Kentucky defensive line transfer Jamarius Dinkins commits to Purdue

The hits just keep on coming in West Lafayette as Kentucky defensive line transfer Jamarius Dinkins committed to Purdue while on his official visit this weekend. Dinkins is the third transfer portal commitment of the day for the Boilermakers, joining offensive linemen Corey Stewart and DJ Wingfield.

Dinkins spent three seasons in Lexington after signing with the Wildcats in the 2021 recruiting class, where he was a three-star prospect. The Columbus, Ohio, native played in 20 games during his stint at Kentucky, totaling 18 tackles, with two tackles for loss and a sack. Dinkins played just 89 snaps as a redshirt sophomore in 2023, but had a Pro Football Focus grade of 68.0 and a run defense grade of 72.1 with the Wildcats.

The 6'5", 280-pound defensive end also held offers from the likes of Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Memphis and Liberty in the transfer portal, with other schools also showing interest. Despite pursuits by several other Power 5 programs, Dinkins opts to join Ryan Walters and the Boilermakers in 2024.

Dinkins will join Brick Haley's defensive line group when he gets to West Lafayette in 2024, which is looking to replace a pair of reliable starters from a season ago. Purdue will lose Isaiah Nichols and Malik Langham to graduation this off-season, opening up a spot for Dinkins to compete for the starting job. His top competition for the role of defensive end will be Jeffrey M'ba, Joe Anderson, and Joe Strickland.

Purdue's transfer portal hot streak continues on Sunday with its first defensive portal commit of the cycle.