Addition of Ole Miss linebacker just what Kentucky football needed for 2021

John Clay
·4 min read

If the best approach to recruiting athletes from the transfer portal is the targeted approach, then Kentucky football hit the bullseye with Jacquez Jones.

When all is said and done, the former Ole Miss linebacker, who officially committed to the Cats on Thursday via Instagram, might be UK Coach Mark Stoops’ second-most important addition for the 2021 campaign, behind only Wan’Dale Robinson.

A 6-foot, 230-pounder out of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Jones was the Rebels’ leading tackler in 2020 after placing second in 2019. He started 18 of Ole Miss’s last 20 games. He made 75 tackles in nine games in 2020 and 71 in 2019, including 7.5 tackles for loss. He was a member of the SEC’s All-Freshman Team in 2018.

He is, in the words of Stoops, “an experienced playmaker who has been a great leader in our league.”

Better still, Jones fills a position of need in Stoops’ system. While the hiring of new coordinator Liam Coen has tilted the offseason attention in the direction of the UK offense, defensive coordinator Brad White has depth chart holes of his own to fill before the Sept. 4 opener against Louisiana Monroe.

Inside linebacker is likely No. 1 on that list. Gone is Jamin Davis, his unexpected rocket ride having carried the junior all the way to the No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Washington Football Team. Returning is senior DeAndre Square, UK’s third-leading 2020 tackler who boasts 22 career starts. After Square, however, question marks abound.

Potential starter D’Eryk Jackson will likely miss the 2021 season with what was described as a lower-body injury. Promising sophomore Jared Casey played in all 11 games last season as a redshirt freshman, but the Louisville native’s next start will be his first. Michigan State transfer Luke Fulton has yet to play in a collegiate game. Trevin Wallace and Martez Thrower are both promising freshmen from Georgia. Both are rookies, however.

Enter Jones. Yes, Ole Miss’s defense ranked 126th out of 127 Division I teams in yardage allowed in 2020. But the Rebels were operating under their third defensive coordinator in as many seasons. With Jones’ presence, Stoops can give his younger linebackers time to develop without forcing them on the field before they’re ready.

As a freshman, Jones was coached by current UK inside linebackers coach Jon Sumrall. Surely Sumrall’s presence made Lexington an attractive transfer option. And surely Jones took notice of Davis’ development. And there was the matter of the fit, both from Jones’ standpoint and that of UK, who made sure the potential newcomer meshed with the Cats’ current linebacking corps before extending an offer.

Using the transfer portal to fill needs

Matching needs is a transfer portal theme. Look at UK basketball, where John Calipari used the portal to address glaring needs at point guard (Sahvir Wheeler from Georgia), shooting guard (CJ Fredrick from Iowa and Kellan Grady from Davidson) and at center (Oscar Tshiebwe from West Virginia).

Same for Stoops’ offense. Ranked 115th in total offense in 2020, Stoops recruited Coen from the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams as his new play-caller. Via the portal, the program added electric wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson from Nebraska and strong-armed quarterback Will Levis from Penn State. Levis will compete with holdovers Joey Gatewood and Beau Allen for the QB1 spot. A former star at Western Hills in Frankfort, Robinson could be the nation’s No. 1 impact transfer come fall.

On the other side of the ball, UK ranked 45th nationally in total defense in 2020. That was against an all-SEC schedule — the lone exception being UK’s Gator Bowl win over ACC member North Carolina State. But White lost Davis, as well as cornerbacks Kelvin Joseph and Brandin Echols, plus defensive linemen Quinton Bohanna and Phil Hoskins. All were drafted. Joseph was a second-round pick by Dallas; Echols a sixth-round pick by the New York Jets. Dallas drafted Bohanna in the sixth round. Carolina chose Hoskins in the seventh.

The guess here is Jones noticed UK’s draft showing, as well.

Jacquez Jones to Kentucky looked like a quick deal for both sides. It wasn’t.

One notable statistic for several notable Kentucky football players heading into 2021

More evidence Kentucky football believes it can recruit in the heart of SEC country

Seven ways Mark Stoops and Kentucky football can get the good times rolling in 2021

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Solar panel plant coming to eastern North Carolina with 900 jobs

    A Vietnamese-based company will build its first North American solar panel manufacturing plant in eastern North Carolina, creating over 900 jobs, officials announced on Friday. Boviet Solar along with Gov. Roy Cooper and other government officials revealed at an East Carolina University news conference the company's plans to invest almost $300 million in a 1 million square-foot (304,800 square-meter) advanced manufacturing facility in Greenville. Founded in 2013, Boviet makes solar panels and photovoltaic cells that are already used in the U.S. by commercial, industrial and residential customers, Cooper’s office said in a news release.

  • Former Virginia hospital medical director acquitted of sexually abusing ex-patients

    The former medical director of a Virginia hospital that treats vulnerable children and young adults was acquitted Friday of sexually abusing two teenage patients during physical exams. Dr. Daniel Davidow worked for decades as the medical director of the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents, a facility that treats young patients with complex medical needs, including chronic illnesses, brain injuries and neurobehavioral disorders. The charges against Davidow were decided by a judge instead of a jury.

  • Chip Gear Vendor KLA Tops March-Quarter Views As Business Stabilizes

    Semiconductor equipment vendor KLA beat estimates for its fiscal Q3 and guided higher than views for the current quarter.

  • Meta Returns To Spending Mode. But Analysts Say 'This Time It's Different.'

    Meta stock took a hit on its big AI spending plans. But analysts say that the core business is strong.

  • Lauren Sánchez to Make Her Met Gala Debut with Outfit Help from Anna Wintour: Report

    Sánchez and fiancé Jeff Bezos are reportedly set to attend the event on May 6

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out of third game in Bucks-Pacers playoff series

    INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out of Game 3 of the NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Thursday that Antetokounmpo did more at practice than he had been during a nearly three-week absence with a strained left calf, though he still avoided live workouts. Instead, the Bucks waited till Friday to make the announcement on social media. The league’s two-time MVP has not played since getting hurt April 9. Rivers sai

  • Courteney Cox Once Got Broken Up With During Couples Therapy

    "I was in so much pain."

  • Paramount to potentially oust CEO Bob Bakish: WSJ

    According to a Wall Street Journal report, Paramount Global (PARA) is considering removing current CEO Bob Bakish from his position and allowing a committee of top executives to run the company on an interim basis. Yahoo Finance Anchors Julie Hyman and Jared Blikre break down the latest development for Paramount and outline what the potential sale of the media conglomerate would involve. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Joanna Arnow, As Her Feature Debuts, Knocks Oft-Used Words “Describing Films Women Make About Sexuality” – Specialty Preview

    There’s a nice trio of specialty films to highlight this weekend from Joanna Arnow, Uberto Pasolini and Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature directorial debut. Joanna Arnow’s micro-budget comedy The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Past world-premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. It follows a 30-something New York woman as time passes in her long-term casual …

  • New York affordable internet law revived by federal appeals court

    A divided federal appeals court revived a 2021 New York state law intended to provide affordable high-speed internet service to low-income families, setting aside a permanent injunction and handing a defeat to service providers. In a 2-1 decision on Friday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said federal telecommunications law dating to the Great Depression did not pre-empt states from regulating broadband rates. The majority also said a 2018 Federal Communications Commission order classifying broadband as an information service stripped that agency of authority to regulate rates.

  • Paramount’s Bob Bakish Could Be Bounced As CEO As Skydance Talks Continue – Report

    Board members at Paramount Global are reportedly considering the removal of CEO Bob Bakish as discussions continue with Skydance Media about a complex, multi-step merger. If exclusive talks with Skydance bear fruit, there likely would not be a role for Bakish in the combined company, with Skydance chief David Ellison slated to serve as the …

  • Stocks finish the week strong, tech earnings fuel rally

    All three of the major indexes (^DJI,^GSPC, ^IXIC) closed higher on Friday, fueled by strong earnings from Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT). Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman and Jared Blikre recap Friday's trading action. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.

  • UPDATE 1-Mexico's Pemex reverses proposed crude export cuts for May, sources say

    Mexican state oil company Pemex is reversing crude exports cuts of at least 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) planned for May amid a smaller-than-expected oil demand by the company's domestic refineries, two sources close to the decision said on Friday. Pemex's international trading unit in April began enforcing exports cuts over supply crude contracts to customers in the United States, Asia and Europe to increase its availability of crude for domestic refining. Its new Olmeca Refinery in the port of Dos Bocas in southeastern Tabasco, which has been running behind schedule and over budget, is also expected to start up.

  • Cincinnati leaders gather for ceremony as Lytle Park reopens

    Cincinnati leaders gather for ceremony as Lytle Park reopens

  • Charges revealed against a former Trump aide and 4 lawyers in Arizona fake electors case

    PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities revealed Friday the charges filed against an ex-aide of former President Donald Trump and four attorneys in Arizona’s fake elector case, but the names of former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani remained blacked out. The Arizona attorney general's office released a copy of the indictment that revealed conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges had been filed against Mike Roman, who was Trump’s director of Election Day operations, and attorneys John

  • Police detain Denver students protesting Israel-Gaza war on Auraria Campus

    Several students at Denver's Auraria campus were detained by police in riot gear as protests against the Israel-Hamas war on the college campus continued for a second day Friday.

  • Workers unearth steelworks at medieval castle in UK — and find someone’s ‘hidey-hole’

    It may have been used for a “little secret something” by a steel worker two centuries ago, archaeologists said.

  • Pac-12 players to watch as the conference gets ready to splinter across the country

    The Pac-12 will splinter apart before fall camp starts, with all but two teams heading to new conferences. One of the highest-rated recruits in program history two years ago, McMillan has lived up to the hype. The 6-foot-5 receiver from Hawaii finished with 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 TDs last season.

  • When will flights resume between Miami and Haiti? American Airlines making changes

    See which flights, how often, and for what prices.

  • Caleb Williams breaks Caitlin Clark's record for draft night merchandise sales

    Caitlin Clark's record for merchandise sales on draft night didn't last long as new Bears quarterback Caleb Williams surpassed the mark.