It sure sounds like Ja'Mori Maclin is hitting the portal…

Coming off his best performance as a Wildcat, it appears Ja’Mori Maclin will be exploring his options in his final season of eligibility. The North Texas transfer has not yet confirmed the news publicly and we’re comfortably reading the tea leaves a bit here, but when there is smoke, there is often fire.

And the smoke is bellowing out over the Joe Craft Football Training Facility right about now.

Maclin, immediately following his 121-yard, two-touchdown performance against Louisville, was quick to call out the team’s leadership from all of the way up top down to the bottom.

“It can be all around — players, coaches, whatever it is,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re still a team. It’s not one specific player or one specific group. All around, we need better leadership.”

He said it was an all-systems failure — “a collective thing,” the senior receiver called it. “It’s all of us.” From there, he said he’d go home and spend time with his family before making a final decision on his future, adding that the final result against Louisville and everything leading up to that point “could” push him one way or another. He wasn’t comfortable putting a timeline on it, but he’d know after talking things over with those closest to him.

48 hours later, the signs of a departure started rolling out. Freshman receiver Hardley Gilmore IV posted a cryptic message on social media seemingly wishing Maclin the best on his future.

“Blessed ain’t the word! Truly glad god put you in my life. Real stand up guy, even a better leader. Always stick to the plan love ya boy,” Gilmore said.

“Love you bro. Always got you. One of the best young players I been around. Keep working brotha,” Maclin responded.

The senior pass-catcher also shared a Bible verse, quoting Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” That came alongside multiple tweets and retweets highlighting his best moments in limited opportunities, including one that called him ‘criminally underused all season long.”

Not enough to question his future in Lexington? He also allegedly shared some pretty telling DMs, which can be found over on KSBoard right here.

No explicit respect-my-decision announcements quite yet, but barring a major surprise out of left field, it appears that’s where this thing is trending.