Here at Cats Illustrated we pride ourselves on keeping you up to date on Kentucky's recruiting efforts, and making you feel close to what's happening.
To that end, here's an in-depth look at what we know about UK commits in Week 1 action. Follow along all year as we keep you posted with video, highlights, news and analysis related to these future Cats.
Ward makes an impression on Rivals.com's Chad Simmons
Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County cornerback Jay Ward did a lot to impress Rivals.com Southeast analyst Chad Simmons, who was present for the team's 55-7 throttling of McEachern in the season opener for both teams.
"Jay Ward fits right in with his team’s (Colquitt County) style of play — physical. He is a lean cornerback who still has a lot of filling out to do, but he mixed it up and realty impressed in a victory Saturday," Simmons said.
"The Kentucky commit had a couple of pass break-ups, he was strong in coverage and he had a couple of big hits when making tackles. He has great length and he plays for one of the top programs in Georgia, so he is only going to get better.
"Ward was going against some talented, young receivers from McEachern, but he had an impressive performance. Mark Stoops and the Wildcat staff have to be excited about having Ward on their commitment list."
Simmons' scouting report and Ward's measurables make him reminiscent of Class of 2016 signee and current UK junior defensive back Jordan Griffin, who was also from Georgia.
Kentucky's high school linebacker commitments turn in productive openers
The Wildcats have two high school linebackers committed from the 2016 class: K.D. McDaniel and Tra Wilkins.
McDaniel's Tift County squad fell 40-29 in a competitive game against Warner Robins, but even in defeat the future Wildcat was a standout performer. He had six tackles, three quarterback hurries and a sack.
Meanwhile, Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson won its opener 39-12 on the road against Columbia. The defense was stout and led by Wilkins, whose eight tackles were spread out over the course of a strong unit performance and whose four tackles for loss paced the defense.
Crumes and Tisdale have big games
The two Kentucky skill position commits who had their openers over the weekend were Louisville (Ky.) Butler receiver Demontae Crumes and Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes running back Travis Tisdale.
The two combined for three touchdowns in their respective games. Crumes had two catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, while Tisdale rushed for a couple of long touchdowns. After that game, local Valdosta reporter Glendon Poe said that Lowndes was apparently prepared to continue utilizing Tisdale all over the field (defensive back, running back, receiver, return man) and that he was running with purpose early in the year, from the exhibition game to the season opener.
TRAVIS TISDALE
K.D. MCDANIEL
ELI COX
JAY WARD
To that end, here's an in-depth look at what we know about UK commits in Week 1 action. Follow along all year as we keep you posted with video, highlights, news and analysis related to these future Cats.
Ward makes an impression on Rivals.com's Chad Simmons
Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County cornerback Jay Ward did a lot to impress Rivals.com Southeast analyst Chad Simmons, who was present for the team's 55-7 throttling of McEachern in the season opener for both teams.
"Jay Ward fits right in with his team’s (Colquitt County) style of play — physical. He is a lean cornerback who still has a lot of filling out to do, but he mixed it up and realty impressed in a victory Saturday," Simmons said.
"The Kentucky commit had a couple of pass break-ups, he was strong in coverage and he had a couple of big hits when making tackles. He has great length and he plays for one of the top programs in Georgia, so he is only going to get better.
"Ward was going against some talented, young receivers from McEachern, but he had an impressive performance. Mark Stoops and the Wildcat staff have to be excited about having Ward on their commitment list."
Simmons' scouting report and Ward's measurables make him reminiscent of Class of 2016 signee and current UK junior defensive back Jordan Griffin, who was also from Georgia.
Kentucky's high school linebacker commitments turn in productive openers
The Wildcats have two high school linebackers committed from the 2016 class: K.D. McDaniel and Tra Wilkins.
McDaniel's Tift County squad fell 40-29 in a competitive game against Warner Robins, but even in defeat the future Wildcat was a standout performer. He had six tackles, three quarterback hurries and a sack.
Meanwhile, Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson won its opener 39-12 on the road against Columbia. The defense was stout and led by Wilkins, whose eight tackles were spread out over the course of a strong unit performance and whose four tackles for loss paced the defense.
Crumes and Tisdale have big games
The two Kentucky skill position commits who had their openers over the weekend were Louisville (Ky.) Butler receiver Demontae Crumes and Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes running back Travis Tisdale.
The two combined for three touchdowns in their respective games. Crumes had two catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, while Tisdale rushed for a couple of long touchdowns. After that game, local Valdosta reporter Glendon Poe said that Lowndes was apparently prepared to continue utilizing Tisdale all over the field (defensive back, running back, receiver, return man) and that he was running with purpose early in the year, from the exhibition game to the season opener.
TRAVIS TISDALE
K.D. MCDANIEL
ELI COX
JAY WARD
