QB DJ Hunter was Kentucky's lone 2027 commit from the Mark Stoops era. It was recently reported that he would be looking around at other offers, and today, he made it official. Hunter announced his decommitment from the Cats. That's the bad news. The good news is that the Cats were also looking around and have some real options in play. Let's take a look at some of the names you need to be aware of.
Will Stein has loads of elite options in 2027 QB class
Stein has talked about what makes an elite QB in his eyes: completion percentage. If you want to play in his offense, you have to be able to put the ball where you want it to be nearly every time. Looking at the QBs he worked with at Oregon, you can see that play out in real life. Bo Nix had a tremendous 77.4%, Dillon Gabriel 72.9%, and Dante Moore 71.8.
With that in mind, Stein has been in contact with some elite 2027 options.
Israel Abrams- 4-star, Arlington Heights, IL
Abrams is a player who just wins; he has never lost a high school game he started and is 24-0 with a couple of state titles. If you look at the tape, you will see a young QB who is already reading the field and going through multiple progressions. That is impressive, and Abrams is going to be a top-5 QB in the class with offers from more than 20 schools.
NEW: Elite QB Israel Abrams will take official visits to Purdue, Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida State, @SWiltfong_ reports✈️
— Rivals (@Rivals) February 16, 2026
Abrams ranks No. 44 NATL. (No. 3 QB) in the 2027 class.
Read: https://t.co/GlExuDyreI pic.twitter.com/VrshI7GOcn
Elijah Haven- 5-star, Baton Rouge, LA
Kentucky is making a late push to poach one of the best QBs in the country. Haven has a long-established relationship with new OC Joe Sloan, and the Cats are leveraging that into getting Haven on campus. That is only half the battle; the other will be getting him to commit, but the Cats are in play.
According to @samspiegs, Kentucky is trending towards getting a spring visit from a 5-star QB ranked No. 1 in the Rivals Industry Ranking.https://t.co/NMLRhDrpCL pic.twitter.com/xWYodzBIHT
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) February 13, 2026
Jamison Roberts- 3-star, Saraland, AL
Roberts is a player that Kentucky is coming on strong with as of late. Looking at the tape, Roberts is the most dual-threat QB of the bunch. He has great explosiveness and would be great in an RPO-style offense. He is the most raw of the 3, but the talent is there.
There are a multitude of ways Kentucky could go, but these are the 3 names that are most likely to replace Hunter. What is obvious is that Stein is aiming high; now we have to wait and see if he can actually reel a big fish in.