Florida safety Jordan Castell commits to Kentucky out of NCAA transfer portal

Former Florida safety Jordan Castell has committed to Kentucky out of the NCAA transfer portal, he announced via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. He will arrive in Lexington with a wealth of SEC experience.

Castell picked Kentucky over LSU and Ole Miss. He visited Ole Miss on Jan. 4 and was set to visit LSU on Jan. 8, but he committed before taking the visit to see the Tigers.

Castell is one of the SEC’s most experienced defensive backs. He’s been a contributor at Florida from Day 1, starting games even as a true freshman in 2023. He has logged 34 consecutive starts.

In that span, Castell has recorded 168 tackles, 12 pass deflections, three interceptions, and one sack. He is around the ball quite a bit.

Prior to enrolling at Florida, Castell was a highly coveted prospect. He checked in as a four-star recruit and the No. 236 overall player in the nation in the 2023 class, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings. He also checked in as the No. 17 safety in the class and the No. 46 overall player from the state of Florida, hailing from Winter Garden (FL) West Orange.

In high school, Castell was invited to play in the 2023 Under Armour All-American Game. He racked up 121 tackles (87 solo) in his career, averaging 3.5 per game, with 2.0 sacks and eight interceptions.

Kentucky adds Jordan Castell, Javontae Barnes

In addition to Castell, Oklahoma senior transfer RB Jovantae Barnes has committed to Kentucky, On3’s Hayes Fawcett reports. He has one year of eligibility remaining after playing in just four games for Oklahoma this season.

Across four seasons in Norman, Barnes totaled 1,281 yards and 12 touchdowns on 294 carries. He visited Kentucky on Jan. 4 (per KSR+) and committed to newly hired head coach Will Stein just two days later.

The Las Vegas native is poised to be one of Kentucky‘s go-to running backs, as Seth McGowan exhausted his eligibility and Dante Dowdell entered the transfer portal. Kentucky remains in the running for Texas running back Cedric Baxter Jr., meaning the Wildcats’ backfield could be comprised of both sides of the Red River Rivalry if Baxter Jr. commits.

On3’s Daniel Hager also contributed to this report.