Mark Stoops prioritized production over potential in the transfer portal. Kentucky had to undergo one of the largest roster overhauls in power conference football this offseason. To mitigate the risk, the Wildcats pushed all their chips in on players who have already proved they can perform, albeit at a lower level.

Of the 18 incoming transfers, only seven most recently played for a power conference program. The rest cut their teeth in the MAC, Conference-USA, or the FCS ranks, and most of them were all-conference performers.

Productive Offensive Lineman to Kentucky

It doesn’t matter if you’re 6 or 66, you knew that the top priority for Kentucky this offseason was fixing the offensive line. Offensive line coach Eric Wolford has secured four signees so far who were all-conference players at their previous stops.

Evan Wibberley received Conference-USA Honorable Mention honors after his first season as Western Kentucky’s full-time starter at center. Right tackle Alex Wollschlaeger has 40 career starts. He was a Third-Team All-MAC selection in 2023, then a first team selection last fall. Offensive guard Josh Braun started his career at Florida and was a Second-Team All-SEC selection for Arkansas in 2023.

There could be another joining them soon. Shiyazh Pete was a First-Team All-C-USA left tackle for New Mexico State in 2023. An injury sidelined him at the start of the 2024 season that prevented him from repeating. Now he’s looking for a new home and Kentucky desperately needs a left tackle. For a moment, it looked like it was going to be either Michigan or Nebraska, but Pete Nakos and Steve Wiltfong report that Kentucky has made a major move to bring Pete to Lexington.

The pieces need to fit together for the Big Blue Wall to be successful, but it’s clear Kentucky will have some good pieces from the transfer portal.

Two Conference Players of the Year

The biggest signings on each side of the line of scrimmage were among the best players in the FCS in 2024.

Mi’Quise Grace was a Second-Team All-American who was named Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year. The explosive defensive lineman had 18.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks en route to a national semifinal appearance in the FCS playoffs.

Quarterback Zach Calzada was eliminated in an earlier round of the playoffs, but not until after he put up some silly numbers. The Southland Conference Player of the Year completed 65% of his passes for 3,791 yards (No. 5 in FCS), 35 touchdowns (No. 2 in FCS), and 9 interceptions. He also had 540 non-sack rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Next fall he’ll be throwing passes to Tru Edwards, who was a First-Team All-C-USA wide receiver at Louisiana Tech last fall. The 6-foot-3 pass-catcher led the league in receptions (84) and finished second in receiving yards (986).

You may be skeptical of this strategy. Not every Group of Five or FCS All-Conference player is built to perform in the SEC. Even so, it’s clear that Kentucky successfully signed some of the most talented players from the lower ranks.

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