Grant McKinniss transferring to Missouri

Former Kentucky Wildcats punter/kicker Grant McKinniss has found his next home, and it’s within the SEC East.

On Friday, McKinniss announced he was joining the Missouri Tigers for his final season of college football.

McKinniss, who came to Lexington as a 2016 class recruit, was mainly used on kickoffs over the last two seasons. In 2019 as a redshirt junior, he kicked off 67 times for 4,134 yards and 48 touchbacks (61.7 average). He was also Kentucky’s holder on field goals.

In 2018, the 6-1, 200-pound McKinniss recorded 66 kickoffs for 4,069 yards and 36 touchbacks (61.7). He redshirted in 2017 after actually being UK’s full-time punter in 2016. He ranked third among SEC freshman punters that year, averaging 39.2 yards per punt.

UK is set at punter with All-American and 2019 Ray Guy winner Max Duffy, so McKinniss wanted to go somewhere he could be a full-time punter in his final year. Now, he’ll end up facing his former team next season when Kentucky travels to Missouri on October 24th.