Now two days after the the transfer portal has opened, the Kentucky Wildcats have had a dozen players enter. Two of those players are the Wade twins, Destin and Keaten, who committed to Kentucky as a three-star quarterback and 4-star edge in the 2022 class.
The Wade twin’s father, Steve Wade, recently spoke to Maurice Patton of the Main Street Muary, a local Newspaper in Maury County, Tennessee about his sons’ decision to enter the portal.
As for why? “They (Kentucky) didn’t keep their promises up there. We’re not going to go for that,” Steve said. “I’m mainly talking about Destin, not Keaten.”
Two seasons into each of their collegiate career, one was on a path to success, while the other was not, unfortunately.
Keaten Wade, listed as a 6-foot-5, 250-pound sophomore outside linebacker, collected a total of 51 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a pass deflection in two seasons as a promising piece on the Kentucky defense. Destin Wade (6-3, 223) appeared in just one game at quarterback during his time at Kentucky, going up against Iowa in the Music City Bowl. In the game, he was 16-30 for just 98 yards, threw two pick-sixes, and only advanced in Iowa territory twice on 13 drives, going as far as the 36-yard line.
“They (Kentucky) threw him in that bowl game and never did give him a chance to redeem himself, under circumstances that nobody could have really did anything with, Iowa being the No. 2, No. 3 defense in the country,” Steve said. “We were promised by (Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam) Coen that Destin ‘was too good an athlete to just be sitting on the bench’. We did our part, we trusted in Kentucky to do theirs.”
Bringing in NC State transfer Devin Leary this season, Steve claims that Destin could have been just as good if he was given an opportunity to compete.
“Destin could have been just as good as that quarterback (Leary) we had this year,” Steve Wade said. “There’s nothing any of those guys sitting in that quarterback room couldn’t have done (that Leary did). They didn’t give him an opportunity to even compete. So we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. He’s got to get on the field somewhere.”
As far as Keaten, Steve was satisfied that he played, but not satisfied that he was not a starter. “They let Keaten play, but he still didn’t get the reps he should have gotten as being a starter,” Steve said.
One reason Steve gives as to why his sons didn’t play as much as they deserved was because of NIL, allowing “worthless” players to get more playing time just because they were paid.
“It makes it that much more difficult for kids that are on scholarship because they’re paying these other guys money to come in — They’re looking for those players to play,” he said. “The school’s going to play those guys, whether they’re worthless or not.
All the best to the Wade twins and their family, but this is simply some parental delusion as Steve Wade overestimates his sons’ talent.
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