In previous years, the first day of the transfer portal was defined by the barrage of departures. This year, the transfer portal was moved back to early January, changing the dynamic of college football free agency. That means we’ve moved much further along in the process.

Nearly 1,000 players had their names in the transfer portal shortly after it opened at midnight. Folks worked behind the scenes to schedule visits, and news of those visits has been all the rage on Friday.

Kentucky is expected to have a dozen people on campus on Friday. That number is growing over the weekend. KSR has learned that two more cornerbacks are expected to be in Lexington in the near future.

Pete Nakos reports that Quentin Taylor has lined up visits to Mississippi State, Cincinnati, and Kentucky. A 6-0 cornerback from Iowa State, he started in six games last fall after the Cyclones experienced significant attrition in the secondary. Taylor logged 27 tackles and a team-high five pass break-ups. He’s expected to have three years of eligibility after completing his redshirt freshman season.

Hasaan Sykes is an underclassman with two years of college football left on his plate. The Georgia native initially signed to play at USF, but ended up landing at Western Carolina. After appearing in nine games as a true freshman, Sykes started in all 12 games for the Catamounts at cornerback in 2025. A productive player with double-digit tackles in multiple games, he finished the season with 49, 2.0 sacks. three interceptions, and five pass break-ups. Following a visit to Kentucky, he has a trip planned to Illinois.

When the transfer portal opened, Kentucky had eight cornerbacks on the roster, and that includes nickel Quay’Sheed Scott, who could see time at safety in Jay Bateman‘s defense. Even though it appears to be a crowded room, the new Kentucky defensive coordinator has his eyes on a few players who can compete for a starting position. In addition to the two cornerback names, we learned this morning that Villanova safety Anthony Hawkins is expected to be in Lexington this weekend.

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