COMMITMENTS
QB Mac Jones, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles, 3-stars (5.7)
QB Walker Wood, 6-feet, 189 pounds, Lexington (Ky.) Lafayette, 3-stars (5.6)
RB Mike Warren, 5-foot-10, 199 pounds, Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic, 3-stars (5.6)
RB Bryant Koback, 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, Holland (Ohio) Springfield, 3-stars (5.6)
WR Russ Yeast, 5-foot-10, 172 pounds, Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove, 3-stars (5.6)
DL/OL James Hudson, 6-foot-5, 271 pounds, Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic, 4-stars (5.8), Rivals250
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS WITH COMMITMENTS
Mac Jones picks up seventh offer from Illinois (2/18)
James Hudson is offered by Penn State (2/17)
Mike Warren is offered by Iowa State (2/11)
James Hudson is offered by Pittsburgh (2/9)
Mac Jones, Walker Wood, Russ Yeast attend UK's junior day (2/6)
Russ Yeast moves to Indiana, transfers from Fremont Ross to Center Grove
Bryant Koback's ranking bumped from two stars to three-star (5.6)
ESTIMATED NUMBERS BY POSITION (incl. current commits)
QB: 2 (need is presumably addressed with Jones, Wood)
RB: 2 (need is presumably addressed although with Koback as a RB/ATH they could take another)
WR: 3 (likely to take ~2 more with Yeast on board)
TE: 1
OL: 3 (priority is offensive tackle; may or may not take an interior lineman; if so, maybe a G/T)
DT/NT: 1-2
DE/DL: 2-3 (some flexibility with numbers from DE/DL/NT)
LB: 3
DB: 2-3
NOTES: The above would come out to a 22-man signing class. That is smaller than the 24 just signed in the 2016 class. Mark Stoops has said this class will be smaller. Resist the temptation to imagine the class will be much smaller. Whatever the scholarship distribution/forecast is right now there is a strong likelihood of attrition over the next 12 months, and estimated class numbers sometimes vary widely. The above is obviously only a rough, ballpark estimate, giving or taking a player at each position.
James Hudson's development over the next year is a variable that will shape the need/prioritization of both the offensive and defensive lines. If he is an offensive tackle then the need there becomes slightly less. If he is a defensive lineman then the OT need grows, the NT need remains, but the DE/DL need becomes much less.
Bryant Koback is penciled in as a running back but could theoretically be a safety, and Craig Yeast has emphasized to me that Russ Yeast could play DB, although there's no indication from my sources closer to UK that this will happen.
QB Mac Jones, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles, 3-stars (5.7)
QB Walker Wood, 6-feet, 189 pounds, Lexington (Ky.) Lafayette, 3-stars (5.6)
RB Mike Warren, 5-foot-10, 199 pounds, Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic, 3-stars (5.6)
RB Bryant Koback, 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, Holland (Ohio) Springfield, 3-stars (5.6)
WR Russ Yeast, 5-foot-10, 172 pounds, Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove, 3-stars (5.6)
DL/OL James Hudson, 6-foot-5, 271 pounds, Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic, 4-stars (5.8), Rivals250
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS WITH COMMITMENTS
Mac Jones picks up seventh offer from Illinois (2/18)
James Hudson is offered by Penn State (2/17)
Mike Warren is offered by Iowa State (2/11)
James Hudson is offered by Pittsburgh (2/9)
Mac Jones, Walker Wood, Russ Yeast attend UK's junior day (2/6)
Russ Yeast moves to Indiana, transfers from Fremont Ross to Center Grove
Bryant Koback's ranking bumped from two stars to three-star (5.6)
ESTIMATED NUMBERS BY POSITION (incl. current commits)
QB: 2 (need is presumably addressed with Jones, Wood)
RB: 2 (need is presumably addressed although with Koback as a RB/ATH they could take another)
WR: 3 (likely to take ~2 more with Yeast on board)
TE: 1
OL: 3 (priority is offensive tackle; may or may not take an interior lineman; if so, maybe a G/T)
DT/NT: 1-2
DE/DL: 2-3 (some flexibility with numbers from DE/DL/NT)
LB: 3
DB: 2-3
NOTES: The above would come out to a 22-man signing class. That is smaller than the 24 just signed in the 2016 class. Mark Stoops has said this class will be smaller. Resist the temptation to imagine the class will be much smaller. Whatever the scholarship distribution/forecast is right now there is a strong likelihood of attrition over the next 12 months, and estimated class numbers sometimes vary widely. The above is obviously only a rough, ballpark estimate, giving or taking a player at each position.
James Hudson's development over the next year is a variable that will shape the need/prioritization of both the offensive and defensive lines. If he is an offensive tackle then the need there becomes slightly less. If he is a defensive lineman then the OT need grows, the NT need remains, but the DE/DL need becomes much less.
Bryant Koback is penciled in as a running back but could theoretically be a safety, and Craig Yeast has emphasized to me that Russ Yeast could play DB, although there's no indication from my sources closer to UK that this will happen.
