UK revamps offense with transfers

With only 14 scholarship players returning on offense for the University of Kentucky football program this fall, the Wildcats’ roster will be vastly different from a season ago — a result of UK’s efforts to revamp its offense through the NCAA transfer portal.

UK is looking to leave last year’s 4-8 effort and the Cats’ anemic offense in the rear-view mirror as offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan enters his second season. With new faces throughout the lineup, Kentucky is seeking a bounce-back campaign in Lexington following spring practice.

“Obviously, spring is a good time to install the schemes and work on fundamentals,” Hamdan said Friday on The Leach Report. “The part that everybody’s going through is, even though you’re in year two, certainly the amount of turnover from a roster standpoint. So, really good to bring in the new players, mix in the guys that have been here and really put it all together and see who the 2025 Wildcats will be.”

Hamdan becomes the program’s first consecutive-year offensive coordinator since 2020, and, with most of the Cats’ staff still intact, is far more comfortable this time around.

“The continuity with our staff has been critical,” he remarked. “Anytime you’re a new coordinator coming in, and you’re the only one coming in, the adjustment period to get everybody on the same page takes time.

“A lot of familiarity (this time), able to recruit to the scheme, certainly a lot of things that we are excited about for the upcoming season.”

Of Kentucky’s 26 newcomers, who are ranked the 10th-best group of transfers in the nation by 247Sports, 18 are on the offensive side of the ball. The group is headlined by FCS Incarnate Word transfer quarterback Zach Calzada, who previously played at Texas A&M and Auburn.

“Plenty of arm strength, for sure,” Hamdan said…

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Publish date : 2025-05-11 03:59:00

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