Jackson State transfer LB Jurriente Davis takes official visit to Kentucky

On April 15th, the transfer portal will open once again for college football. This will allow teams to fill any foreseen holes on the roster and/or just fill open scholarship spots for depth.

Mark Stoops and Kentucky will definitely be active in the portal looking for options at right tackle, and also to add depth elsewhere with the scarce number of scholarships they have remaining.

One position they are interested in adding depth for is inside linebacker, as they hosted transfer LB Jurriente “JD” Davis this week.

Out of high school, Davis was an unranked safety in the Class of 2019. With little interest, he played for Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, earning JUCO All-American honors as a sophomore. After two seasons, he received an offer from Middle Tennessee State, where he proved himself as one of the most productive players on the team in his lone season there, recording 68 tackles, three sacks, and six tackles for loss.

After three seasons at two schools, Davis chose to transfer to Jackson State and join Deion Sanders last season. As a junior, Davis finished as the team's third-leading tackler and showed that he can make an impact in a short amount of time, averaging just 31 snaps per game last year.

While some would consider three schools in four seasons as a red flag - in the process of transferring to his fourth - every one of Davis’s moves has been for better opportunities/higher level of play. In the case of Jackson State, a majority of the team has transferred with Sanders leaving for Colorado.

Now up to 6-foot-1, 225-pounds - vastly improved from the 5-foot-10, 201-pound physique he had coming out of high school - Davis is not the most physically imposing player, but in every stop he has made, he has proven that he can make an impact. That is why Kentucky is interested.

D’Eryk Jackson and Trevin Wallace are expected to be the starters at inside linebacker, but Davis could join others such as Luke Fulton and Martez Thrower in a competition for backup snaps. Given depth issues at linebacker due to injury last season, a proven and experienced linebacker will be a welcomed addition.