For the last year the overriding sentiment of those close to the program has been to downplay junior college recruiting, or at the very least to have a realist's mentality on the viability of it moving forward. It's always a difficult process because it's very different than high school recruiting. You can only rely on it so much and generally you're getting players that are only going to provide depth, and at best you can hope for one contributing year and one year of major contributions after that. Generally you have to prefer to go the high school route.
But Kentucky has actually had some very real JUCO successes over the years -- receivers come to mind, and more recently on defense with Za'Darius, Stamps and Melvin Lewis, and to a lesser extent, C.J. Johnson and Ryan Flannigan.
Late last year we learned that UK did dip into the JUCO pool with Alvonte Bell and Courtney Miggins. Those guys were not extremely well regarded as recruits but we have learned that Mark Stoops thinks very highly of them.
Now, increasingly, Kentucky is looking to make a JUCO splash -- and the early names and offers suggest that the defensive line is where they will primarily look for help in '16. They've already accepted a commitment from 6-foot-5 standout JUCO receiver Kayaune Ross.
The other main names:
DT Alexis Johnson (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) are all part of Fort Scott C.C.'s defensive line.
Kentucky was the first school to offer the two tackles, Aime and Johnson. Both have outstanding size. Baylor and Akron have offered Crump, a much smaller edge rusher. Auburn is showing interest in Johnson and Aime has heard that Arizona State's interested.
Crump and Johnson combined for 29 tackles for loss last year. Don't read too much into JUCO stats because the playing rotations, etc., change and are a lot more fluid than high schools. Jimmy Brumbaugh hasn't had a lot of contact with these guys directly but UK has been in touch with the Fort Scott C.C. staff.
Then over at Pearl River C.C., the school that is sending Bell and Miggins to UK, there's defensive end/tackle Noah Jones, who knows both players well. Just as Derrick Ansley likes players that can line up anywhere in the secondary, UK likes guys with that 'tweener end/tackle size and the strength and quickness to line up at different spots. That's Jones.
Kentucky has also offered or shown real interest in WR Taj Williams and OT Malcolm Pridgeon, but I think less is likely to come of that.
But Kentucky has actually had some very real JUCO successes over the years -- receivers come to mind, and more recently on defense with Za'Darius, Stamps and Melvin Lewis, and to a lesser extent, C.J. Johnson and Ryan Flannigan.
Late last year we learned that UK did dip into the JUCO pool with Alvonte Bell and Courtney Miggins. Those guys were not extremely well regarded as recruits but we have learned that Mark Stoops thinks very highly of them.
Now, increasingly, Kentucky is looking to make a JUCO splash -- and the early names and offers suggest that the defensive line is where they will primarily look for help in '16. They've already accepted a commitment from 6-foot-5 standout JUCO receiver Kayaune Ross.
The other main names:
DT Alexis Johnson (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) are all part of Fort Scott C.C.'s defensive line.
Kentucky was the first school to offer the two tackles, Aime and Johnson. Both have outstanding size. Baylor and Akron have offered Crump, a much smaller edge rusher. Auburn is showing interest in Johnson and Aime has heard that Arizona State's interested.
Crump and Johnson combined for 29 tackles for loss last year. Don't read too much into JUCO stats because the playing rotations, etc., change and are a lot more fluid than high schools. Jimmy Brumbaugh hasn't had a lot of contact with these guys directly but UK has been in touch with the Fort Scott C.C. staff.
Then over at Pearl River C.C., the school that is sending Bell and Miggins to UK, there's defensive end/tackle Noah Jones, who knows both players well. Just as Derrick Ansley likes players that can line up anywhere in the secondary, UK likes guys with that 'tweener end/tackle size and the strength and quickness to line up at different spots. That's Jones.
Kentucky has also offered or shown real interest in WR Taj Williams and OT Malcolm Pridgeon, but I think less is likely to come of that.
