll shift over to right tackle at Kentucky and likely be the starter at the position but he will need to beat out Jeremy Flax first.

7. Daveren Rayner, ILB (Northern Illinois): Rayner was a tackle machine during his time at Northern Illinois, serving as the Huskies' middle linebacker. He'll rotate in with talented junior Trevin Wallace and D'Eryk Jackson, who led the team in tackles last season at a position where being three deep is key. Rayner has three years of eligibility remaining, while Jackson has just two and Wallace is likely to be an NFL Draft pick after either the 2023 or 2024 season.

8. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, RB (NC State): Sumo-Karngbaye comes to Lexington having great chemistry with Leary, having played with him at NC State last season. An explosive back, the New Jersey native averaged 5.5 yards per carry for the Wolfpack last season before going down with a season-ending injury. He'll have a lot of competition in the UK running back room this fall, but with Davis and Ramon Jefferson both having just one year of eligibility remaining Sumo-Karngbaye, will likely get some run this year and more in 2024 which will be his final year of eligibility.

9. Jantzen Dunn, DB (Ohio State): Like Hardaway, Dunn was a Kentucky target out of high school. The Bowling Green native elected to start his college career at Ohio State, where he hardly played in his two years but has a chance to compete to not only play right away but be a starter at corner for the Cats this fall. While starting in 2023 is no guarantee, Dunn has three years of remaining eligibility.

9. Alex Raynor, K (Georgia Southern): A kicker making a big impact? Matt Ruffolo graduated and UK's special teams unit was a disaster in 2022. Newly hired special teams coordinator Jay Boulware and UK's staff added Raynor on scholarship after he went 18-for-20 on field goal attempts at Georgia Southern last season. Assuming he beats out Chance Poore, Raynor will have a huge impact on the 2023 Cats.

10. Tanner Bowles, OL (Alabama): A Glasgow native, Bowles played four seasons at Alabama under Nick Saban and got reps at practice at every offensive line position. However, he never cracked the starting rotation and likely won't start at UK this fall unless an injury occurs. Look for him to be a swing guard.

11. Ben Christman, OL (Ohio State): Christman was a highly coveted high school prospect out of Akron that Kentucky had offered. He has three years of eligibility remaining and with the guard positions filled by Horsey, who will be entering his final year and Eli Cox, who might be a 2024 NFL Draft pick, Christman likely won't factor into the starting discussion until 2024 but will provide depth this fall.

12. Kevin Larkins Jr, DB (Livingstone College): Like Kentucky did last offseason with Jordan Robinson, it added a long corner from DII Livingstone College in Larkins Jr. Robinson redshirted last season as he made the adjustment to DI and the SEC, thus despite leading DII in interceptions last season, the course of action could be the same with Larkins.