We've been worried about the quality of in-state talent for a long time. This won't change anything.
UK had a better running back committed from Cleveland up until the week before Signing Day, and they will continue to go after comparable and better running backs from Ohio and other places. The portal is going to be the best place to target running backs now anyway because few players actually stick around long enough to develop after enrolling as a freshman anyway.
We probably would have spent 2+ years developing him, and then he would have transferred to WKU. Time will tell, but not looking like a huge loss despite the #1 player in Kentucky title. It doesn't matter when the talent for the rest of the class isn't SEC-caliber anyway.
Here is the reality. Evan Hampton is not the #1 instate hs player by a long shot. Someone or some website may say otherwise, but that doesn't make it true. All kinds of people say all kinds of things, especially on the internet. You are right, UK's coaches offered Hampton but the offer was not committable when Hampton was ready. UK needs more RBs, but Coach Boulware was not interested in Hampton.
It is very hard to argue against Jarvis Strickland being the most important instate college football prospect this year, but this year is not a great instate class.
Some fans are fixated on instate prospects. This is not difficult to understand. But it is unusual for a player from our state to become an SEC starter. Take note - I am not saying it doesn't ever happen. It happens, but ask yourselves how Kentucky compares to other states in producing viable SEC players. The math is undeniable. We can debate the reasons, but one reason is clearly that the level of instate hs football competition is not as high as you find in neighboring states. It just isn't. When Mark Stoops said he would control instate recruiting, he was clearly referring to legitimate SEC prospects like Landon Young, Drake Jackson, and Willie Rodriguez. Ask yourselves how many football players from Kentucky have become legitimate SEC players ANYWHERE while Stoops has been here. Yes, some have, but the math is the math. It says what it says. This is why Stoops and Marrow recruit heavily in OH, MI, NJ, PA, MO, TN, GA, FL, and AL.
I do not necessarily buy the narrative of the portal being a more important source of college football players than recruiting hs prospects. Here is how I see it. Each college football program has a roster of 85 players, and that number will probably increase to 105 soon if Senator Tuberville and the Congress have their way. Only 22 can start, and maybe another 15-20 see the field regularly for each team. That means most of the team doesn't play. Out of the group that doesn't play, some are successfully developed for future seasons. Others leave or just sit until invited to find another school. Occasionally a successful player leaves. But the important point is that each player is different, and each thinks differently. Some are bigger than others. Some are smart; others just aren't. Some take to campus life; others are not adaptable. Some do what their coaches want; others don't. So some fit in the program while others need a fresh start. Most of our key players get developed within the program. In that way, 2025 may turn out to be an outlier year for UK. But that is a consequence of the implosion in 2024, which caused an exodus. It isn't good when most of your consequential players are only here for a year or two. The reasons are obvious. To build a foundation, we have to recruit and develop hs players successfully. If some of them leave, that is because others became better fits and took the jobs. The portal works best for plugging leaks on the roster. JMO, but that's how it looks.
