JUCO rankings and reality under Stoops
Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst
The third year of the Mark Stoops' era is upon us and we're starting to get an idea of which players are living up to their rankings as recruits.
Much more will be revealed on the field but just based on what's been said and what's transpired on the field thus far there are already some conclusions to draw.
Junior college transfers have been a part of the Stoops era and here we're taking a closer look at whether they have lived up to the hype.
Junior college transfers and the rankings
Za'Darius Smith and C.J. Johnson were the most heralded of Kentucky's JUCO transfers thus far.
John Sommers II/Getty Images Sport
C.J. Johnson still has a year to make an impact at Kentucky.
Both were four-star prospects. Smith, who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year, certainly lived up to the hype. Johnson has this fall to prove himself. Last year he made some modest contributions but will need to make a big step up this year to justify the four-star ranking he had coming out of ASA College in New York.
A.J. Stamps was but a three-star safety recruit and a low three star at that. In that context he probably exceeded expectations in his first year last fall. Ryan Flannigan was a solid three-star coming to Lexington from Blinn C.C. in Texas and he was thrust into action right away. He had some ups and downs but his production was right in line with what one would expect given his ranking and the hype surrounding him.
Steven Borden's eligibility is exhausted and though he saw the field quite a bit his production was not too significant. Then again, he was just a two-star prospect coming out of Kilgore J.C. in Texas, so that's not a big surprise. Nate Willis was rated higher than Borden but saw ups and downs. Some of that was due to a late arrival his first year. His eligibility is up, too.
Javess Blue, another JUCO transfer from the 2013 class, produced at a higher level than Borden or Willis when he played, but was still not consistent in his production.
JUCO transfers are thought to valuable insofar as they provide immediate depth and patch holes. Players like Smith are the exception. It's tough to expect a junior college transfer, even a heralded one, to come right in and produce at a high clip.
The first year in a program for a JUCO is generally one of transition. The second is when they have to put everything together. That's a lot to ask of a player in such a short period of time. The transition might not be as difficult from JUCO to the SEC as from high school to the SEC, but it's a big transition nonetheless. And while much is made of a JUCO transfer having "three to play two," meaning they have a redshirt year available, rarely do JUCO players use that redshirt. They were recruited to sit and wait.
On the whole one can conclude that UK's junior college transfers have produced at about the expected rate. Smith lived up to and exceeded his billing. Stamps has exceeded expectations. Blue matched them. Flannigan and Johnson have a chance to finish their stories this year. Willis might not have quite lived up to as he was rated and advertised, and Borden's expectations were modest, and that matched his production in hindsight.
Kentucky has two JUCO committed in the Class of 2016 and one is receiver Kayaune Ross. He will have two years of on-field eligibility upon arrival in Lexington. That he anticipates an early arrival in January will help his chances at a smooth transition and early playing time. But he will also be joining a receiver corps that won't exactly be hurting by that time and he will have to scratch and claw to earn playing time.
Tate Leavitt will arrive in Lexington as the Wildcats' highest-rated JUCO transfer of the Stoops era as well as -- in all likelihood -- the top-rated commitment in the 2016 class. Expectations will be very high and it's tough to imagine him not being the starter at tackle for two-straight years.
Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst
The third year of the Mark Stoops' era is upon us and we're starting to get an idea of which players are living up to their rankings as recruits.
Much more will be revealed on the field but just based on what's been said and what's transpired on the field thus far there are already some conclusions to draw.
Junior college transfers have been a part of the Stoops era and here we're taking a closer look at whether they have lived up to the hype.
Junior college transfers and the rankings
Za'Darius Smith and C.J. Johnson were the most heralded of Kentucky's JUCO transfers thus far.
John Sommers II/Getty Images Sport
C.J. Johnson still has a year to make an impact at Kentucky.
Both were four-star prospects. Smith, who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year, certainly lived up to the hype. Johnson has this fall to prove himself. Last year he made some modest contributions but will need to make a big step up this year to justify the four-star ranking he had coming out of ASA College in New York.
A.J. Stamps was but a three-star safety recruit and a low three star at that. In that context he probably exceeded expectations in his first year last fall. Ryan Flannigan was a solid three-star coming to Lexington from Blinn C.C. in Texas and he was thrust into action right away. He had some ups and downs but his production was right in line with what one would expect given his ranking and the hype surrounding him.
Steven Borden's eligibility is exhausted and though he saw the field quite a bit his production was not too significant. Then again, he was just a two-star prospect coming out of Kilgore J.C. in Texas, so that's not a big surprise. Nate Willis was rated higher than Borden but saw ups and downs. Some of that was due to a late arrival his first year. His eligibility is up, too.
Javess Blue, another JUCO transfer from the 2013 class, produced at a higher level than Borden or Willis when he played, but was still not consistent in his production.
JUCO transfers are thought to valuable insofar as they provide immediate depth and patch holes. Players like Smith are the exception. It's tough to expect a junior college transfer, even a heralded one, to come right in and produce at a high clip.
The first year in a program for a JUCO is generally one of transition. The second is when they have to put everything together. That's a lot to ask of a player in such a short period of time. The transition might not be as difficult from JUCO to the SEC as from high school to the SEC, but it's a big transition nonetheless. And while much is made of a JUCO transfer having "three to play two," meaning they have a redshirt year available, rarely do JUCO players use that redshirt. They were recruited to sit and wait.
On the whole one can conclude that UK's junior college transfers have produced at about the expected rate. Smith lived up to and exceeded his billing. Stamps has exceeded expectations. Blue matched them. Flannigan and Johnson have a chance to finish their stories this year. Willis might not have quite lived up to as he was rated and advertised, and Borden's expectations were modest, and that matched his production in hindsight.
Kentucky has two JUCO committed in the Class of 2016 and one is receiver Kayaune Ross. He will have two years of on-field eligibility upon arrival in Lexington. That he anticipates an early arrival in January will help his chances at a smooth transition and early playing time. But he will also be joining a receiver corps that won't exactly be hurting by that time and he will have to scratch and claw to earn playing time.
Tate Leavitt will arrive in Lexington as the Wildcats' highest-rated JUCO transfer of the Stoops era as well as -- in all likelihood -- the top-rated commitment in the 2016 class. Expectations will be very high and it's tough to imagine him not being the starter at tackle for two-straight years.
