Mark Stoops didn’t panic. He stayed patient.
But after several whiffs in the portal and Tru Edwards officially moving on to the NFL, Kentucky’s head coach had to find help. Fast.
On Monday, he finally got it. The Wildcats landed two new players out of the transfer portal — wide receiver Ashton Cozart and offensive lineman Rob Folger — as Stoops continues to reshape a roster that has seen its fair share of turnover this offseason.
Let’s start with Cozart, the long-coveted addition at wideout.
Once a four-star, top-30 receiver in his high school class, Cozart originally committed to Oregon where he spent a year redshirting. He ultimately ended up transferring to SMU and caught just one pass for 24 yards last season. But talent like his doesn’t just disappear — and with three years of eligibility left, Cozart brings speed, upside, and some much-needed hope to a Kentucky receiver room that’s been in flux.
It’s been a rough stretch for Stoops and new wide receivers coach L'damian Washington Jackson State’s Isaiah Spencer picked Virginia Tech. Cincinnati’s Tony Johnson chose Miami (OH). And with Tru Edwards giving up his fight for an extra year of eligibility to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams, Kentucky was staring at a depth chart with more questions than answers.
Enter Cozart.
He's raw. He's largely unproven. But the 6-foot-3 burner out of Flower Mound, Texas, brings a high ceiling — and at this point in the cycle, that's exactly what Kentucky needed.
On the offensive line, Rob Folger arrives from Ball State as a developmental piece for offensive line coach Eric Wolford. A redshirt freshman who didn’t see the field in his first two years, Folger will have time to grow in a now 14-deep Kentucky O-line room under the second-year position coach.
Folger isn’t likely to push for starting reps right away, but he adds to the room's depth and could become a factor down the road — especially with the physicality Mark Stoops wants to bring back to the trenches.
Because make no mistake: Kentucky is trying to go old-school again. With offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan in his second year and Stoops’ clear desire to run the ball and control the game, Kentucky appears set on returning to the kind of smash-mouth identity that once made it a thorn in the side of SEC powers.
This is Stoops’ vision: beef up the line, add a few downfield threats, and play bully ball in a conference full of spread wizards.
Cozart and Folger aren’t splashy names, but they represent another step in that direction.
And right now, that’s exactly the kind of work Kentucky needs to be doing.