Expectations for Brock Vandagriff, Gavin Wimsatt and other incoming transfers (2024)

Vandagriff committed to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Liam Coen before he departed to Tampa Bay, but his focus on UK's program, even in the wake of Coen leaving, has never wavered. He has taken ownership of his role and works overtime to learn the new offensive system and develop a relationship with Coen's success, Bush Hamdan. The former 5-star high school recruit has attempted just 21 passes in his collegiate career with, ironically, the bulk of which coming against his new team. He will have every opportunity to take this job and run away with it.

I recently wrote about how other first year quarterbacks have fared at UK since head coach Mark Stoops arrived.

Wimsatt has looked comfortable since he arrived on campus. He has been putting in work outside of practice and there is a belief that he will see time this year even if it is just a package or situationally here and there. The Owensboro native compiled 2,537 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, as well as 628 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns over three years with the Scarlet Knights. He struggled to find consistency, but a change of scenery could help him both in the short-term and the long-term.

There is no question that he is Kentucky's primary backup heading into the season.

Kentucky has chased punting consistency for years, but it has always escaped them. I expect Laros to be the starting punter and take all of the snaps as long as he is healthy.

Laros was named FCS Punter of the Year and a First Team All-American last season by the Associated Press and Phil Steele.Last season, he had 52 punts with an average of 47.5 yards per punt, including a long of 71-yards.Laros joined the Skyhawks after two seasons with Will Healy'sCharlotteprogram. There, he handled all kickoff duties. The opposition returned just 13 kicks on 51 kickoffs, as well as 28 touchbacks. The 2021 season was spent redshirting.

Maxwell Hairston has locked down one starting position, but the other remains up for grabs. An injury has set back Waller a bit, but he will have every opportunity to win that job. JQ Hardaway, Nasir Addison and Terhyon Nichols are all pushing for playing time as well. When the dust settles, I think the incoming Michigan transfer will be in position to start the opener and that translates to significant snaps over the course of a season.

In his lone season in Ann Arbor, he won a National Championship and had been receiving first team. repetitions this spring opposite Will Johnson Jr. He saw time in the secondary and on special teams in 11 games last fall. In those opportunities, he recorded 12 tackles and 1 pass breakup as a true freshman.

Mincey has missed some time this fall due to an injury but he is expected to be the starting right tackle against Southern Mississippi. Last year, the Wildcats had a competition between Jeremy Flax and Courtland Ford. Ford is still in the program and Flax has moved on to the NFL. I feel more confident about the right tackle spot going into this season than I had a year ago.

Originally from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the lineman signed with Florida out of high school after being committed to Kentucky for a month and a half. He lasted two seasons in Gainesville before transferring to play for the Volunteers.

As a true freshman in 2020, he appeared in just one game. The following year, he appeared in 11 games, allowing one pressure on 17 pass blocking snaps. In his first season with Tennessee, Mincey made his first collegiate start in the opener against Ball State.

247Sports'Patrick Brownprovided the following insight on his time with the Volunteers.

"After transferring to Tennessee, Mincey started seven games at left tackle during the 11-win season in 2022.

He beat outJeremiah Crawfordfor the starting job during the preseason and started the first four games of the season before missing the win at LSU. He returned to the starting lineup against Alabama, but did not finish that game due to injury and missed the next two games before playing off the bench against both Georgia and Missouri. Mincey started against South Carolina, missed the Vanderbilt game and started in the Orange Bowl victory against Clemson.

This season, Mincey played 430 snaps at right tackle and 147 snaps at left tackle after Campbell transferred in from Miami and took over the starting job on the left side of an offensive line that was named aJoe MooreAward semifinalist for a second straight season. He played rotational snaps off the bench at both tackle spots in the Virginia, Austin Peay and UTSA games in September before entering the starting lineup. Mincey played on special teams but not on offense in his return to Florida after he was cited for marijuana possession two days before the Vols lost 29-16 in Gainesville.

Mincey dealt with a knee injury that forced him out of a couple of games in October, and he played through it late in the year when he got three late-game snaps out of necessity in the loss to Georgia and rotated in at both right and left tackle in the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt.

According to Pro Football Focus, Mincey allowed 17 quarterback pressures (15 hurries, two sacks) on 281 pass-blocking snaps and had the fifth-highest run-blocking grade (58.9) among Tennessee offensive linemen who started multiple games."

The safety group made a lot of mistakes last season and a lack of healthy, available depth stressed that unit. Adding Story allows defensive coordinator Brad White to dial up different looks but it also gives them vital depth, veteran experience in the last line of defense. Whether or not he draws the starting assignment is semantics. He came to Lexington with the expectation to play significant snaps.

Story did not play as a freshman at Alabama in 2020, then contributed mostly on special teams the past three seasons. The defensive back has amassed 22 tackles, two pass deflections and one interception. He saw increased time on defense in 2023, including making a start against Kentucky in November when starterJaylen Keywas injured. With Key having played his sixth and final season in 2023, Story was considered a candidate to replace him in 2024. Alabama did not honor Story on senior day because he was expected to return for a fifth year, using his COVID waiver.

Out of Lanett High School in Alabama, he was rated a 92 on a scale to 100 by 247Sports, which equated to the nation's No. 8 athlete and the No. 208 prospect overall.

Dumas-Johnson is not as athletic as Trevin Wallace, but he is more consistent. The Georgia transfer has played a lot of football and very little surprises him. Alongside D'Eryk Jackson, Dumas-Johnson gives the SEC program potentially the highest floor of any linebacker room in the nation. He will scoop up all of the snaps left from the departed Wallace.

As a true freshman, the linebacker had 21 tackles, 1 pass deflection, 2 sacks, 1 interception and 1 touchdown for the National Champions.As an encore performance, he accumulated 70 tackles, 3 pass deflections, 4 sacks and 1 forced fumble.In his final season in Athens, the Maryland native was limited to eight games due to injury. Dumas-Johnson recorded 34 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 2 pass deflections in 2023.

Fans are sleeping on Farrier and the contributions that he can make on this year's team. High school and college coaches alike speak highly of him. Since returning to Lexington, he has approached his craft like a true professional. As potentially the fourth wide receiver on this team, he is positioned to get a lot of targets out of this offense. Last year's numbers are not indicative of 2024 expectations because UK intends to play a faster pace and take more snaps on offense.

The 6-foot-1 wide receiver spent three seasons with the Blazers. He redshirted in 2021 not appearing in any games and in 2022 played in all 13 games, started one and made 11 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.

This past fall, he saw his role expand even further. Farrier played 490 offensive snaps, playing in all 12 games and starting six. Of his 490 reps, 340 came outside and 150 saw him featured in the slot. In total, he made 18 catches for 266 yards and a touchdown, which included a four-catch 54-yard day against North Carolina A&T, making a 32-yard touchdown grab against North Texas and hauling in a season-long 67-yard catch against Georgia Southern.

He averaged 14.8 yards per catch.

Trayanum is expected to miss the first game or two of the season. When he returns to the lineup, I expect him to be the program's lead back, but that does not translate to the same carry share that Ray Davis had last season (71.1%). Carries will likely be divvied up more evenly with Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, freshman Jason Patterson and, potentially, freshman Jamarion Wilcox.

TheAkronnative signed withArizona Stateout of high school and spent two seasons there before transferring home toOhio State. While a member of the Sun Devils, he rushed for 692 yards and 10 touchdowns on 127 carries. Upon returning to the Buckeye State, Trayanum was initially moved to linebacker until injuries at the running back position once again forced him into the backfield. In two years with the Buckeyes, he had 100 rushes for 465 yards and three touchdowns, including an important goal line plunge against No. 9Notre Dame. Among running backs with at least 75 carries last season, Trayanum had a 20.0% tackle avoidance rate, which ranked No. 155 in the nation.

Before Wimsatt committed to a return to the Bluegrass, Allen was the anticipated backup to Brock Vandagriff. Allen is now the third quarterback. His presence gives UK the deepest quarterback room in the nation. No other program has two former starting quarterbacks as depth. I do not anticipate that he will play much this season.

Allen signed with the Wildcats as a member of its 2020 signing class as a three-star prospect out of Lexington Catholic High School.

The 6-foot-2 quarterback appeared in one game during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, serving as the Cats' third-string quarterback behindTerry WilsonandJoey Gatewood. He completed 3-of-7 passes for 40 yards in a 38-35 win over Vanderbilt.

In 2021, withLiam Coenas offensive coordinator, Allen was Will Levis' primary backup. He appeared in three games, completing 8-of-12 passes for 92 yards, and ran in a three-yard touchdown against New Mexico State.

WithRich Scangarelloserving as UK's offensive coordinator in 2022, Allen went through spring practice with the Cats but then opted to enter the transfer portal over the Summer. He landed at the FCS level at Tarleton State, where he was named the Texans starting quarterback.

In his year as the Texans starter, Allen earned the Western Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year award by completing 56.8 percent of his passes for 2,836 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while adding 110 yards and a score on the ground.

After one year at Tarleton State, he opted to transfer to Georgia Southern.

Kentucky has a lot of playing experience along the interior offensive line, but nothing will be given to them. If the play is not up to the standard, then offensive line coach Eric Wolford will have no problem turning to Farmer, who he recruited out of high school before leaving for Alabama. The plan is for Farmer to step into a starting role next season, but plans are always turned upside down in the SEC. I would still look for him to play clean-up snaps late in games.

In his first season at Florida, he appeared in two games making his collegiate debut at Eastern Washington. As a second year, he played in two games off the bench.Farmer was rated an 87 on a scale to 100 by 247Sports, which equated to the nation's No. 35 interior offensive lineman out of Eastside High School in Covington, Georgia as part of the 2022 recruiting class.

Dane Key and Barion Brown should be Kentucky's primary pass catchers but Maclin should have good production. He did not leave the Mean Green to ride the pine in the SEC. Kentucky is comfortable with its depth at wide receiver and Maclin is a primary reason for that confidence. If opposing teams roll coverage to Key and Brown, Maclin is positioned to capitalize. Kentucky's three leading receivers all had 40+ receptions a year ago.

Maclin was limited to just five games played during his first two years on Missouri's campus. During that time period, he recorded 1 reception for 5 yards. As he returned to full health, Maclin was able to display his potential. In his first season with the Mean Green, he recorded 16 receptions for 380 yards and two touchdowns. In the most recent and final season with North Texas, he registered 57 receptions for 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns.

According to TruMedia, 68.4% of his receptions went for either a first down or a touchdown this season.

A native of St. Louis, Maclin signed with Missouri out of Kirkwood High School. He was rated an 87 on a scale to 100 by 247Sports, which equated to the nation's No. 114 wide receiver as part of the 2020 recruiting class.