How Kentucky followed Wan’Dale Robinson plan to land transfers from Alabama, Ohio State

It would be unfair to expect any of Kentucky football’s new transfers to have a Wan’Dale Robinson-level impact on the 2023 squad.

After all, Robinson posted the single best season by a wide receiver in program history, breaking the school records for catches and receiving yards in a season, in his one year as a Wildcat.

But head coach Mark Stoops, recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow and company did return to the game plan that helped convince Robinson to transfer to Kentucky from Nebraska prior to the 2021 season to land two transfers this winter: former Alabama offensive lineman Tanner Bowles and former Ohio State defensive back Jantzen Dunn. Like Robinson, Bowles and Dunn are former Kentucky high school stars. Like Robinson, both players initially spurned Kentucky out of high school in favor of a traditional college football power.

“It’s we may have come in second, they went somewhere else and they remembered the relationship they had (when they transferred),” Marrow said of the dynamic of recruiting players for a second time in the transfer portal. “So, we were the first school they called.

“Same thing with Wan’Dale. … Even a lot of people in our building were mad when he went to Nebraska. It wasn’t favorable to put out a tweet when he went to Nebraska to say I wished him well. His dad remembered that. So, when he got in the portal there were a lot of schools that wanted him, but I was the first guy — me and Stoops were the first guys they called because of the relationship we kept with them.”

When Robinson arrived at Kentucky he immediately became the top receiving option for the Wildcats’ passing attack. Dunn and Bowles will have to work their way into featured roles.

During Tuesday’s spring practice open to reporters Dunn was working as a second-team cornerback for the defense. Bowles played as the second-team right guard for the offensive line.

Both transfers were ranked as four-star prospects during their senior year of high school and played sparingly at their first college. Bowles, a Glasgow High School graduate, appeared in 19 games across four seasons at Alabama with his most consistent contributions coming on the field goal unit. Dunn appeared in six games across two seasons at Ohio State without recording any statistics.

“It’s a learning experience,” Bowles said of his Alabama tenure. “Everybody has their own path in this entire adventure. Mine wasn’t being on the field as much as I would have loved to be, but I’m thankful for the opportunity. They taught me many things. They taught me kind of paying attention to little details, and they taught me a lot about football, learning football, different positions. Getting to know guys. I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunities that I got there.”

The chance for increased playing time was an obvious selling point for Kentucky versus Alabama or Ohio State, two programs expected to contend for a national championship most years, but that dynamic was similar when Bowles and Dunn made their first college decisions.

So why pick Kentucky now when the Wildcats did not make the cut during their first recruitments?

“Probably it’s just home for me,” Dunn said. “They heavily recruited me in high school, and I missed out on that opportunity. I’m coming back to it, and I think it was a great choice.”

Bowles, whose father, Matt, played baseball at Kentucky and brother, Hunter, played football at Louisville, specifically wanted to move farther away from home after graduating high school.

“I didn’t want to go and follow one of their paths,” he said. “I wanted to be my own person, so going out of the state was about my only option for getting what I wanted at the time.”

Experience brings new perspective, but Bowles and Dunn say their priorities did not change dramatically from their first recruitment to the second. Both still wanted to find a program that could develop them to their full potential.

If anything, their experiences at traditional powers only pounded home the importance of finding the right fit.

“You’ve got to put in a lot of time,” Bowles said. “You’ve got to put in little details here and there. Get the right recovery, take care of your nutrition, things like that. Really just the details of going to class, making sure you’re there on time, always being on time and putting a structure to your life.

“I think another big one is just being a part of a team and not just yourself. I learned there it’s not just one single man. It’s kind of the name of the program. It’s more everybody doing everything together can make the program what it is.”

Playing at Alabama and Ohio State taught Bowles and Dunn what top-level talent looked like.

Because both players were already familiar with Kentucky from their high school recruitments and the coaching staff did not burn any bridges when losing their commitments, there was enough trust to believe the talent in Lexington could continue to elevate their games. Two weeks into their first spring practice on campus, that trust is being validated.

“I honestly believe that Barion (Brown) and Dane (Key) are at the level I was competing with at Ohio State,” Dunn said. “Those guys are really good. Having high-competition level is really important for me.

“... I know what I want. What I want is to go to the league, and I know this program can take me there.”

Kentucky football safety Vito Tisdale dismissed from team for rules violation

What we learned about Devin Leary, Liam Coen’s offense at Kentucky football open practice

Why Kentucky coaches are excited about position that lost former five-star to transfer

Kentucky’s coaches have challenged Tayvion Robinson: ‘I expect him to make big strides’

Why Will Levis is confident Kentucky offense will ‘take a big step forward’ in 2023