With the spring transfer portal now open it gives players a final opportunity to enter their name into the portal and hopefully find a good fit for their career before the summer months begin. For Kentucky, as of late there have been more movers than comers, too many to list if I am being honest, however, Mark Stoops and his staff just received a pretty big pickup from the portal themselves.
DJ Waller, a former Michigan Wolverine, is now planning to transfer to the University of Kentucky and play for Wildcats.
It is no secret that a priority need for Kentucky is in the secondary position. The secondary room is fairly young with the leaders of that group being Jantzen Dunn, Maxwell Hairston, and JQ Hardaway who are juniors at the cornerback spot. Not saying that this is a bad start but the SEC is a gauntlet and depth is crucial at this position. Waller, who is a defensive back, will bring more depth and much-needed experience from playing in a power five conference at Michigan. He brings all of that to a program that needs it after major roster turnover this off-season.
DJ stands at 6'3", weighing 205 pounds and is from Mark Stoops' neck of the woods in Youngstown, Ohio. He was a 3-star recruit coming out of high school where he was heavily recruited by major programs. After receiving official offers from Wisconsin, Ball State, Marshall, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia, he chose the Michigan Wolverines to start his collegiate career at.
Don't let the stars or numbers by Waller's name influence your decision about the kid. To be able to take the field in 6 games as a true freshman for a team in the Big Ten is impressive in my books. There’s a lot of talent on a weekly basis in that conference, and the new conference he’ll be coming to will be no different.
In limited minutes during those six games, he was able to record 11 tackles with 8 of those being solo tackles and 1 pass deflection.
With that being said, I’m not sure if I would guarantee that DJ Waller will immediately have a starting spot upon arrival but I know it will make for some better competition in the summer months by the position group, so the entire secondary room will grow and get better from it.
I will say this, unless I am really wrong I don't see a way that Brad White can keep such an potential-led athlete on the sidelines all season long. If he is good enough to earn playing time for Michigan then he is good enough to earn it here at Kentucky. He will have a lot to prove, but I expect him to do just exactly that.