For the fourth offseason in a row, the Kentucky football program will enter the transfer portal market needing a starting quarterback. Cutter Boley is out after two seasons with the Wildcats. New head coach Will Stein needs a QB1.
A big name emerged on New Year’s Day ahead of a College Football Playoff triple-header.
News leaked that Josh Hoover was going to enter the transfer portal on Dec. 18. The multi-year starter in the Big 12 immediately became one of the top free agents available. Indiana was considered the heavy favorite early but Louisville has also been mentioned. So has Kentucky.
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Who will Indiana target at QB?? pic.twitter.com/f8nq7tHQj7
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 1, 2026
We all must take that latest report more serious now. Kentucky now has a roster with just two scholarship quarterbacks and must find a starter. The Wildcats also need to find a backup in the portal. Stein’s needs list just got longer.
Targets must emerge quickly and be closed on. Josh Hoover is one everyone needs to follow closely. So just who is the transfer quarterback? KSR is taking a closer look at the reported Kentucky target.
Former Indiana commit flips to TCU
Josh Hoover was a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class at Heath (Texas) Rockwall-Heath in Greater Dallas. The quarterback threw for 3,252 yards and 40 touchdowns as a senior in 2022. Hoover finished his prep career with 9,953 yards passing and 108 touchdowns on a 60.7 completion percentage.
The quarterback received some heavy interest from Indiana and SMU with each separately emerging as major contenders during his recruitment. Hoover ultimately committed to Indiana the summer before his senior season and stuck with that commitment for six months. However, a late offer after SMU head coach Sonny Dykes skipped town to TCU changed things for Hoover. The quarterback backed off his Big Ten pledge and decided to stay close to home.
That led to a very successful career playing for Dykes in four seasons with TCU.
Prolific passer in the Big 12
During his first season on campus, TCU ran the table and made the College Football Playoff. The Frogs upset Michigan in the national semifinal before falling to undefeated Georgia. Josh Hoover had a front row seat to that run during his redshirt year. In year two, the Frogs made an offensive coordinator change with Kendal Briles taking over after Garrett Riley left for Clemson. The program would then turn to Hoover.
In a rough 5-7 season for the program, current Virginia starting quarterback Chandler Morris suffered a knee injury in October and that led to a starting opportunity for Josh Hoover. The redshirt freshman would not look back.
SeasonCompletion PercentagePassing YardsPassing TouchdownsInterceptions202362.1% (185-of-298)2,206159202466.5% (313-of-471)3,9492711202565.9% (272-of-413)3,4722913Career65.2% (771-of-1,183)9,6297133
Hoover ranked in the top 15 nationally in pass attempts per game both in 2024 and 2025. Briles asked a lot of his quarterback and that led to some big numbers. Interceptions (2.8% career interception rate) have been a problem, but the quarterback has been consistently and has shown that he can carry an offense. TCU struggled to run the football, but Hoover played a key part in helping this unit play at a top-25 level in both 2023 and 2024 before there was some slippage in 2025.
A popular portal recruitment is occurring
There are currently nine quarterbacks listed in the top 25 of On3’s current transfer portal player rankings. Josh Hoover is one of those players. The QB market appears to be much improved after last year’s disappointing group. Hoover is one of the reasons why.
The quarterback with one year of eligibility remaining is already receiving legitimate power conference interest.
Indiana immediately emerged as a potential destination. Louisville has also been linked as a possibility. Kentucky unofficially entered the conversation on Thursday. Hoover has a legitimate market and that will likely lead to him become one of the highest-paid players in this year’s free agency class.
Luckett’s scouting notebook
Josh Hoover spent four seasons at TCU and was a full-time starter for two full seasons. The veteran was one of the best passers in college football in 2024 and 2025 as he helped carry a Big 12 offense that had some run game issues.
This is one of the best quarterbacks available in the portal. This is my scouting write-up on the Kentucky transfer target.
Josh Hoover (6-2, 200) was the primary quarterback offensive coordinator Kendal Briles’ three-year run at TCU. The spread tempo offense utilized a high diet of RPOs and asked Hoover to make a ton of post-snap decisions. The quarterback showed an ability to carry the offense when it needed to get pass-heavy. The QB was very good off play fakes and was one of the best in college football on vertical passes. Hoover delivers deep balls with great touch and is not afraid to throw it up and let his receiver make a play in 50/50 situations. Ball placement was strong on tape. Can hit small windows between the hashes with velocity. Aggressiveness has led to a high volume of turnover-worthy plays.
Josh Hoover has been a RPO-heavy quarterback who is outstanding at driving the football down the field. Drops the ball in a bucket on go routes and can hit posts. Arm is live on tape. Shows sack avoidance skills in the pocket but does not provide much of a run element. His play style does lead to turnovers but also leads to a high volume of explosive plays.