Wide receiver Hardley Gilmore is coming back to Lexington.
According to Pete Nakos of On3, Gilmore will transfer to Kentucky after a short offseason stint with Nebraska. The Florida native came to UK as a 17-year-old early enrollee in January 2024 but missed the first five games of his true freshman season due to a broken collarbone. Gilmore finished the 2024 campaign with six catches for 153 yards and one touchdown.
Gilmore originally went into the transfer portal in late December, committing to Nebraska a few days later. But news broke earlier this month that he had been dismissed by the Cornhuskers. Now, he’s headed back to the Bluegrass with three years of eligibility remaining.
Out of Pahokee (FL) High School, Gilmore reclassified up to the 2024 class, ranking as a four-star recruit and one of the best incoming freshmen for Kentucky in that cycle. He committed to the Wildcats over the likes of Penn State and Central Florida. After arriving on campus early, Gilmore quickly made an impression on the coaching staff.
“He is, in my opinion, as complete of a young receiver as I’ve been around,” Offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said in August. “He’s got top-end speed, he’s a good route-runner, he’s tough, he’s physical. There’s a lot of things there.”
An offseason injury slowed him down, but Gilmore flexed some potential once healthy. The first four receptions of his career were catches of 20 or more yards. He hauled in a 52-yard touchdown against Murray State, his only game of the season as a starter.
Gilmore’s initial decision to leave UK via the portal was a shocker at the time. The situation got even more complicated when reports broke of a possible return to Kentucky, but he ultimately found himself at Nebraska alongside wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts, who was Gilmore’s position coach with UK in 2024.
That marriage clearly didn’t last long, though. A few months later, Gilmore is back with the Wildcats and brings some needed talent to Kentucky’s wide receivers room.
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