Kentucky to Host Georgia Transfer Portal Linebacker

Kirby Smart has a reputation for finding some of the best defensive talent in college football. Now, one of his former Georgia Bulldogs is in the transfer portal, looking for a new home. Kentucky might be the right place for this talented linebacker.

Kris Jones is expected to visit Kentucky on Tuesday, reports 247’s Kolby Crawford. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound inside linebacker has three years of eligibility remaining.

Jones was a consensus four-star talent and a Top-150 player when he signed with Georgia in the 2024 recruiting class. He’s from Fairfax, Virginia, a Washington D.C. suburb where Kentucky defensive coordinator Jay Bateman has cultivated recruiting relationships for years. Coincidence? I think not.

Even though he has the recruiting pedigree and the physical traits, Jones does not have a lot of SEC experience. After redshirting during his true freshman campaign in 2024, he played sparingly in 2025. Jones appeared in 13 games, primarily as a special teams player, tallying seven tackles, including one against Kentucky and a season-high three against Mississippi State.

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It’s always welcome to see an SEC player from the transfer portal visiting Kentucky; however, it might be because of another development. Auburn linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. was one of the first players on Kentucky’s campus once the transfer portal opened, but on Monday afternoon, Missouri began picking up steam in his recruitment. I think we can all connect the dots.

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