A Big Time Pick Up For Kentucky
Mark Stoops’ Wildcats are in good shape heading into 2021 at almost every position. However if there’s one area where they need some help it’s at linebacker. Through players leaving for the NFL and injuries the Cats are thin at what’s traditionally been a strong point. Thanks to the transfer portal they got some much needed help as Kentucky lands Jacquez Jones.
A Very Quick Process
Barely a week ago Jones surprised many when he announced he was leaving Ole Miss and moving on. Kentucky quickly became the favorite for his services. He hit campus for a visit on Tuesday and became a Wildcat on Thursday. One of the biggest things helping the Wildcats is current assistant coach Jon Sumrall. The linebackers coach and Jones are both from Alabama and Sumrall coached him as a freshman back in 2018. That season ended with Jones making the All-SEC freshman team. In addition to Kentucky, UCLA, South Carolina and West Virginia were also vying for the former three star prospect from Tuscaloosa.
New Chapter In My Story 🤞🏽📖 pic.twitter.com/EYnwvlvkn2
— Jacquez Jones (@ESPN_Jac) June 10, 2021
Huge Loss For The “Lane Train”
What is Kentucky’s gain is a big setback for Lane Kiffin and the Rebels. A two-year starter in Oxford, Jones led the defense last year with 75 tackles in nine games with 2.5 for a loss. The season before he was the second leading tackler with 71 and added two sacks. During his three seasons he finished with 182 stops in 33 games. In his final game with the Rebels he led the defense with 13 tackles in a 26-20 Outback Bowl win over Indiana. Jones was expected to be a leader on the field this year for Ole Miss. 247 Sports ranks him as the eighth best linebacker transfer in the nation.
How He Fits In
The short answer is he fills a huge need for Kentucky. The Wildcats must replace Jamin Davis, who went 19th overall to Washington in the recent NFL Draft. In addition they also lost Jamar “Boogie” Watson, who signed a free agent deal with Pittsburgh. If that wasn’t enough JJ Weaver is recovering from a torn ACL last November and D’Eryk Jackson suffered a lower leg injury during spring practice and likely is out for 2021.
On the positive side the Cats return a potential All-SEC candidate in DeAndre Square and another breakout candidate in Jared Casey. In addition they also added two other transfers Justice Dingle and Luke Fulton from Georgia Tech and Michigan State respectively. They also landed one of the best defensive recruits in Wildcat history in Trevin Wallace. However there’s not a lot of experience with these guys. That’s where Jones becomes so valuable.
Again Kentucky Lands Jacquez Jones who transferred from Ole Miss. In the process the linebacker position goes from a question mark to a pretty solid group heading into 2021. Speaking of the upcoming season we are getting closer and closer to September 4th. Here at Last Word On College Football we’ll have position previews, a look at the schedule and predictions as the Cats open the season against Louisiana-Monroe.
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’QqL6Y5sBQYt3gu42k3WwgA’,sig:’WiI3xGdsYDNCDv4Uwq5-X0HMX5qlh8iLT4LpxWIZGCI=’,w:’594px’,h:’396px’,items:’1283568285′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});
