Set to lose Ray Davis to the 2024 NFL Draft, the Kentucky Wildcats have added Ohio State RB Chip Trayanum through the transfer portal. This proactive move could prove beneficial not only for Kentucky but also for Trayanum himself.
Former Ohio State, Arizona State RB Chip Trayanum Transfers to Kentucky
The Wildcats aren’t wasting time strengthening their ranks through the transfer portal. They added former Georgia QB Brock Vandagriff earlier this month, and today, Ohio State RB Deamonte “Chip” Trayanum announced Kentucky as his transfer destination.
Vandagriff and Trayanum join the Wildcats just one year after Kentucky added another productive QB-RB transfer tandem in Devin Leary and Ray Davis.
Leary passed for 2,440 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 10 picks in his lone season at Kentucky, while Davis ran for 1,066 yards and 13 scores and caught 29 passes for 317 yards and seven TDs.
Davis was a second-team All-SEC honoree for his play in 2023, and both he and Leary accepted invites to appear at the Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas. Davis’ immediate success after transferring from Vanderbilt bodes well for Trayanum, who’s seeking to end his career on a high note.
Trayanum began his football career at Arizona State, joining the Sun Devils as a four-star recruit in the 2020 class. He was an immediate star in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and logged a career-high 402 yards and six touchdowns in 2021.
Ultimately, Trayanum — a native of Akron, Ohio — chose to transfer from Arizona State to Ohio State in 2022, and he experimented with a switch to linebacker with the Buckeyes — a position he’d played in high school alongside running back.
MORE: College Football Transfer Portal Tracker
However, Trayanum quickly gained back rotational reps as an RB, filling out an RB stable that included underclassman star TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams.
In 2023, Trayanum logged 88 carries as a change-of-pace back, accumulating 373 yards and three touchdowns within that sample.
Trayanum hasn’t been an elite producer since his true freshman season when he averaged over 70 yards per game. But it’s widely agreed upon that he has the tools to be a force if given the necessary volume.
According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman this past offseason, Trayanum can run a 40-yard dash in the high 4.3s and reach a top speed of 22.2 mph at a rocked-up 5’11”, 234 pounds. He can also bench press 415 pounds and squat 650.
The move from Ohio State to Kentucky will take Trayanum farther away from his hometown. Still, it’ll also give him a chance to succeed Davis as the lead back and put his high-end physical tools on display against SEC competition.