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Sophomore linebacker Chris Whittaker has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to 247 Sports’ Derek Terry.
Whittaker did not play in a single game last season and he redshirted as a freshman in 2017. The Hollywood, Florida native was ranked as a three-star defensive end coming out of high school. He was also high school teammates with current UK wide receiver Josh Ali.
According to his crystal ball page, he was widely expected to choose the South Carolina Gamecocks, but instead he opted to come to Lexington. Besides USC, Whittaker also had offers from Georgia, UCF, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Notre Dame.
He was expected to at least compete for a starting linebacker spot this fall, but with the arrival and emergence of several new linebacker recruits, he might have felt he was never going to see the field. Kentucky will be loaded in the front seven for years to come, so this is nothing more than a loss of depth.
Whittaker joins Sihiem King, Domonique Williams, Tavin Richardson, Kengera Daniel, Danny Clark, and Sebastien Dolcine to have entered the portal since the season ended.