It did not take long for Mark Stoops’ prediction of transfer portal surprises to come true

Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops seemed to lay the groundwork for significant losses in the transfer portal for his program this winter in the immediate aftermath of the season-ending loss to Louisville.

“Let’s be honest, there’s going to be a surprise,” Stoops said during his postgame radio interview with play-by-play man Tom Leach. “Again, we won’t flinch. It’s not like we’re going to like it or anything if you lose somebody you don’t want to, but it’s not the end-all, be-all. There’s ways to replace everybody.”

That prediction did not take long to come true as news broke Tuesday that nose guard Keeshawn Silver planned to enter the portal when it opens on Dec. 9, according to On3.

Silver, a former five-star high school recruit who transferred to UK from North Carolina prior to the 2023 season, started 23 of the 24 games he played for Kentucky including all 12 games in 2024. As a junior, he totaled 26 tackles and one sack while playing a position where his primary responsibility was occupying multiple blockers whenever possible.

Just a week ago, UK defensive coordinator Brad White listed Silver among a group of junior defenders the program could build around in 2025 despite losing multiple key veterans to graduation or the draft. The sting of his loss could be eased some if senior nose guard Josaih Hayes, who missed the first nine games of the season with a torn Achilles tendon, elects to use his 2020 COVID waiver to return in 2025, but Silver leaving would mean Kentucky almost certainly will need to replace all three starters on the defensive line.

The bulk of UK’s transfer losses are expected to be from a group of younger players buried on the depth chart who the staff encourages to look elsewhere for more playing time, as has been the case since the advent of the transfer portal. Before this offseason, Kentucky had lost just one starter to the portal (nose guard Justin Rogers, who Silver was recruited to replace).

You can bookmark this page to follow all the outgoing transfers throughout the offseason. The winter window for players to enter the portal runs from Dec. 9 to 28. A second 10-day window after spring practice will run from April 16 to 25.

Kentucky football transfer losses

TE Khamari Anderson

UK coaches were high on Anderson’s potential as an athletic tight end who could split wide when needed, but he caught just five passes for 29 yards as a sophomore in 2024. While freshman Willie Rodriguez’s emergence down the stretch cast more doubt on Anderson’s 2025 role, he still represented a high-upside option the offense could use moving forward. Depth has quickly gone from a strength to a question mark at tight end.

OT Courtland Ford

A former transfer from USC, Ford started two games at right tackle in 2023 while appearing in every other game as a backup lineman, but he missed most of the 2024 season with a hand injury. Even after he returned to the field, Ford did not play much on a struggling offensive line in desperate need of help at tackle. By appearing in only three games, Ford preserved a year of eligibility, allowing him to use his 2020 pandemic waiver to keep playing in 2025. He will apparently use that year elsewhere.

TE Tanner Lemaster

A former three-star recruit, Lemaster appeared in just one game in two seasons at UK. His departure was one of the more predictable transfers on the roster since he was fifth on the depth chart at his position and one of the Wildcats’ best 2025 high school signees also plays tight end.

NG Keeshawn Silver

In two years at Kentucky after transferring from North Carolina, the former five-star recruit totaled 43 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack while starting 23 of 24 games played at nose guard. At 6-foot-4, 336 pounds, Silver provided an imposing presence at the heart of UK’s defensive line, playing alongside possible 2025 first round NFL draft pick Deone Walker. His importance to UK was increased in 2024 when a rash of injuries decimated depth at nose guard during spring practice.

DB Avery Stuart

One of the highest-rated signees in Kentucky’s 2023 high school recruiting class, Stuart appeared in just three games across two seasons in Lexington without recording any statistics. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound Alabama native will probably look to move down a level in search of more playing time after failing to crack Kentucky’s two-deep despite numerous injuries in the secondary in 2024.

LS Walker Himebauch

The rare walk-on to play immediately as a freshman, Himebauch played in every game in his first season on campus as the short snapper for field goals and extra points. He took over long-snapping duties on punts that season for the final nine games after a season-ending injury to the starter there. Himebauch was passed on the depth chart by North Carolina State transfer Alex McLaughlin to open the 2024 season, but he regained his job on the field goal team for the final five games after three consecutive kicks failed due to a flubbed snap or hold.

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