Kentucky receiver Barion Brown announced plans to enter the transfer portal on Thursday afternoon ahead of his final year of eligibility.
A Nashville native, Brown spent three years at Kentucky where he combined to catch 122 passes for 1,528 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns while adding 195 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The 6-foot-1 receiver’s production has steadily decreased in his three years at Kentucky as the Wildcats quarterback play and overall offensive success has declined. Brown totaled 628 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman, 539 yards as a sophomore then just 361 yards this past season.
A Nashville native and Pearl-Cohn standout in high school, Brown was a major recruit coming out of high school. 247sports ranked Brown as a four-star recruit and the No. 68 player in the 2022 recruiting class as well as the No. 3 player in the state of Tennessee.
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Josh Heupel and Tennessee recruited Brown coming out of high school before he eventually chose Kentucky. It is uncertain whether the Vols will recruit Brown in the transfer portal but it seems unlikely overall. The former blue-chip recruit is also an effective kick returner for the Wildcats.
Tennessee only loses two receivers, Bru McCoy and Dont’e Thornton, to graduation this offseason while Kaleb Webb plans on entering the transfer portal and others could join him. Either way, the Vols have to replace receiver production next season either from within the program or with incoming players.
Kentucky is coming off its worst season since Mark Stoops’ first in Lexington. The Wildcats went 4-8 (1-7 SEC) with their lone SEC win being a major upset victory at Ole Miss. Kentucky played one of its best games of the season against Tennessee, losing to the Vols in Knoxville 28-18.
Brown caught three passes for 29 yards against Tennessee this season after catching five passes for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Vols as a sophomore and two passes for 12 yards as a freshman.
Stoops is looking to get the Kentucky program back on track next season and has had already had a number of players announce intentions to enter the transfer portal when it officially opens next week.
