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Kentucky football: Get to know freshman Shamar Porter

By Mat Mlodzinski

Ensworth's Shamar Porter, who was selected for the 2022 Dandy Dozen, poses for a portrait in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, June 22, 2022.Dandydozen 062222 An 007
Ensworth's Shamar Porter, who was selected for the 2022 Dandy Dozen, poses for a portrait in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, June 22, 2022.Dandydozen 062222 An 007 /
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We have officially hit college football season because we have entered week 0. Kentucky football doesn’t actually play until week 1, so Big Blue Nation has some more time to get amped up for the new season.

Over the offseason, we’ve introduced you to a few of the top freshmen on Kentucky’s roster for 2023. You can read more about Anthony Brown and Ty Bryant.

The top recruit for the Wildcats class of 2023 is wide receiver Shamar Porter, according to 247Sports. Porter, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, brings incredible size to a very deep wide receiver group.

A native of Nashville, TN, Shamar Porter played his high school football at Ensworth. The Kentucky football coaching staff took notice and helped recruit Porter to Lexington, over offers from Georgia, Tennessee, and Ole Miss.

Porter, ranked as the 27th-best wide receiver in his class by 247Sports, but up some eye-popping numbers in his senior season. He caught 32 passes for 557 yards and 10 touchdowns. Doing the math real quick, that’s an insane 17.5 yards per catch and about 1 TD for every 3 receptions. That’s some video game numbers.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Porter was named first-team All-State, which is impressive in a football state like Tennessee.

According to Porter’s profile page on the UK Athletics website, he would like to have dinner with Randy Moss. It’s clear Porter looks up to Moss because his style of play is eerily similar. Porter has a good first step and a big frame to make catches over defenders. In the open field, Porter has a unique blend of size and speed, which makes it virtually impossible to tackle him.

This season, Kentucky football is loaded at WR, so Porter could struggle to see time on the field. Last year’s top three receivers by yards are all returning. That includes Barion Brown, who had 50 receptions for 628 yards and 4 TDs. Dane Key, who finished second on the team in yards and first in TD receptions, is also a big 6-3 receiver. It’s likely that Porter will learn from, and play behind Key.

As a freshman, Porter should still see the field, because he’s too talented not to, even in such a deep position group. How many snaps he does get will be the question, but if he decided to hang around in Lexington for the long term, there’s no reason why Porter can’t wind up with a pretty successful collegiate career.

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