Kentucky fans are starting to wonder what Mark Stoops' strategy is with the transfer portal this year. It seems as if not much is happening, and what is happening is more baffling than exciting. From going after FCS and G5 players to some baffling top targets. For example, chasing down Joshua Bruan is great because he is an elite lineman, but he is a guard. Does that mean he is going to move Jager Burton back to center? Who knows.
The one portal position we know Stoops said he would chase is a quarterback. He said in a press conference, "We have to go get one." Yet, he hasn't yet. There have been not even rumors of Stoops chasing after a portal quarterback. What's going on there? There have even been quarterbacks who have jumped into the transfer portal and have already found new homes.
This could mean a lot of things. Does it mean they are settled in with Cutter Boley and Stone Saunders as their top quarterbacks? Does it mean there currently isn't a quarterback in the portal that Stoops and offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan like?
Hamdan did recruit Malachi Nelson from USC to Boise State, but he has been anything but remarkable at the college level, even though he came out of high school as a 5-star quarterback. However, there has been no noise that Hamdan is going after him either.
Does it mean that Brock Vandagriff is going to run it back and that Stoops and Hamdan will try again with him? Many Kentucky fans hope not due to his inability to help the Wildcats win. Maybe they have reached out to some but it's not being leaked? There are so many questions about how Stoops is approaching this portal, and it's growing an already discontent fanbase to more and more discontent. Stoops needs to win back the trust of Big Blue Nation, and his early portal decisions have done the opposite.