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.

The Kentucky Wildcats have found their quarterback for next season, and potentially the next two seasons. On Thursday morning, Georgia transfer quarterback Brock Vandagriff announced his commitment to Kentucky, with the caption “Ready to get to work.”

Vandagriff has been a name silently floated around since the end of the season as his sister plays volleyball at Eastern Kentucky and his father has a relationship with Liam Coen.

At Georgia the last three seasons, Vandagriff was a backup and saw limited action. However, he was a backup to some pretty good talent, first to Stetson Bennett who won back-to-back national titles with the Bulldogs, and Carson Beck this season who finished this season fourth nationally in passing yards.

Before his time at Georgia, Vandagriff was a five-star quarterback in the 2021 class, ranked as the 4th ranked QB overall by 247Sports’ Composite rankings. Holding offers from the top names in college football including Alabama and LSU, Vandagriff had his choice and originally committed to play for Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma before flipping to Georgia.

The talent is clearly there and there are not many better ways to gain preparation than by practicing against one of the best defenses in college football the last three seasons.

Kentucky will also add 2024 four-star Cutter Boley to the QB room for next season and another transfer for depth whom the staff is still searching for. That said, just two days after the portal opened, Kentucky has filled one of their biggest needs, if not the biggest, of this offseason.

College football’s version of free agency is about to kick off as the transfer portal officially opens on Monday, December 4th. Over the last three seasons, the transfer portal has proven itself as a way for programs to quickly fill holes in their rosters, especially for teams searching for a quarterback. Last year, a record number of signal callers transferred and this year’s cycle looks to be even more chaotic.

Kentucky is one of the many programs searching for a new quarterback as Devin Leary’s college career will end with Kentucky’s bowl game. According to 247Sports, Lexington is one of the most ten attractive spots for a quarterback to land this offseason. As for their why:

“Liam Coen is the instructor for a quarterback-friendly scheme in Lexington that will have produced two draft picks (once Leary declares and joins Will Levis in the NFL). One encouraging factor for the next starting quarterback for the Wildcats is that he can be confident in the protection in front of him. Mark Stoops expects his offensive linemen to be nasty, people-movers up front and Kentucky allowed only the third-fewest sacks in the SEC.“

With Liam Coen as offensive coordinator, a good offensive line, and talented receivers, Kentucky will be an attractive situation, but must look for a better fit this time around. The staff already has a few targets in mind, and according to some, may already have their guy. Several players have already announced their intentions to enter the portal, and there are more certain to announce over the coming days.

Time will tell who will be behind center for the Wildcats next season. With that said, who would you like to see as Kentucky’s starting quarterback in 2024?