College football’s transfer portal window is open. Kentucky needs help at these positions.

Forget holiday shopping. College football’s transfer season is upon us.

Football’s winter transfer portal window officially opened Monday. A host of graduate transfers and players on teams where coaching changes have been made already entered the portal last week while a growing list of underclassmen, including several at UK, announced their intentions to enter the portal when able to do so Monday, but more players will enter the portal now that the window is officially open.

Kentucky has thus far avoided any crippling losses to the portal, with the Wildcats announcing their intentions to leave coming from the group of backups looking for larger roles elsewhere. Even if Mark Stoops and company are able to keep the Wildcats’ star players from considering possible opportunities at powerhouse programs throughout the offseason, Kentucky has holes it needs to fill in the portal.

That process starts in earnest Monday.

Some of Kentucky’s portal work will not be complete until the post-spring practice window opens in April, but many of the best players to enter the transfer market this offseason will look to make a decision in time to enroll at a new school for the spring semester. With that in mind, here is a look at five positions Kentucky could pursue transfer reinforcements over the next month.

Quarterback

Asked about positions of need in the transfer portal on his final radio show of the season last week, Stoops actually did not mention quarterback, but it is clear the Wildcats are looking for another transfer quarterback to follow in the footsteps of Will Levis and Devin Leary.

Four-star Lexington Christian Academy quarterback Cutter Boley is expected to enroll at UK in January, but it would be dangerous to assume Boley is ready to play as a true freshman. Current backups Kaiya Sheron, Destin Wade and Deuce Hogan have eligibility remaining, but it would be little surprise to see at least one player from that group transfer in search of a starting opportunity elsewhere since UK coaches have offered little evidence to suggest they think any of the backups are ready to replace Leary as the starter.

A handful of high-profile quarterbacks announced their intentions to transfer last week. Kentucky was publicly linked to Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, but the Wildcats do not look to be the favorite for any of the known available options. After Leary failed to live up to his preseason hype, it seems likely UK prioritizes an unproven quarterback with the physical gifts that project to a possible NFL future rather than a veteran with college production on his resume.

That formula worked when Kentucky signed Levis as a run-first backup from Penn State then helped develop him into an NFL starter. Leary’s college production was far better than Levis’s at the time of his transfer, but his play in 2023 was a stark reminder that most graduate transfer quarterbacks would already be in the NFL draft if there was not some flaw holding back their games. If Kentucky is going to run a pro-style offense, it probably needs a future pro at quarterback.

Wide receiver

Keeping starters Barion Brown and Dane Key is the top priority. Yes, both receivers disappointed for long stretches of their sophomore seasons, but Kentucky simply does not have enough depth to withstand the losses of two players with their potential.

Even if Brown and Key both return, reinforcements are needed. Starter Tayvion Robinson has exhausted his eligibility. Little-used backup Dekel Crowdus announced plans to enter the transfer portal last week. That leaves freshman Anthony Brown-Stephens, who totaled five catches for 44 yards and one touchdown, as the only other returning wide receiver who saw significant snaps this season.

Perhaps freshmen Shamar Porter and Ardell Banks will prove worthy of larger roles during bowl practice, but a couple of veterans are probably needed.

Kentucky has already been linked to North Texas wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin, Texas A&M wide receiver Raymond Cottrell and Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley.

The 5-foot-11 Maclin is the most experienced of that group. He started his career at Missouri and totaled 57 catches for 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns for North Texas this season. McCulley might have the highest ceiling of the trio. He started his career as a quarterback but caught 48 passes for 644 yards and six touchdowns this season.

Kentucky is also in search of a new wide receivers coach after firing Scott Woodward last week.

Running back

Running back was among the most stable positions on the UK roster from 2016 to 2022 with Benny Snell and Chris Rodriguez both spending multiple seasons as the starter, but the Wildcats will probably feature a transfer starter for the second consecutive season next fall.

Ray Davis has already declared for the NFL draft after breaking UK’s single-season record for touchdowns scored (20). His top backup for most of the season, JuTahn McClain, has entered the transfer portal. The No. 3 running back, Ramon Jefferson, will play his final college game in the bowl.

That leaves former N.C. State transfer Demie Sumo-Karngbaye as the only returning running back who recorded a carry this season, but he split time between running back and wide receiver. Freshman Jamarion Wilcox remains a player to watch for the future, but he has yet to play in a college game.

The good news is after Davis thrived as a transfer this season, ranking fourth in the SEC in all-purpose yards per game (115.3), UK should have plenty of evidence to show how it can feature the top running backs in the portal this winter.

Offensive line

Getting left tackle Marques Cox and center Eli Cox to return for the 2024 season was a nice first step in strengthening an offensive line that showed progress in 2023 but has plenty of work left to do to return to the heyday of the “Big Blue Wall,” but at least one more starter-caliber lineman is probably needed.

There is some flexibility as to which position on the line is most important.

If Kentucky signs a new center, Eli Cox could move back to guard, where he thrived in 2021 and opened the season this year. If the Wildcats sign a guard, former West Virginia transfer Dylan Ray could compete for the right tackle job with former USC transfer Courtland Ford. If UK prioritizes a right tackle, Ray could play guard again.

With Marques Cox, Eli Cox, Jager Burton, Ray and Ford back, experience should not be a problem. The question is whether a talent upgrade is possible at any of those positions. Bowl practice will also be important to see if freshmen Malachi Wood and Austin Ramsey have developed enough to be counted on as contributors in 2024. Former Ohio State transfer Ben Christman could be a factor depending on his return form a season-ending knee injury.

One lineman already in the portal to watch is Notre Dame center Zeke Correll, a graduate transfer who started 23 consecutive games before a concussion ended his 2023 season early. Correll’s father, grandfather and older brother played at UK.

Punter

A year ago, Kentucky made a clear upgrade at kicker in the transfer portal by signing former Georgia State kicker Alex Raynor, but new special teams coordinator Jay Boulware was not able to fix the Wildcats’ punting woes.

“Right now, our team is what it is,” Stoops said late in the season when asked about the second-half struggles of punter Wilson Berry. “If I felt like there was somebody there right now that could help us — as I mentioned in several other press conferences — we would do that.”

Berry still has two years of eligibility remaining. There is hope he could grow more effective in Boulware’s traditional pocket punting scheme after being recruited as an Australian rugby-style punter, but it would be a shock if Kentucky did not at least sign a transfer to compete with Berry for the job next season.

Despite Berry’s struggles, redshirt freshman Jackson Smith, the other scholarship punter on the roster, was unable to earn an in-game audition this season. Without a transfer, UK will need Smith or one of the walk-ons to make a significant step forward to push Berry next fall.