Camp Intel: What we learned about Kentucky’s 2024 roster in June
Covering recruiting camps has changed in recent years with the switch to official visits in summer. That along with the December signing day has sped up the recruiting process. The summer months have now become closing time for coaching and recruiting staffs throughout the college football landscape. Kentucky is no different.
Throughout camp season, KSR was in attendance for every event and provided non-stop coverage on KSBoard keeping our growing community of fans locked in on what was going on the trail. But we also got to speak with some sources within the program about how the offseason is going behind the doors of the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.
Nick Roush and I have gathered some intel on the 2024 Wildcats. Who is trending up? We’ve got it all right here.
DJ Waller Might be a Dog
Roush: The two transfer portal additions from Georgia stole all of the headlines, but don’t sleep on the last player the Cats found in the transfer portal. DJ Waller is built like an EDGE rusher. He’s every bit of 6-2 with long arms and enormous hands, the perfect athletic build for a Mark Stoops cornerback.
Waller checks almost every box, despite only one year of college football experience as a true freshman at Michigan. He still played quite a bit for the Wolverines and logged significant snaps in spring practice while competing for the starting job. It may take a couple of weeks for him to get comfortable, but if Waller hits, he’s a future pro, giving Brad White a pair of them at cornerback in 2024. Even though we have not seen him in a Kentucky uniform, he’s a guy you should be excited about this fall.
Pop Dumas-Johnson Makes a Splash
Luckett: The Georgia transfer comes to Kentucky with two national championship rings and All-American honors on his playing resume. Pop Dumas-Johnson appears to have exceeded expectations early during his time in Lexington.
Sources within the program have told KSR to expect a huge season from the off-ball linebacker as the transfer has quickly become a leader at the position, is an extremely hard worker, and a very intelligent football player. Preseason expectations are extremely high for the Kentucky linebacker room despite losing third-round pick Trevin Wallace to the Carolina Panthers. Dumas-Johnson is a big reason why.
Expect a big year from the SEC transfer. Dumas-Johnson will give Kentucky some more star power in the front seven.
A Lot of Promise in the Kentucky Linebacker Room
Roush: The Joe Craft Football Training Facility is buzzing about the Kentucky linebacker room. Piggy-backing off of Luckett’s intel on Pop, White has two experienced starters and two experienced reserves. Daveren Rayner will rotate in at Mike and Alex Afari is moving deeper into the box at Will after spending most of his time as a nickel/Sam linebacker. The move should benefit the big athlete in his long-term development.
It’s not just that Kentucky has great veterans in the room. The folks around the facility love the potential the new guys are bringing to Lexington. Steven Soles joins the Smith trio — Antwan, Devin, and Jaden — to create an athletic group of first-year players at the position. We will not see them this year, but the future of that group is bright.
Back to Full Strength
Luckett: Bad news came out on Thursday when Nick Roush reported that Josaih Hayes is likely to miss the entire 2024 season due to an Achilles injury suffered during spring practice. That hurts Kentucky’s depth at nose tackle and adds to the long list of injuries suffered during spring practice.
But Kentucky should be very close to 100 percent once fall camp begins in August.
Numerous players underwent minor surgeries that held them out for spring practice. There were some other injuries during spring ball, but nothing that should last into the season. Kentucky will be without Hayes and defensive lineman Darrion Henry-Young to start the season but every other expected major contributor shoule be ready to roll once camp opens.
Keep an Eye on Cedric Works
Roush: Vince Marrow locked up a couple of Top 200 talents early in the recruiting cycle with Martels Carter and Marquise Davis. The Big Dog has a few more in his crosshairs. Javeon Campbell officially visited last weekend and Cedric Works is scheduled to travel to Lexington next weekend. The Dayton native will log trips to Cincinnati, Penn State, and Florida before his Kentucky official visit. Despite the full-court press from Billy Napier in Gainesville, I like where the Wildcats stand in the four-star EDGE’s recruitment.
Don’t Sleep on this Kentucky Wide Receiver
Roush: We did not see Ja’Mori Maclin in action this spring as he dealt with a lingering soft tissue issue. His absence has caused some folks to forget that he has the most productive season of any wide receiver on the roster. How he’ll be used alongside Barion Brown and Dane Key and where the targets will go is something to sort out later on, but you better believe Maclin will be making big plays for the Cats this fall.
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