Add another brick to the Big Blue Wall. Kentucky raided the SEC for another transfer portal offensive lineman.
Olaus Alinen is transferring from Alabama to Kentucky, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. During his brief stint in the transfer portal, he took trips to Lexington and Auburn. He has two years of eligibility remaining. Nakos reports that Alinen has signed with UK.
Alinen took an atypical road to SEC football. He’s originally from Pori, Finland. His father, Klaus, played football in NFL Europe and spent a season on the Falcons’ practice squad. Ahead of Olaus’ junior year of high school, he emigrated to the States, landing at a prep school in Connecticut. The 6-6, 322-pound athlete quickly caught the attention of scouts and ascended the recruiting rankings as a consensus Top-200 talent, picking Alabama over Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, and Oregon.
After redshirting during his first season in Tuscaloosa, he spent the last two logging snaps on special teams and rotating in as a reserve offensive lineman. According to PFF, he’s logged 165 snaps over his three-year career.
Kentucky is bringing in an elite athlete who does not have a ton of on-field experience, but knows what it’s like to play in a demanding SEC program. Hopefully, that can pay dividends in the trenches next fall for Kentucky.
One player who deserves some credit for the move is Tennessee IOL Max Anderson, who committed to Kentucky on Tuesday. Anderson told Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ that he met Alinen on his visit and started recruiting him to Lexington.
Kentucky Free Agency Additions
We’re still less than a week into the transfer portal period, and the Wildcats have added 11 players to the 2026 Kentucky football roster.
QB Kenny Minchey, Notre Dame
IOL Coleton Price, Baylor
LB Tavion Wallace, Arkansas
DT Ahmad Breaux, LSU
EDGE Antonio O’Berry, Gardner-Webb
CB Hasaan Sykes, Western Carolina
DB Aaron Gates, Florida
IOL Max Anderson, Tennessee
RB Jovantae Barnes, Oklahoma
DT Jamarrion Harkless, Purdue
OL Olaus Alinen, Alabama
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