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Kentucky's depth for this season took somewhat of a hit Monday.
Defensive back Jaleel Hytchye and middle linebacker Dorian Hendrix both have decided to transfer while the NCAA refused to grant waivers to Nebraska transfers Courtney Love and Greg Hart that would have made them eligible this season.
“Right now it was denied,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “So we have one more appeal going with Courtney, but I feel like Greg’s will be denied.”
Hendrix became the third player in Kentucky’s 2014 recruiting class to decide to leave UK since the end of last season. He joins offensive linemen Josh Krok and Nick Richardson, both Ohio products like him and Hytchye.
Hendrix was the first verbal commitment in the 2014 recruiting class and was playing behind Josh Forrest — a position where only redshirt freshman Nico Firios is now left after the denial of Love’s appeal.
His departure surprised me. I still remember talking to his mother, Devonna, after the first time I interviewed him and was impressed with his maturity and interviewing skills. That’s when she told me she had trained him for years on how to handle interviews so he would come across well.
She also shared how he became close friends with UK redshirt freshman receiver Thaddeus Snodgrass, who committed to UK after Hendrix.
“I took him to Kentucky and met coach (Vince) Marrow and coach Stoops and it was pretty hard not to like them. They are great guys,” his mother said then. “He made that decision and was adamant about his decision. Anybody that has coached him has always said what a good leader he is. He takes pride in his leadership ability. He is very loyal. Once he is on board, he is part of the team and will do all he can to help. If that means going out and getting guys (recruits), he’ll do it. It’s part of his personality and love for Kentucky.”
Hytchye had the same passion for UK and will always have a special place in the Stoops era at UK because he was the first high school player to verbally commit to play for Kentucky under Stoops. He was a four-star cornerback from Cincinnati and the start of the Ohio pipeline to UK for Stoops and Marrow, both Ohio natives.
Hytchye played a role in convincing another Ohio standout, Marcus McWilson, to sign with UK in 2014. He was one of those who helped convince Louisville’s Jason Hatcher to switch his pledge from Southern California to Kentucky.
He played in eight games as a freshman and had seven tackles against Georgia in his only start. However, last year he played in just one game and not only was behind the same players this year but had also fallen below at least two freshmen on the depth chart.
That’s why his departure is not quite as surprising as that of Hendrix even though I don’t remember ever talking to a player that was more excited about coming to UK than Hytchye.
Love and Hart knew when they transferred that they likely would not be allowed to play this year. Hart, a tight end, would provide needed depth and experience at tight end like Love would at linebacker. Hart redshirted in 2013 and played mainly on special teams last year.
Love also redshirted his freshman season in 2013, but he played in 12 games in 2014 with six total tackles.
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