Woods did a full interview this am on KSR 'pre-show' that was fantastic, and he had Richie also during the interview I found this article that reflected what went on in Year 1 of Pitino.

A longer read by the Athletic, some bad, but a lot good, but thought you'd go back and remember that time when the foundation was being started.


Who remembers this time? Woods said it was on national TV, but I think probation kept it off the screen and being in Georgia, it was hard at the time to get any live updates.

Was the next year (1990) on TV? I don't think so, but that was such an incredible display of going beyond what you expected by a group forever linked to greatness at UK.

Is he Carolina’s Tubby. Great success first year with Roy’s players then mediocrity

looking for 5 tickets to the UK vs. Brown game on New Year’s Eve. Thought I’d check here before looking on line. Christmas gift idea for my son who lives out of state.

Although I don't expect the first 2025 commitment for a while, I will go ahead and start this new thread now. I see that we are discussing 2025 prospects on the 2024 thread, so we need a 2025 thread to accommodate the growing volume of 2025 discussions.

Here are instate 2025 prospects already reported to hold UK offers. All four are being recruited by Coach Marrow although Coach Coen has also gotten involved with Boley.

Cutter Boley, QB, LCA, Lexington
Brock Driver, RB, Boyle Co. hs, Danville
Montavin Quisenberry, ATH, Boyle Co. hs, Danville
Makhi Smith, ATH, Woodford Co. hs, Versailles

Boley is the big headliner here, although Driver is also a nice looking prospect.

Here are some 2025 out of state prospects reported to hold UK offers. This is not intended to be an all inclusive list, and I am not predicting where any of these players will actually sign two winters from now.

Jon Adair, OL, Nashville, TN
Sam Afari, DB, W. Chester, OH (Alex's brother)
John Baker, WR, Detroit, MI
Wyatt Becker, QB, Chatsworth, CA
Preston Bowman, WR, Pickerington, OH
Kole Briehler, DL, Princeton, NJ
Kelan Butler, LB, Jefferson, GA
Brandon Caesar, DL, Cleveland, OH
Marquise Davis, RB, Cleveland, OH
Alonzo Esparza, QB, Chatsworth, CA
Jakaleb Faulk, LB, Highland Home, AL
Zy'Aire Fletcher, LB, Springfield, OH
Noah Francis, DB, Bradenton, FL
Ryan Ghea, TE, Alpharetta, GA
Luka Gilbert, LB/TE, W. Chester, OH
Chauncey Gooden, OL, Nashville, TN
Bowen Gossett, OL, Ironton, OH
Tarrion Grant, DB, Murfreesboro, TN
Rafael Greene, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Caleb Harris, OL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Jackson Heims, LB, Springfield, OH
Justin Hill, LB, Cincinnati, OH
Eugene Hilton, WR, Zionsville, IN
Bo Jackson, ATH, Cleveland, OH
Naim Jackson, DL, Cincinnati, OH
Sandale Jackson, OL, Cleveland, OH
Napoleon Jemison, LB, Toledo, OH
CJ Jimcoily, ATH, Nashville, TN
Zion Johnson, RB, Covington, GA
Peyton Joseph, OL, Ft. Valley, GA
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH (Josh's brother)
Robert Lee, DB, Kissimmee, FL
Shiren Mabry, ATH, Columbus, OH
Ezekiel Marcelin, DB, Miami, FL
Dante McClellan, ATH, Canton, OH
London Merritt, LB, Atlanta, GA
Ryan Montgomery, QB, Findlay, OH
Kamauryn Morgan, DL, Red Oak, TX
Paul Nelson, LB, Cincinnati, OH
Eli Owens, LB, Alcoa, TN
Emile Picarella, QB, Madison, MS
Caden Piening, LB, Cincinnati, OH
Quincy Porter, ATH, Oradell, NJ
Ethan Pritchard, LB, Sanford, FL
Kendarius Reddick, ATH, Thomasville, GA
Martin Rhyne, LB, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Anthony Sacca, LB, Philadelphia, PA
Stone Saunders, QB, Harrisburg, PA
Cashus Shivers, ATH, Detroit, MI
Stephon Shivers, DL, Humboldt, TN
Quinton Simmons, WR, Cincinnati, OH
Kaylib Singleton, DB, Orange Park, FL
Kahlil Stewart, OL/DL, Philadelphia, PA
Taevion Swint, RB, Kissimmee, FL
Michael Taylor, RB, Pickerington, OH
Soloman Thomas, OL, Jacksonville, FL
Ethan Utley, DL, Nashville, TN
Amari Wallace, DB, Miami, FL
Tavion Wallace, DB, Jesup, GA
AC Walters, RB, Montgomery, AL
Brennan Ward, QB, Columbus, OH
Jackson Wiley, ATH, Lewis Center, OH
Amaree Williams, LB, Palm Beach, FL
Emaree Winston, TE, Calhoun, GA
Dylon Worthen, LB, Bradenton, FL
Ameer Yasin, OL, Tallmadge, OH

Let's not worry yet about whether 2025 will be a strong or weak instate recruiting class. We are nearly two full years away from the 2025 signing dates, so it is just too early to pass judgment.

But as a side note, take a good look at the number of prospects coming out of the Cincinnati area (including W. Chester) on this list. It is not difficult to see why Coach Marrow spends more time recruiting in Cincinnati than in Louisville.

No secret that Liam Cohen will be looking at QBs for this class. So, no coincidence that a lot of QBs are on the above list. Cutter Boley is the local favorite, and Coach Coen will probably make a big run at him. But if you are looking for an out of state QB with major cred who is already showing strong interest in UK, look no farther than Ryan Montgomery out of Findlay, OH. The gossip is that Montgomery and Coen have hit it off. I guess we will see.

Hey BBN, just wondering how many of you will be at the CBS Sports Classic in NYC on Dec. 21st. Got my tickets, hotel, and airplane ride a month or so ago. Can’t wait!

I know how much this board loves Gottlieb, so you'll probably all be disappointed to know his coaching career is off to a rough start. He somehow convinced UW-Green Bay to let him keep his full time radio job while also being the head coach.

Well, he got called out by Schefter on Twitter this week. Login to view embedded media
Then his team played DII Michigan Tech at home today. Earlier in the week he called them "Nobody U" and implied they would win by 20.

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Well, they lost to Nobody U and now sit at 2-11 on the year. Very disappointing and I hope he can pull it together because we all know he's such a good guy.

Did we just get a TE commit today?

$100 bill, PX parking lot near military bank in Giessen, Germany, 1988.
$40 (2 - $20 bills) about 6:30 am one morning near a bar while walking to the bus stop last year.
$20 bill in a ditch down the street from our house last year.
$20 bill near the Virginia-Tennessee state line on Bristol Rd, Shawanee, TN about 3 years ago. Next day, I found a $5 bill in the same area. Both times while hiking to the beer store. Somebody probably had their window rolled down and the $ blew out.

How about y'all?

I was hoping we'd be building depth along the OL, but, so far, we're down one more than we picked up. Kind of surprised at Ray leaving, ambivalent about Keenum. Keenum was the obvious heir apparent at C but, after 2 years and Eli graduating, he doesn't feel like he's the guy (or, more likely, the coaches told him he's not the guy)? Another evaluation miss in the 2023 class, evidently. I'm assuming the staff have high confidence that a C is coming on board from the portal (WKU guy?) so Keenum was told he'd be 2nd string still. Ford never panned out, some due to injury, and I'm not sure I ever saw Christman on the field except perhaps on ST, so those two are not 'depth' pieces and weren't going to be depth pieces.

I am not going to be all that optimistic in the preseason this year. Got burned by this past year and I'm going to wait and see how the first few games play out before I get too high on the team. It sure looks like we've still got some pretty big holes to fill (RB, OT, LB) and our schedule is going to be very tough again.

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Fine pickup to be a run blocking TE. Obviously not much stats (3 catches) but hes coming in to block and should be able to do it.

I'll go with 12-6 for UK. I think 13-5 will win a share of the conference championship. I don't think anyone is good enough to go 14-4 or better this season. Thoughts?

Stoops is still at the helm and we're more than likely winning no more than 3 games next year

Unfortunately true...

Hope I'm wrong

Rounding up some of the latest developments, what we can confirm, thoughts on where things stand:

** Vanderbilt OT Gunnar Hansen will be visiting Kentucky this week. Hansen was a senior this year and has one season remaining. Had a really good game against Alabama, a showcase performance for him. On the season Hansen scored 55.9 on PFF, playing 722 snaps, and he was slightly better at pass blocking than run blocking. It was an okay season and he would probably be serviceable at left tackle. Whether that's going to be the best option, time will tell. The fact that he has played left tackle extensively makes him interesting. Wallace Unamba from New Mexico, for instances, was a right tackle. Alex Wollschlaeger, who is committed, has been a three-year starter at Bowling Green but exclusively at right tackle. You would expect a MAC right tackle to play right tackle in the SEC. But pass protection has been prioritized with the linemen they have been pursuing so far and I think the pass protection already looks improved on paper.

** Alabama WR Kendrick Laws will also be visiting Kentucky this week. I believe Josh Edwards had this report first. Laws is someone who has been mentioned to us for the past week or so. This has been in the works for a little while now. He was a legitimate rotation guy at Alabama and my view is the numbers would have been a lot better under different circumstances there. Law played a decent amount, about as much as a typical backup receiver in the SEC, grading out at 58.2 on PFF. In spite of being 5'11, 209 pounds, he is not exclusively or even mostly a slot receiver. In usage at Alabama he was spread out wide 75% of the time. There were moments when he was used extensively in the slot on passing plays against Auburn but he was primarily an outside receiver. Kentucky's in a position where they need size at receiver but that's not all, they also need rotation players and depth. Just look at the depth chart and there are a lot of guys who haven't proven it yet. Laws didn't have any contested catches last year but he only had one drop.

** Wake Forest WR Horatio Fields is someone they felt good about coming out of the visit. It will be interesting to see how hard they press for a commitment. The word I've gotten early on is they will be helped with receivers when they know who the quarterback is going to be and that can be communicated. For a receiver that's going to be a huge deal, they're going to have opinions on it.

** Bleed Blue Network reported that Ball State WR Justin Bowick will be visiting Kentucky later this week and I had this confirmed with the caveat that things can change. However, he has been on the radar for a little while, since he went into the portal. Bowick is like Fields in that he's a big target who would help fix the lack of size in the room. The 6'4, 192-pound receiver wasn't exactly efficient last year. He had 28 targets and only 13 receptions, a 46.4% catch rate. But his average depth of target was 19.3 yards downfield. What's really impressive about Bowick is he had seven contested catches on 11 opportunities. He can go get it. Three balls thrown to him were picks, so there was a tendency to just put the ball in the vicinity because of Bowick's size and radius. Bowick would be very high on the wish list for me. In only four games he had 20 catches for 383 yards and three touchdowns. He was dominant against Miami-OH (8 catches, 171 yards, TD) and Buffalo (7 catches, 148 yards, 2 TD) in consecutive weeks.

** Nick Roush reported that Incarnate Word QB Zach Calzada will be visiting Kentucky this week. Remember he is someone that we've heard about for some time, even before he went into the portal. Kentucky is not the only school interested but we've heard about him enough and for long enough that he seems like someone they have a very real shot with. The visit right after going into the portal is a great sign there. In terms of the ability to run the ball, Calzada makes more sense than Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy, who arrived yesterday for a visit. I think Murphy can be a really good college quarterback but as Conor O'Neill said you want him set up to succeed the way he needs to be. Kentucky's pass protection should be improved next year based on the additions they've had so far alone, but do you really go into a season thinking a Mark Stoops team is going to pick you apart with the passing game? The Calzada option just makes more sense in terms of the direction you would expect Hamdan and Stoops to go. Throw in that he's been mentioned for so long and I'd be paying close attention there.

** Calzada played 1,038 snaps and scored 72.0 on PFF. He had a few down games but for the most part scored very well. 72.0 as a passer, 73.5 as a runner for Incarnate Word.

** Ever since Dane Key went into the portal and even during the season I heard about Georgia as the main option to watch and it seems like that is still looking like a strong option.

UK definitely has interest in WCU transfer Derek Simmons and they are TRYING to get a visit set up but there is also an acknowledgement that lots of other schools are in play. You can have the PT and the money but some others do too. This one is wait and see, will let you know if a visit is set.

Miles McVay from Bama announced he is going into the portal today. Eric Wolford had him at Alabama. As of right now I do not believe he will be a target. Probably want someone more ready to play and more athletic.

Per KSR, UK has offer Derek Simmons an OT from Western Carolina. Simmons is a grad transfer and would have one year of eligibility left.

** When Mark Stoops made his WR coach hire you had to know there would be a "win now" component to it. You're not hiring a guy to recruit high school sophomores. You're trying to get this thing fixed right away. One reason the L'Damian Washington hire is appealing is he has a Shreveport connection with Alabama wide receiver Kendrick Law. One reason for Law's appeal is they believe there is upside there but he can also line up everywhere so he helps the depth situation across the board.

** Wake Forest WR Horatio Fields is visiting Auburn today and then South Carolina on Thursday. I feel good about where they stand with Law, and Ball State's Bowick is very intriguing as a guy with length who can make contested catches.

** Feeling good about Kentucky's chances with Sam Houston State defensive lineman Chris Murray. As mentioned, getting Marshall ILB Landyn Watson does not hurt there because of their history together.

** Once again, reiterating that Vanderbilt offensive lineman Gunnar Hansen is the most likely guy to come on board at that left tackle spot. He arrives for his visit and will be staying the evening. Expect them to put on the full court press.

** Still like where they stand with WKU OL Evan Wibberley. At present, the most likely outcome for the OL portal class is Wibberley, Wollschlaeger, Hansen, and Braun. That would be two starting tackles, a starting center, and a starting guard. Four new starters up front. I ran the numbers, and those four players have seen the field for a combined 8,033 snaps at the FBS level in college football. Bring those guys in, put Farmer with them, and that is an extremely experienced offensive line. How it all would come together and gel is anybody's guess.

** Can tell you that Kentucky has been in on some big-name offensive tackle prospects from the portal, some of the highest-rated guys you will see across various platforms, and these talks have evolved to the possibility of visits. When it materializes, we are letting you know.

Jack Pyburn has went into the portal after being denied his ridiculous demands. If true, this was the easiest decision for Florida's staff to tell this guy to get lost.

https://mikefarrellsports.com/colle...sfer-portal-after-numerous-demands-are-denied


"Those included a $45,000 monthly stipend, a guarantee that he would start at outside linebacker, increased snaps in the rotation and another guarantee that he would play on ALL third downs."

Bowl games are slowing portal entries as well. This is just the first wave. I hope we keep looking for more experienced players, like Indiana Football did this past year. Happy Holidays!

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🔥🔥

Assuming UK signs Zach Calzada, I'm of the opinion that our next biggest need is at running back. Your thoughts?

anymore.

NickR on KSRadio

"That’s where lightning struck twice and he recruited a two-way player to win the Hesiman Trophy. Only Prime, the last great two-way player, could land Travis Hunter. Trying to recreate this very specific scenario is a fool’s errand."

The same year another great two-way player has been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, even. I know it's just one possibly innocent oversight, and I don't read many of their articles, but when I do there always seems to be these mistakes and misstatements. Which is why I don't read many of their articles.

I just wish people knew more about the sports they are covering. It's not like Devin Hester or his induction is a secret. The guy played 3 ways at Miami just like Sanders did at FSU. I don't know how anyone that watches, much less covers, college football wouldn't know that