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UAPB’s Knox brothers set for transfer portal

UAPB’s Knox brothers set for transfer portal
Kyle (left) and Kaleb Knox of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions are shown in these undated file photos. (Courtesy UAPB Athletics)

The latest transfer portal announcements from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff come from twin brothers who have been Golden Lions since graduating high school.

Kyle and Kaleb Knox each announced this week they will enter the portal as graduate transfers when the portal opens on Jan. 2.

Both have played defensive back for UAPB since signing out of Bryant High School in 2021 but have battled injuries throughout their careers.

Kaleb was starting at safety for UAPB in 2024 until he was injured in that year’s SWAC opener at Alcorn State.

He has not played since being airlifted to a hospital from a field next to Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium in Lorman, Miss. He was listed on UAPB’s roster this spring but not in the fall.

Before his injury, he made 11 tackles in four games that season.

He also missed most of the 2023 season after making 14 tackles in four of the first five games.

His best season came in 2022, when he appeared in eight games as a sophomore and tallied 33 tackles with an interception and two break-ups.

Kyle missed 2024 with injury but returned this past season, making 27 tackles with an interception and a break-up.

He had 20 tackles in 2022 and 19 in 2023 while intercepting a pass each season. He also had two tackles for loss in 2023.

The Knox brothers are the sixth and seventh UAPB defensive backs to declare their transfer intentions, making up just less than half of the expected exits so far.

Head Coach Alonzo Hampton commented briefly on the departures on social media on Wednesday, saying it is about who is “next up.”

“Kyle and Kaleb Knox will graduate with a degree from UAPB on Saturday,” Hampton wrote.

“The other DB’s have been DEVELOPED and feel that they’re ready for the next step and we wish them the BEST.”