Wake Forest transfer Jaquez Keyes is now a Wildcat

It may be the middle of August, but it’s never too late for a transfer Yahtzee for the Kentucky Wildcats!

On Wednesday, a UK spokesman confirmed that Jaquez Keyes had enrolled at the school as a walk-on. He will play running back.

A class of 2023 recruit, Keyes was originally a Wake Forest signee but left the school in July to enter the transfer portal. The 6-foot-1, 207-pounder played at Ironton High School in Ohio as a running back and linebacker.

All the major recruiting services rated Keyes a three-star recruit. His highest rating was at Rivals, which ranked him 18th in the state of Ohio and 32nd among running backs.

Keyes held additional scholarship offers from the Michigan Wolverines, Indiana Hoosiers, Wisconsin Badgers, Iowa Hawkeyes, and Pittsburgh Panthers, among others.

Back in July when Keyes entered the portal, Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson (via 247 Sports) revealed that the true freshman wasn’t sure he wanted to play college football. That would explain why Kentucky is only taking a gamble on him as a walk-on, but if he sticks with football, my guess is he’ll be on scholarship this time next year.

Even without a scholarship, NIL could present opportunities for Keyes to bring in enough money to make up for not being on scholarship.

Keyes is not expected to be eligible this season since he entered the transfer portal outside of the college football transfer window to be immediately eligible in April (unless you’re a graduate transfer).

Even so, this is a great late addition that gives the running back room some more depth for the future.

Check out some highlights of the newest Wildcat in action!

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