Kentucky WR Kenny Darby inks NIL deal with Nike

Kentucky freshman star wide receiver Kenny Darby has joined the Nike Football family, it was announced on Tuesday. Darby has been sensational for the Wildcats this season, boasting 38 receptions for 507 yards and three touchdowns through eight games. Darby’s play has been key in the Wildcats’ 7-1 start to the season, which has them up to No. 8 in this week’s AP Poll. Kentucky, led by first-year head coach Will Stein, is seeking its first ever College Football Playoff appearance this season. SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter The Louisiana native was a four-star recruit out of Bossier City, LA (Airline) in the Class of 2026, and originally committed to LSU. He instead followed former LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to Kentucky, which has turned out to be a great decision for the star receiver. His breakout performance came in Kentucky‘s 35-34 OT win over South Carolina on Oct. 3, in which he hauled in 12 receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown. Darby, who currently sits at 38 receptions and 507 receiving yards with four regular season games remaining, is just 13 catches and 122 yards away from breaking two of Kentucky‘s freshman receiving records. Both records are currently held by Barion Brown, who set them in 2022. The two-time SEC Freshman of the Week was named to On3’s Midseason True Freshman All-America Team. College Football Playoff berth remains on table for Kentucky Kentucky heads into its final four regular season games with history on the table. Those four games will come against No. 16 Tennessee, No. 25 Florida, No. 19 Missouri, and Louisville. If the ‘Cats can get through that stretch with a 3-1 record (or better), a 10-2 Kentucky team very well could find itself in the CFP for the first time ever. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage “It’s about finishing,” Will Stein said on last Saturday’s edition of Big Noon Kickoff. “It’s really one-game seasons from here on out. Everybody across the country, whether you’re in the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12 — everybody’s got tough games in November, especially when you’re fighting for a playoff spot. “And so when you go on the road to Tennessee, when you got to go to Missouri, when you have Florida at home, and Louisville at home — all four of those games are tough.” There’s no doubt the play of the freshman wide receiver will be pivotal against those four opponents. Darby is averaging 5.3 receptions and 65 receiving yards per game against SEC opponents this season.