The Kentucky Wildcats have struck again in the transfer portal, this one being a commitment from Lexington native Jamarrion Harkless.
Late Tuesday night, Kentucky landed a pledge from Harkless, a defensive tackle for the Purdue Boilermakers with two years of eligibility remaining. KSR’s Jacob Polacheck broke the news first.
A product of nearby Frederick Douglass, the 6-3, 345-pound mammoth was a 3-star recruit in the class of 2023 ranked 888th overall, 96th among defensive linemen, and seventh in the state
of Kentucky by 247 Sports Composite. He held scholarship offers from Kentucky, Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn, LSU, Louisville, Michigan, South Carolina, and Illinois, among others, before signing with Purdue.
After redshirting in 2023 and playing significant snaps in 2024, Harkless became a full-time starter this past season while registering 13 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Harkless is the kind of big-bodied space eater that every interior defensive line could use at least one of. He may not register many stats that show up in a box score, but he can clog the middle and free up others to make plays in the backfield. The hope is he’ll do just that for Jay Bateman’s defense this upcoming season.
