Carrington Valentine enters NFL Draft and opts out of Music City Bowl

Kentucky Wildcats cornerback Carrington Valentine has declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, he announced Thursday. Valentine also revealed he will opt out of the 2022 Music City Bowl vs. the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Originally a three-star recruit in the class of 2020 out of Moeller High School in Cincinnati (OH), Valentine finishes his college career with 118 total tackles, 16 pass deflections, one interception, three tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

This past season, the 6-foot, 194-pound junior racked up 48 tackles, 10 pass deflections, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and one fumble recovery.

In Mel Kiper’s most recent NFL Draft rankings, Valentine was not among the top-10 cornerbacks but was included in the ‘Just Missed’ section.

There had been rumors emerging that Valentine could enter the transfer portal with the Louisville Cardinals being a potential destination...except Valentine made it clear that wasn’t happening with an L’s down photo while saying “Nah” on Wednesday.

Best of luck to Valentine at the next level!

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