Demo Sumo-Karngbaye (North Carolina State Athletics Photo)
How many offseason transfers does a Southeastern Conference football team need?
Apparently if it is Kentucky, there is no limit since the Cats have now added 13 players in the transfer portal with the addition of North Carolina State running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Division II defensive back Kevin Larkins Jr. of Livingstone College on Tuesday.
Sumo-Karngbaye is a former teammate of quarterback Devin Leary, who transferred to UK in January and is expected to be the starter next season. He had 55 carries for 305 yards and three touchdowns in a limited role last year along with 12 catches for 148 yards and one score.
He said on an Instagram post that he had “love” for NC State but was 100 percent BBN now.
The 6-0, 210-pound Sumo-Karngbaye picked UK over South Carolina, Missouri and Colorado and will have two seasons of eligibility left.
Nicknamed “Sharko,” the New Jersey native missed time the second half of the season with an injury. He played just three games his high school senior season but got in six games as a true freshman at NC State on special teams. He was considered a top 200 prospect in the transfer portal and provides depth at running back to offset the losses of Chris Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke from last year.
Kentucky does not have a returning player with a rushing touchdown but already added Vanderbilt running back Ray Davis in the transfer portal. He’s expected to be UK’s feature back. The Cats return JuTahn McClain, Ramon Jefferson and La’Vell Wright and will add highly touted freshman Jamarion Wilcox.
On the defensive side, the 6-2, 168-pound Larkins made a quick decision to pick UK after putting his name in the transfer portal May 3.
He led Division II with eight interceptions in nine games — he was the first player in the conference to have three interceptions in a game since 2019 — and could possibly play either cornerback or safety for the Wildcats.
Here is a complete look at who UK has added in the transfer portal since the end of the 2022 season:
QB Devin Leary, NC State).
RB Ray Davis, Vanderbilt.
OT Marques Cox, Northern Illinois.
OT Courtland Ford, USC.
CB JQ Hardaway, Cincinnati.
CB Jantzen Dunn, Ohio State.
DL Keeshawn Silver, North Carolina.
LB Daveren Rayner, Northern Illinois.
RB Demie Sumo-Kangbaye, North Carolina State.
OG Tanner Bowles, Alabama).
OL Ben Christman, Ohio State.
DB Kevin Larkins, Livingstone.
K Alex Raynor, Georgia Southern.
4 Responses
How many players did UK lose to the portal this season, and is the swap a net gain for the team?
I’d say what we lost and the (quality) of the gain we got will be quite obvious when the sec portion of our dam tough schedule starts rolling. From what ive seen player wise we should more than able to compete and definitely keep our head above water this yr. Hey coach,,were making great progress. Keep up the good work. Lets go football cats.
I would like to see the numbers on what was lost vs what was gained in the portal.
With no disrespect to the players we lost but I prefer with what we have gained