Kentucky football loses momentum as star twins Jerod and Jacob Smith enter portal

There are portal exits that sting, and then there are ones that feel like a gut punch to the rebuild. This one lands in category two.

Jerod Smith II and Jacob Smith, the twin brothers who flipped from Michigan to Kentucky back in 2023, are officially heading to the Transfer Portal. The portal doesn’t open until tomorrow, but they have announced their departure via social media.

This isn’t a simple case of role players moving on. This is losing the core of what was supposed to be a defensive future.

A Mark Stoops recruiting win turned Will Stein long-term loss

When the twins moved to Corbin and reopened their recruitment, Vince Marrow didn’t just land a commitment, he made a statement. Jerod was rated as a high-end four-star defensive lineman pushing five-star territory, one of the highest-graded prospects Kentucky signed in the modern era. Jacob was a four-star edge rusher with the frame, burst, and projection that screamed SEC starter.

Those two commitments felt like the moment Kentucky was going to continue to dominant the in-state recruiting. And then? The foundation started shaking.

Within a year, Marrow left for Louisville. After that season, Mark Stoops was gone. The coach they committed for wasn’t here anymore. The staff they trusted wasn’t here anymore. Even if fans hoped the bond would outweigh the shakeup, this sport doesn’t run on memory. It runs on opportunity and fit.

What Kentucky is losing

Jacob didn’t have his breakout yet, but he was entering the window where edge rushers typically figure it out. He played sparingly as a freshman, adding just one tackle last season and another this season in limited action. It wasn’t about stats yet, it was about his runway. He had it here. Now someone else gets the shot at developing that profile.

Jerod actually was trending toward impact. As a freshman, he appeared in six games and started to get rotational looks. In 2025, he took a noticeable step forward: eleven appearances, twenty-seven total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Those aren’t All-SEC numbers, but they’re what a sophomore jump looks like. They’re what a future starter’s arc looks like. And he’ll now carry that progression somewhere else.

The most frustrating part is this is doing the work to help develop a player, and get them ready for a breakout and then losing them right before the payoff.

The scheme fit that never got its shot

First-year defensive coordinator Jay Bateman inherited a roster built for a different era of Kentucky football. Stoops preferred zone corners and long, positional defenders. Bateman’s DNA is controlled chaos. He wants pressure, leverage, communication, forcing mistakes instead of waiting on them.

Jerod and Jacob fit Bateman. They wouldn’t have needed to be square pegs.

Jerod’s motor and pad-level discipline were perfect for the interior chaos Bateman wants to create. Jacob’s frame and athletic traits were exactly what this staff needed off the edge. These weren’t pieces to stash, these were pieces to unleash.

Can you blame them? Maybe not.

This portal exit doesn’t feel like betrayal.
It feels like business.

The coach who sold the vision left.
The coach who offered the opportunity left.
The head coach left.

Even if Kentucky fans wish the connection had lasted longer, the Smith brothers didn’t commit to this version of Kentucky. They committed to the old one. They’re not the first players to respond to a coaching transition this way, and they won’t be the last. Instead, Bateman’s first year begins with one of his best fits walking out the door. But understanding doesn’t make it any easier. Because even if the logic is sound, the loss is real.

But from the Kentucky staff we need to see no panic, the fans need to avoid the doom spiral. What we need to see now is just action. Because the portal doesn't reward patience, in fact it punishes it.

Where they might land

Expect rumors to fly toward Louisville — Marrow’s presence makes that unavoidable. It won't be personal, but it would be painful.

Remember these aren't depth losses, these guys are ready to play in the SEC and will do well wherever they go. If Kentucky is going to move upward and not lateral, these are the moments that will define it. Not because they lost some talented players to the portal, that is going to happen. But because of what happens next.

The Smith twins are gone. Kentucky’s response can’t be "oh well." It needs to be decisive and showcase that while talent may leave, it will be replaced by equal or better talent. That sends a message to not only those who leave, but those who stay. Don't play hard, get replaced. That kind of message is backed up only be action. Let's see how they respond.

We’ll be updating our portal tracker the moment news hits. Keep it bookmarked, this week is going to move fast, and Kentucky isn't done with losses or wins.