Yes, you read that right: Not a typo. Kentucky Football could potentially add a player who has played in an NFL uniform to the 2026 football roster 15 days before the season kicks off.
TJ Harden most recently played football in the NFL preseason for the Seattle Seahawks last Saturday. Harden ran the ball a couple of times against the Dallas Cowboys. The Seahawks waived Harden two days after that preseason game, and since then, he’s entered the NCAA transfer portal.
How in the world could he do that?
Well, Harden is one of 16 athletes who received a temporary restraining order against the NCAA in Louisiana, which means the athletes involved can have an extra year of eligibility granted and enter the transfer portal if they wish. So now, Harden, along with the others involved in the case, will be able to play college athletics one more year.
Pete Nakos of On3 reports that Kentucky was in the mix for the former Seahawk, along with Kansas, Baylor, and Syracuse.
The running back room has been a position of need due to lingering injuries throughout the offseason, with injury history in the room already. Kentucky has already made some big moves in that room over the last few months. The staff decided to move Martels Carter Jr. from safety to running back, as well as pick up a JUCO running back in Ahmir Smith.
Harden played his college days at UCLA and then transferred to SMU to round out what he thought was his college career. In his three years as a Bruin, Harden had 325 yards his freshman year, 827 his sophomore year with eight touchdowns, and 506 his junior year. Then, transferred to SMU and racked up 787 yards and nine touchdowns as a Mustang.
Overall, that makes 2,445 total yards in his four years at UCLA and SMU for Harden, giving Kentucky a proven backfield threat if he ends up as a Wildcat.
All eyes are on Will Stein’s debut against Youngstown State on September 5, but the roster may not be set in stone with just two weeks left in the offseason.
