Kentucky Football Earns Commitment from WR Ashton Cozart

Kentucky football secured a major addition to its 2025 roster on Tuesday, earning the commitment of former SMU wide receiver Ashton Cozart.

The news was confirmed by On3 in the afternoon.

Cozart, a 6-foot-3 wide receiver from Flower Mound, Texas, was a four-star prospect out of Marcus High School, committing to play for the Oregon Ducks as a freshman.

He would go on to redshirt his first season, never suiting up in Eugene and eventually transferring back to his home state with the SMU Mustangs in Dallas.

Last season, Cozart played his first season of college football with SMU, logging one reception for 24 yards against Houston Christian. He did not catch any passes against Pittsburgh.

While a mostly unproven commodity at the collegiate level, Cozart will come to Lexington with three seasons of eligibility remaining, making him a guy to build the wide receiver room around if he chooses to stick around for Head Coach Mark Stoops.

Kentucky football has loaded up this offseason after a demoralizing 2024 season, finishing 4-8 with just one SEC victory and ending the Wildcats’ streak of bowl games.

Heading into a crucial 2025 season, Stoops, who has emphasized how motivated he is to lead Kentucky back to a strong season, UK has added talent both offensively and defensively, signing five wide receivers this portal cycle alone.

Overall, Cozart was the 23rd transfer portal addition this cycle.

Looking at the wide receiver room, Cozart will join fellow incoming transfers J.J. Hester (Missouri/Oklahoma), Kendrick Law (Alabama), Troy Stellato (Clemson) and Hardley Gilmore IV (Kentucky/Nebraska).

In terms of receivers already at Kentucky, Cozart will join Ja’Mori Maclin (senior), Fred Farrier II (senior), David Washington Jr. (sophomore) and more, though Maclin and Farrier II were the only two to log significant minutes in 2024.

Outside of Maclin and Farrier II, UK was depleted in the offseason in its wide receiver room, losing Dane Key to Nebraska and Barion Brown to LSU, two guys the room had been built around previously.

Key had logged 715 receiving yards last year while Brown logged 361.

As for Maclin and Farrier II, Maclin was the better of the two, making 13 receptions for 313 yards while Farrier II also made 13 catches, going for 126 yards.

There was brief concern in the offseason that Maclin may join Key and Brown in transferring out of Kentucky, but the former Tiger opted to make his return to Lexington and could be a valuable asset both on the field and in the locker room, mentoring younger stars like Cozart to help UK get its culture back.

All in all, while he is mostly unproven on the field, the addition of Cozart is a promising one for the Wildcats who are desperate for a much-needed bounce-back in 2025.