Kentucky Football Adds Seven More Transfers to Roster

The University of Kentucky football team added seven more transfers to its 2025 roster, head coach Mark Stoops announced Thursday. They are: defensive end Lorenzo Cowan (Southern Cal), tight end Elijah Brown (UCF/FAU/Alabama), wide receiver Ashton Cozart (SMU/Oregon), offensive lineman Rob Fogler (Ball State), wide receiver Hardley Gilmore IV (Nebraska), offensive lineman Cameron Jones (James Madison) and running back Seth McGowan (New Mexico State/Butler CC/Oklahoma). The seven transfers will arrive on campus for summer workouts in June, along with 11 high school newcomers.

Elijah Brown, Tight End, 6-6, 250, Jr.-Tr, Dayton, Ohio (UCF/FAU/Alabama/Wayne HS)

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Transferred to UK after previous stops at UCF, FAU and Alabama … Has played in 10 games with one starting assignment and has one catch for 22 yards in his career … All 10 games were played in two seasons at FAU … In 2024 as a redshirt sophomore, played in eight games with one start vs. Tulsa … Recorded a 22-yard catch vs. Charlotte … Played in two games as a redshirt freshman in 2023 for the Owls … Redshirted in 2022 at Alabama … Was a consensus four-star prospect from Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio … Ranked as the No. 8 tight end and No. 10 player in Ohio by 247Sports … Rivals ranked him as the No. 10 tight end in the nation and 10th-ranked player in Ohio … On3 Consensus listed him as the nation’s No. 11 tight end … As a junior, caught 30 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown while helping block for a ground attack at Wayne that churned out 1,754 yards on just 277 attempts … Played for head coach Roosevelt Mukes.

Lorenzo Cowan, Defensive End, 6-3, 247, R-Fr.-Tr, Savannah, Ga. (Southern Cal/Jenkins HS)

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Transferred to Kentucky after one season at Southern Cal … In 2024, did not see game action as a true freshman at USC … Ranked the No. 57 edge rusher nationally by On3, No. 76 by ESPN and No. 79 by 247Sports coming out of high school … Also ranked the No. 64 player in Georgia by On3, No. 92 by ESPN and No. 125 by 247Sports … As a senior at Jenkins High School in 2023, totaled 76 tackles, including 11 for loss with eight sacks … Added eight pass breakups, three blocked field goals and one forced fumble … Named the 2023 5A Region 1 Defensive Player of the Year and earned an invitation to the 2023 Under Armour Next Camp Series … As a junior in 2022, earned All-5A Region 1 First Team and Big 22 ABC WJCL Team honors … Recorded 31 tackles, including six for loss with eight sacks, along with two pass breakups and one blocked field goal… As a sophomore in 2021, notched 13 tackles, including one for loss, three pass breakups and one forced fumble.

Ashton Cozart, Wide Receiver, 6-3, 195, So.-Tr, Flower Mound, Texas (SMU/Oregon/Marcus HS)

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Transferred to Kentucky after one season at Southern Methodist and one season at Oregon … Played in four games as a redshirt freshman at SMU and totaled one reception for 24 yards … Redshirted his freshman season at Oregon in 2023 and did not play in any games … Rated the No. 93 player in the class of 2023 by Sports Illustrated coming out of high school … A four-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN and in the 247Sports composite and a three-star prospect by Rivals … Ranked a top-100 player nationally by ESPN (No. 94), a top-200 player in the 247Sports composite (No. 163), and a top-250 player by 247Sports (No. 208) … Rated a top-30 wide receiver in the country by ESPN (No. 18), in the 247Sports composite (No. 26) and by 247Sports (No. 27) and top-75 at the position by Rivals (No. 64) … Rated a top-20 player in Texas by ESPN (No. 16), a top-50 player in the state in the 247Sports composite (No. 34) and 247Sports (No. 37) and a top-100 player by Rivals (No. 87) … A consensus top-15 wide receiver in Texas, peaking as the fifth-ranked player at the position by ESPN … Selected to the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game … As a senior, chosen as a first-team all-district performer at wide receiver … Finished the season with 33 catches, 582 yards and seven touchdowns for 17.6 yards per catch … Had two games with 100-or-more receiving yards …  Coach by Kevin Atkinson at Marcus High School.

Rob Fogler, Offensive Line, 6-7, 304, So.-Tr, Cincinnati, Ohio (Ball State/St. Xavier HS)

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Transferred to Kentucky after two seasons at Ball State … Redshirted in 2023 and did not see action in 2024 … Two-time member of the Dean’s List … Was a two-year letterwinner for head coach Steve Specht at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati … Helped lead the Bombers to a 7-5 overall record with a second round appearance in the Ohio playoffs in 2022 … Voted team captain as a senior … Led his team to a state championship in 2021 … Reunites with high school teammates Justin Kattus and Andrew Weber from St. Xavier.

Hardley Gilmore IV, Wide Receiver, 6-1, 178, So.-Tr, Belle Glade, Fla. (Nebraska/Kentucky/Pahokee HS)

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Returned to the Bluegrass after spending the 2025 spring season at Nebraska … As a true freshman for UK in 2024, saw action in the final seven games after missing the first five due to injury … Earned his first collegiate start vs. Murray State … Totaled six receptions for 153 yards and one touchdown, averaging 25.5 yards per catch … Caught two passes for 72 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown on a deflected pass in the first quarter against the Racers … Both catches in the game went for 20+ yards, continuing a trend where his first four career receptions all gained 20 yards or more … A consensus four-star prospect coming out of high school … Ranked among the top 45 wide receivers nationally in the 2024 class by On3.com … Reclassified from the class of 2025 to 2024 in June 2023, forgoing his junior season … Played varsity football as a two-way player (receiver and defensive back) beginning in the eighth grade at Glades Day … Transferred to The Benjamin School (West Palm Beach, Fla.) for his freshman season, catching 16 passes for 229 yards and seven touchdowns … Helped lead the team to an 8–4 record and a berth in the Class 3A region finals … Transferred to Pahokee High School for his sophomore year and was named to the Palm Beach Post Super 11 team after posting 43 receptions for 1,003 yards and nine touchdowns … Also contributed on defense with 21 tackles, eight pass breakups and three interceptions … As a senior in 2023, recorded 52 receptions for 879 yards and 15 touchdowns … Added 13 tackles, eight pass breakups and two interceptions on defense … Earned All-County honors from the Sun Sentinel … Played for head coach Matthew Sparrowhawk at Pahokee … Also competed in track and placed third in the state of Florida in the long jump and sixth in the 800-meter run in 2022.

Cameron Jones, Offensive Lineman, 6-6, 330, So-TR, Weirton, W.Va. (James Madison/Weir HS)

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Transferred to Kentucky after two seasons at James Madison … In 2024, appeared in one game against Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton Bowl … Redshirted in 2023 and did not see action … Was a standout offensive lineman at Weir High School in Weirton, West Virginia … Rated as one of the top three offensive linemen in West Virginia … Named Class AA First Team All-State in 2022 … In 2021, earned HDS Second Team All-Area honors … Two-time First Team All-Ohio Valley Athletic Conference selection in 2021 and 2022 … Named First Team All-Wheeling in 2021 … Won the WTOV Offensive Blocks of Granite Award … As a senior, helped lead the Red Raiders to the WVSSAC AA playoffs … Coached by Frank Sisinni … A dual-sport athlete at Weir who also played basketball.

Seth McGowan, Running Back, 6-1, 220, Gr.-TR, Mesquite, Texas (New Mexico State/Butler CC/Oklahoma/Poteet HS)

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Transferred to Kentucky after one season at New Mexico State (2024), one season at Butler (Kansas) Community College (2023) and one season at Oklahoma (2020) … In 2024, started 11 games at running back for New Mexico State … Rushed for 813 yards and three touchdowns on 153 carries … Also caught 23 passes for 277 yards and three receiving touchdowns … Reunited with New Mexico State teammate, Shiyazh Pete, who transferred to UK in January …  In 2023, played in six games for Butler Community College … Tallied 125 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 39 carries while averaging 3.2 yards per attempt … In 2020, appeared in seven games for Oklahoma as a true freshman … Rushed 58 times for 370 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 6.4 yards per carry … Added 13 receptions for 201 yards and one touchdown … Notched a 73-yard rush and three catches for 70 yards in the Cotton Bowl win over No. 10 Florida … Rushed for 58 yards and a TD on 10 carries at Texas Tech … Had 41 yards on 11 carries and a 43-yard reception at TCU … Rushed 12 times for 47 yards and caught three passes for 42 yards at Iowa State … Ran for 73 yards and a score on 13 carries vs. Kansas State … Compiled 98 total yards and scored twice on a 1-yard run and a 37-yard reception in his collegiate debut vs. Missouri State … Was a consensus four-star recruit coming out of Poteet High School in Texas … Ranked No. 147 in the 2020 class by ESPN, No. 168 by 247Sports, and No. 174 by Rivals … Rated the No. 13 running back nationally by Rivals and No. 16 by 247Sports and ESPN … Ranked among the top 30 recruits in Texas … Rushed for over 3,700 yards and 45 touchdowns during his high school career.

High School Newcomers:

OL Jermiel Atkins – Trotwood, Ohio (Madison)

DL Javeon Campbell – Frankfort, Ky. (Western Hills)

OL Jayden Clark – Clayton, Ohio (Northmont)

OL Jason Ekperuoh – Châteauguay, Quebec (The Webb School – TN)

DB Grant Grayton – Laurel, Md. (Good Counsel)

WR Cameron Miller – Camden, N.J. (Winslow Township)

DB Andrew Purcell – Enterprise, Ala. (Enterprise)

WR Quintin Simmons Jr. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Withrow)

TE Mikkel Skinner – Greer, S.C. (Riverside)

DL Nicholas Smith – Loganville, Ga. (Walnut Grove)

DL Cedric “CJ” Works Jr.  – Dayton, Ohio (Frederick Douglass)

Transfer Portal Players:

TE Henry Boyer (Illinois)

OL Josh Braun (Arkansas/Florida)

TE Elijah Brown (UCF/FAU/Alabama)

QB Zach Calzada (Incarnate Word/Auburn/Texas A&M)

DE Lorenzo Cowan (Southern Cal)

WR Ashton Cozart (SMU/Oregon)

RB Dante Dowdell (Nebraska/Oregon)

OL Rob Fogler (Ball State)

WR Hardley Gilmore IV (Nebraska)

OLB Sam Greene (Southern Cal.)

DL David Gusta (Washington State)

DB Devon Gusta (UC Davis)

WR J.J. Hester (Oklahoma/Missouri)

DL Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace (South Dakota)

OL Cameron Jones (James Madison)

LS David Laganga (Lehigh)

WR Kendrick Law (Alabama)

RB Seth McGowan (New Mexico State/Butler CC/Oklahoma)

OLB Kam Olds (Kent State/Buffalo)

OL Shiyazh Pete (New Mexico State)

WR Tory Stellato (Clemson)

DB Kevis Thomas (Maryland)

ILB Landyn Watson (Marshall/TCU)

OL Evan Wibberley (WKU)

DL Jaden Williams (Wyoming)

OL Alex Wollschlaeger (Bowling Green State)

For more information on the UK football team, visit ukathletics.com/football and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and “X,” formerly Twitter.