Mark Stoops was really struggling to put together a high school football class before he was fired. He left just 12 commitments behind for Will Stein to keep. He kept all of them onboard, including possible QB of the future Matt Ponatoski. But one of those 12 just said no thank you to Kentucky.
3-star Wide receiver Dallas Dickerson asked for and was granted his National Letter of Intent. That means he can reopen his recruitment and sign anywhere. This will not be a Transfer Portal situation; he never took classes at Kentucky, so this will be a straight high school commitment again. He will not be bound by the portal rules or timeframe.
Kentucky and 2026 signee Dallas Dickerson have decided to go their separate ways a month after the early signing period. The Cats are down to 11 high school commits.
— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) January 5, 2026
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Why Dallas Dickerson's change of heart impacts Kentucky football
Coming out of Georgia, Dickerson was known for one thing: speed. He ran a 4.42 40, and a 10.36 100-yard dash. That time is faster than any Olympic woman has ever achieved. It puts him around the 3,500th fastest time in recorded history. That is elite speed for a receiver that is 6'1. Speed doesn't always translate, but it is the one thing you can not teach.
So far, Kentucky has lost 3 WR's to the portal in Preston Bowman, David Washington Jr., and Montavin Quisenberry.
They have no current commitments, but they do have several offers out there. Malcom Simmons, DeAndre Moore Jr, Tony Diaz, and Jayce Brown.
Losing a guy who initially committed to someone else, in fact a whole different staff, is not unexpected. It does not mean it hurts any less. Dickerson would have been perfect in Stein's short game, as he could always take one to the house.
Kentucky, for its part, granted his release without any fuss, and that is the way it should be. If the young man wants to go somewhere else, he absolutely should be able to do so.
We wish him well wherever he ends up.
That said, having 11 players in a football class is kind of a big deal. You need numbers; most classes are 25+. That means the staff will need to invest a lot of time in recruiting 2027 players and finding stop gaps in the portal this year. That can be a crapshoot, as we have seen with the basketball team.
Will Stein not being in Lexington complicates things further, but the staff has a lot of recruiters onboard. They will look to close some high-profile recruitments within the week.