Kentucky has put in a ton of work to set the foundation of the team adding three offensive lineman and two front seven defenders through the first week and a half of portal season. Now that they have some players to protect a new quarterback, they needed to get some new weapons to throw it to. Enter, JJ Hester. Hester committed to the Wildcats Thursday morning becoming the sixth commitment for Mark Stoops in this transfer portal cycle. The Oklahoma transfer has the size and athleticism Kentucky needed to see in an outside receiver, and program relationships may be what landed Hester in Lexington.
Player Background
Hester was a four star and top four hundred recruit out of Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hester committed to Missouri and formed a highly touted freshman duo with this guy named Ja’Mori Maclin. At Missouri, Hester put up 225 yards and 2 touchdowns in his redshirt freshman season under wide receiver’s coach Bush Hamdan. I made it that far on my own, but shoutout Nick Roush for finding new Kentucky wide receiver’s coach L’Damian Washington was the Director of Player Development at Missouri the same season. After the 2021 season, Maclin left for North Texas and Hester went back home to Oklahoma. After two injury-riddled seasons, he got his chance in the middle of last season. Over the final eight games of the season, Hester put up 315 yards and a touchdown including a sixty-yard bomb amid an 11-point fourth quarter comeback over the Auburn Tigers. He also hauled in a ninety-yard touchdown against Maine, the longest reception in the history of Oklahoma’s football stadium.
Program Fit
There was controversy throughout the season on whether there needed to be a change at offensive coordinator, and one of the biggest arguments for Hamdan was he didn’t get to pick the players he wanted to run his scheme. Hamdan coached Hester for two years at Missouri, so he knows exactly the kind of player and character Hester will bring to the locker room. Kentucky needed an X receiver following the departure of Dane Key, and 6’4 JJ Hester fits the mold of this role. He’s a long strider who can really fly when he gets going. He’s a good option for jump balls, deep posts, and the rounded dig routes Kentucky uses in the pro-style offense. Hester projects to be a valuable redzone option with his size and hands, something Kentucky needs more of following a disastrous 2024 in that area.
Position Outlook
The wide receiver room was completely flipped this offseason except for the stable and underutilized Maclin. Hester fills a big hole as an outside receiver who can make plays vertically and in tight windows using his body to shield off defenders. The offensive staff must believe in the former SEC transfer to take a big jump in production due to their evaluations and being around him through the beginning of his career. Kentucky has a potential superstar in Hardley Gilmore as well, but the Cats could use one more piece at receiver, preferably in the slot to move Maclin back to the outside position he thrived in at North Texas. The offense is coming together quickly, and it’s clear the staff is prioritizing size, fit, and character with their newest additions.
