Receiver Hardley Gilmore, left, is back for more good times at Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Just in case you may have forgotten or have been confused, here is an update on the Hardley Gilmore saga with Kentucky football.
— At age 16, Gilmore decided to reclassify so he could graduate early and he verbally committed to Kentucky and offensive coordinator Liam Coen. He committed to the Wildcats over Penn State, Texas A&M and Central Florida but also had offers from Alabama, Michigan, Florida, Miami (Fla.), Florida State and others. He was ranked as a top 300 player nationally.
— The Florida native came to UK as a 17-year-old early enrollee in January of 2024. “He is, in my opinion, as complete of a young receiver as I’ve been around. He’s got top-end speed, he’s a good route-runner, he’s tough, he’s physical. There’s a lot of things there,” Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan before the 2024 season started. Gilmore said he had played varsity football since he was in eighth-grade and “needed to get to Kentucky a year early to let the coaches develop me and then dominate.”
— Gilmore missed the first five games of his true freshman season due to a broken collarbone. He finished the season with six catches for 153 yards and one touchdown. The first four receptions of his career were catches of 20 or more yards. He hauled in a 52-yard touchdown against Murray State, his only game of the season as a starter.
— In late December, Gilmore put his name into the transfer portal and a few days later he committed to Nebraska just as another UK receiver, Dane Key, did.
— News came out earlier this month that Gilmore had been dismissed from the Nebraska football team.
— On Thursday Gilmore announced he was transferring back to Kentucky with three years of eligibility remaining.
The 6-1, 165-pound Gilmore was one of the highest rated receivers Kentucky had ever signed out of high school. Lynn Bowden (Ohio) and Barion Brown (Tennessee) are the only top 300 overall players from out of state that Stoops has signed at the receiver position.
There was speculation but no confirmation from UK that Gilmore had off field issues in Lexington that led to his transfer to Nebraska. Even though UK head coach Mark Stoops has preached more accountability and discipline as musts for his 2025 team, he obviously had to welcome Gilmore back as did Hamdan.
Gilmore called Kentucky a “football school” when he signed with the Wildcats and no one has ever questioned his talent. He could give UK a needed dynamic playmaker to help an offense that struggled most of last season
Gilmore has also never lacked confidence.
“I think I can be the greatest wide receiver to play the game,” the four-star receiver said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk after he verbally committed to UK. “I am a sponge. I soak up everything I can to try and get better.”
And now he’s back at UK ready to hopefully not only “soak up” information but also show he’s mature enough to be a consistent playmaker and contributor.
7 Responses
I hopy he has matured
This was like getting a 5* recruit. The best part about it is he can only get better. I was very disappointed when he left more so than any other receiver. He was more tough than Barion and on short spurts hes very fast. He instantly made the Wide receiver room better. Plus he is familiar with the offense. If he would have played a full seasom fully healthy he would have easily had 20-25 receptions and 2-3 touchdowns. So i look for him to nearly double that and hes a year older. He isnt even fully developed yet. Or hes just now getting close to it. I can see him having a breakout year this year. He will get much better every year. I can see him running with the 2s this year and carving out a starter spot in 2026. I do believe he will start a couple of games this year.
4 & 5 * recruits aren’t always Sunday school teachers – sometimes it is what it is.
Yea but to his defense he was handling alot of money for a 17 and turning 18 year old teen? He will be fine as long as he learns from his mistakes. The best part about him coming back is the playbook. Its hard to learn the playbook as a true freshman. He will be able to fly through his routes instead of having to think and then react. If Gilmore stays 3 years we will notice a big difference every year. He’s a 4 year college kid because of his age so he will be dynamic his junior and senior year, and will definitely make a big jump this year in his size body and speed!
If he doesn’t grow up off the field, what he can do on it won’t matter.
I truly hope he can make that jump.
Same here OldFan
Jordan Seaton and another offensive lineman from Colorado just hit the portal. Both started as freshman. Seaton was a 5* recruit in the 2024 class and I think the 2 Colorado lineman both have 3 years of eligibility left. We need to jump on both recruits who are best friends and would love to come as a package deal. What’s crazy is the center who also transferred was a freshman walk on last year who earned freshman all American honors so both offensive line were freshman all americans. If we could get both of these guys the offensive line would be incredible for the next couple of years. We probably won’t offer both of them because nothing we do about the offensive line makes any sense. If we offered both of them and told them they could start if they work hard enough in the SEC I think they would take the bait and be Lexington. Seaton is a tackle and the other boy is a center. Center is a position of need as is Tackle. I bet we don’t even offer either one a scholarship which if we don’t we just dropped the ball because they played excellent together at Colorado. The former walk on didn’t even allow a sack and the Seaton only allowed 1 sack as a true freshman. Come on Stoops and Marrow do whatever you can to get these 2 studs!!