Recruiting is never done at Kentucky, and Mark Stoops & Co. are hitting the trail, and entertaining a lot of potential Wildcats.
Now that the regular season is over recruiting season has come upon us once again. Kentucky is currently ranked # 11 by Rivals due to Derrick Kelly’s de-commitment. It is remarkable that Stoops and Company have been able to hold the 2014 class together (so far). Kelly has picked up offers from Florida State, LSU and Tennessee. He did visit UK this weekend for an official visit, but expect him to commit to FSU since he’s a Florida kid.
So, here we sit with 24 commitments with four openings, one being reserved for DL Matt Elam who Rivals has as a (5.7) 3*. Elam still a 5*, according to 247 Sports. He received and in home visit from Nick Saban and says he was told he (Saban) is staying at Alabama. 60% of the "experts" think he is Tuscaloosa bound as you can see here. I think the other 40% are right, but what do I know?
If Elam decides to commit to Alabama, I believe we may take a commitment from JUCO Daniel Ross from Louisville who has played at Northeast Community College in Mississippi. He has offers from UK, Mississippi State, Mississippi and Southern Cal.
You can bet that a spot is also being held for OL Marcelys Jones if he decides to flip from Ohio State. The (5.8) 4* would boost our Rivals rating and ranking into a top 10 class. Everyone claims that he really enjoyed his official visit this past weekend. Jones took an official visit to Alabama on November 23rd and one to Georgia Tech today. Remember Adolphus Washington from Cincinnati? He also flirted with the Cats before going to Ohio State. I'm just suggesting that you don't to get too excited about Jones. Marshon Lattimore cancelled his official visit that he was supposed to make with Jones.
As for other players Stoops might get, it is up in the air. Rest assured, however, this staff is out there doing their job on the recruiting trail.
Some interesting facts:
There are plenty of still uncommitted Rivals 5 stars
RB Leonard Fournette (New Orleans) will most likely sign with LSU
DB Marlon Humphrey (Hoover, AL) will most likely sign with Alabama
ATH Adoree' Jackson (Gardena, CA) is expected to sign with USC
RB Joe Mixson (Oakley, CA) Seems to be going to Oklahoma
OL Damien Prince (Forestville, MD) Down to Maryland and FSU
WR Malachi Dupre (River Ridge, LA) will most likely sign with LSU
DE Kentavius Street (Greenville, NC) predicted to sign with NC State
DB Tony Brown (Beaumont, TX) predicted to sign with LSU
LB Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, GA) predicted to sign with Ohio State. Has an offer from UK, but apparently has no interest in the Wildcats.
DB John Smith (Long Beach, CA) expected to choose Notre Dame
DB Jalen Tabor (Washington, DC) Maryland most likely
Most Top 30 team have commitments from 2* players
I did a little research on Rivals top 30 teams for the 2014 recruiting class and found that 21 teams have 2* commitments. Seven of the fourteen SEC teams have at least one 2* commitments. Of the top 30 recruiting classes, 10 offensive linemen are 2 stars, all high school seniors. Three are defensive linemen out of high school and three are JUCOs including a single UK commitment at the DL position. Virginia Tech has a commitment from a non-rated or ranked JUCO player. Here's a breakdown of 2* and unranked players whose commitments have been accepted by position:
OL - 11 - Missouri and Wiconsin 2 ea., Arizona, Va. Tech, Oklahoma St., Baylor, Oklahoma 1 ea. FSU has 1 from HS and 1 JUCO
DL - 6 - Auburn, UK, Va. Tech, and Oklahoma St. have 1 commitment from the JUCO ranks; Clemson and Baylor have accepted one high school 2* player.
ATH - 8 - Miami, Texas, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Arizona, Va. Tech, Oklahoma St. and Missouri have all accepted a single commitment from a 2* player
DE - 7 - Tennessee and Arizona have commitments one JUCO, Arizona State has an unrated or rated JUCO, Baylor and Oklahoma have two HS 2 stars.
TE - 3 - NC State, Missouri and Arizona St. each have a single 2* out of high school
DB - 6 - one 2* HS commitment each for Texas A&M, UNC, Wisconsin, Oklahoma St., Missouri, and Arizona St.
WR -6 - Texas A&M has one JUCO 2*. UNC, Wisconsin, Arizona, Va. Tech, and Missouri all have a 2* from the HS ranks.
K - 5 - LSU, Wisconsin, Arizona, Oklahoma St., and NC State have 2* commitments from HS
LB - 1 - HS 2* for Missouri
RB - 1 - HS 2* for NC State
Top 30 teams with the most 2 star commitments:
Missouri 7
Wisconsin and Oklahoma State 6
Oklahoma St. 6
Arizona 5
Baylor 4
Virginia Tech and Oklahoma 3
Florida State, Arizona State and North Carolina 2
Miami, Texas A&M, Auburn, Texas, Kentucky, Clemson, Mississippi, Michigan, LSU all have one
Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Florida, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Stanford, Penn State and Penn State have no 2* commitments.
2015 players who have UK offers and list the Cats as Warm or Warmer
If they are a Rivals top 150 or 250, it is noted.
Elijah Sindelar QB, (Princeton, KY) Caldwell County
Jarrett Stidham QB, (Stephenville, TX) Stephenville - Rivals (6.0) 4*
Darrin Hall RB (Youngstown) Austintown Fitch - Rivals (5.8) 4*
Ray Ray McCloud RB (Tampa) Sickles - Rivals (5.9) 4* listed as an ATH
Chandler Cox FB (Apopka, FL) Apopka
Alex Ofodile WR (Columbia, MO) Rock Bridge - Rivals (5.8) 4*
Jackson Harris TE (Columbia, TN) Columbia Central
Jalen Harris TE (Montgomery, AL) St. James
George Brown, Jr OL (Cincinnati) Winton Woods - Rivals (5.9) 4*
George Asafo-Adjei OL (West Chester, OH) Lakota West
Luke Hiers OL (Lake Wales, FL) Lake Wales - Rivals (5.8) 4*
Darryl Williams OL (Bessemer, AL) Bessemer City
Mason Wolfe OL (Henderson, KY) Henderson County
Darius Fullwood DE (Olney, MD) Good Counsel - Rivals (5.8) 4*
Emmitt Smith LB (Bowling Green) Warren Central
Nick Conner LB (Dublin, OH) Dublin Scioto - Rivals (5.8) 4*
C.J. Stalker LB (West Chester, OH) Lakota West
DeAntre Turman DB (Fairburn, GA) Creekside
Montrell Custis DB UK Commit (Hampton, GA) Lovejoy
Ugo Amadi DB (Nashville) Overton - Rivals (5.8) 4*
Reggie Rogers DB (Massillon, OH) Washington
Gerald Robinson DB (Hialeah, FL) Champagnat Catholic
Kel Beckham DB (Dayton, OH) Trottwood-Madison
Marcus Walker DB (Lake Wales, FL) Lake Wales
JarMarkus Sims DB/LB (Dothan, AL) Dothan
That's 24 players who have offers and are showing interest in Kentucky. All of the offers are verbal, of course, as is the player(s) interest. Things can and will change.
Finally, in one of my comments a few days ago, I made a remark about 2014 commit Nick Richardson being a great pancake maker. Well, here's another pancake maker from the Bluegrass State, Mason Wolfe. His proud dad, Ron, was kind enough to send me the link for the video. According to 247 Sports, Mason was in town on November 30th for an unofficial visit and received an offer. Neal Brown made a home visit on December 3rd.