Former Tennessee offensive tackle Gerald Mincey made waves last month when he entered the transfer portal and committed to the Vols’ SEC rival Kentucky.
The redshirt senior later went to X (formerly known as Twitter) to voice his displeasure with the criticism Tennessee fans were heaping upon him after he announced his commitment.
“Really gave my all to Tennessee reading all these negative comments hurts man not gonna lie played this past season with a torn MCL and was able to help my team win a bowl game with a big smile on my face because I did love being a volunteer but shid business is business,” Mincey wrote on social media.
Meeting with the Lexington media on Wednesday for the first time since announcing his transfer destination, Mincey stoked the flames of the contention by discussing how Kentucky is going to win in Neyland Stadium this fall.
“I think I owe it to all the Kentucky fans to handle business on Nov. 2,” Mincey said according to the Lexington-Courier Journal. “So I’m excited for that.”
Kentucky has struggled against Tennessee on the gridiron recently and historically. The Vols hold a 86-24-9 advantage in the rivalry, have won all three games under Josh Heupel and are 9-2 against Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops— the program’s all-time winningest coach.
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“Kentucky has to want to earn it,” Mincey said according to CatPause.com. “I love the underdog. When we go there Nov. 2 to Neyland (Stadium) and bust them in the mouth we’ll put the standard back over here.”
Even in his time at Tennessee, Mincey hasn’t been afraid to talk confidently about his ability. In his first media availability at Kentucky, he didn’t shy away from the fact that his words are putting a target on his back.
“(I’ve) just (got to) get to work and know that I have a target on my back,” Mincey said. “So that’s gonna make me work even harder, so I can talk the talk and walk the walk.”
Mincey has bounced around what was previously known as the SEC East in his college tenure. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native spent his first two collegiate seasons at Florida before transferring to Tennessee. Mincey started 13 games at both left and right tackle in his two years in Knoxville before entering the transfer porta.
Josh Heupel and his staff replaced Mincey by landing highly touted LSU offensive tackle transfer Lance Heard. Heard is expected to start at left tackle while former Miami transfer John Campbell Jr. slides over to replace Mincey at right tackle.
