Kentucky Football Dismisses Defensive Back Vito Tisdale

The Bowling Green, Ky. native hadn't played for Kentucky since the 2021 season.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A longtime Kentucky football defensive back has been dismissed from the team, the program announced on Tuesday. 

Vito Tisdale, a 6-foot-1 senior out of Bowling Green, Ky., was thought to play a big part in the Wildcats' secondary in 2023, but his career with UK is now over after not playing since the 2021 season. 

Roster update: Vito Tisdale has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. We have no additional comment on the matter.

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) March 21, 2023

A 3-star recruit from Bowling Green High School, Tisdale was the No. 4 player in the state of Kentucky in the 2020 class, per 247Sports. He chose UK over Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M. 

His future appeared bright after a 20-tackle freshman season that included a six-tackle performance in Kentucky's Gator Bowl win over NC State to finish the 2021 season. 

Trouble arose before the beginning of his sophomore campaign, as Tisdale was one of six Kentucky players charged with burglary in August 2021, stemming to an incident that took place at a fraternity house in March 2021. Tisdale was also charged with first degree wanton endangerment for allegedly pointing a firearm at an individual. 

All charges were announced as dropped later that year in September by a Fayette Count grand jury, and all six players were eligible to return to practice. Tisdale played in nine games that season, making two starts, totaling 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. 

“Thank you to the grand jury for their due diligence and for doing the work,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said on Sept. 28, 2021. “We appreciate that.”

Expected to contribute in a bigger role in 2022, Tisdale suffered a torn ACL and was unable to play. Similar expectations were placed ahead of the 2023 campaign, but again, Tisdale will not see the field in blue and white. 

Tisdale has since released a statement following the announcement of his dismissal: 

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