Explosive running back and top available transfer set to visit Kentucky

Former Oregon State running back Damien Martinez is the top ranked player in the transfer portal and has a list of schools he's preparing to visit. One of those is Kentucky.

According to On3.com national recruiting export Hayes Fawcett, Martinez has five visits scheduled. Below is his visit schedule:

Arizona: April 17-18
Mississippi State: April 19-20
Tennessee: April 21-22
Kentucky: April 23-24
Miami: April 25-27

Martinez has been one of the top running backs in the country over the past few seaosns, especially last year. The 6-foot, 232-pound back had 1,185 yards on 194 carries and nine touchdowns. He had six 100+ yard games, including a high of 146 yards against Stanford when he also had four touchowns.

As a freshman, Martinez had 161 carries for 982 yards and seven touchdowns.

While Martinez is looking for the best fit, it's also going to take hefty NIL to land him. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Martinez was expected to make 'more than $400k' this year with Oregon State.

Kentucky has had sucess at the running back position over the past few seasons, making it an enticing program for many transfers. Ray Davis ran for 1,129 yards and 14 touchowns last year while Chris Rodriguez Jr ran for 2,283 yards and 15 touchdowns combined in the previous two years combined.

Kentucky added depth at the running back position this offseason with the addition of Chip Trayanum, who transferred from Ohio State. He combined for 1,156 career rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 227 carries across four years with the Buckeyes.