Kentucky line commits open up
Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst
Kentucky's four offensive line commitments participated in a group conversation with Cats Illustrated and they opened up on a few pertinent topics.
It's likely to go down as the best class of offensive linemen in school history, and it might not be that close. Tate Martell, Drake Jackson, Landon Young and Luke Fortner will shoulder enormous expectations when they make their way to Lexington.
Landon Young has impressed his future teammates with his mix of size and athleticism.
Jackson and Young are Rivals250 recruits that picked up offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn and Ohio State over the course of their recruitments. They're both solid with Kentucky. Over the course of Leavitt's recruitment he picked up offers from Alabama, Auburn and Oklahoma, among others, and he picked Kentucky over the weekend.
Fortner is a standout student, can play every position on the offensive line, and is a player the UK coaches are very familiar with, having worked with him on multiple occasions.
The quartet of line commitments had a chance to interact with one another and with Cats Illustrated as we facilitated the discussion, touching on a range of topics that have come up within the world of Kentucky football.
Cats Illustrated: This question's for everyone. The story of this class is the offensive line. Just how good can the future up front be?
Tate Leavitt: In my opinion, based off talent alone, one of the best in the country. But playing offensive line we all know a lot more goes into it than just talent.
Landon Young: Tate couldn't have said it any better. We could be one of the best (based) off talent but it's how we develop our talent in college.
Drake Jackson: And we trust the coaches to develop our talent. We know that the strength and conditioning staff is one of the best in the country. I know I trust Coach (John) Schlarman. I've seen the way he coaches. I know he can get me to be the best I can be.
Luke Fortner: It's definitely great talent that could be well developed with the coaching staff at UK.
Cats Illustrated: Tate's obviously going to have to play right away but it usually takes offensive linemen a couple of years to hit their stride. What year do you think it will be when this class hits its stride. The offensive linemen, we mean.
Tate Leavitt is Kentucky's most recent offensive line commitment.
Drake Jackson: I can see Tate starting right away. I think me, Landon and Luke will for sure be on the field going into our third year at the latest. I think that we will have opportunities to be on the field sooner, too.
Landon Young: Yes, I believe we can be on the field sooner. But it just depends on how hard we want the position.
Cats Illustrated: Not a lot of fans know John Schlarman personally on the same level that you all do. What kind of a man is he and what kind of a coach is he?
Drake Jackson: He's a player's coach but he'll hold you accountable and push you. His personality is the best. Always positive and the nicest guy ever. I'd go out there and do anything for him.
Luke Fortner: He's a great man who cares a lot about his players. I look forward to playing for him.
Tate Leavitt: I'll add to what Luke said. It's not very often you find such a personable guy that coaches the offensive line and cares for his players like he does.
Cats Illustrated: He's not part of this recruiting class but Marcelys Jones will be eligible to start playing when you guys come in and he's got a lot of hype, too. Have you gotten to know him and what's your impression based on his personality and what you've heard about him from others?
Tate Leavitt: I met him and got to be around him these last two days and he always seems to have a lot of good energy, and he has the same vision for his program as everyone else I've talked to.
Landon Young: I have met him and he is a real nice, helpful guy.
Drake Jackson: He worked with me a little bit at the camp Saturday. He's really energetic. Huge get for us. He can be a stud.
Cats Illustrated: You all may not have seen all of the others play, but based on what you've seen and what you've heard, talk about your impressions of all the others. Start with Tate Leavitt.
Drake Jackson's feel for the game has made an impression on his future o-line teammates.
Landon Young: He is a big guy with some maturity and experience on the field already. Coaches will keep developing him and he worked hard to get where he is already. He will be a stud.
Luke Fortner: Just from a day with him I can already see why he's going to be so good. He's a big, honest dude who knows what he's doing.
Drake Jackson: There is a reason Tate will play right away. He has college experience, so you're more sure of what you're getting. He's a big boy, too. He has a very athletic body. SEC lineman. There's a reason so many big schools offered Tate.
Cats Illustrated: What about your thoughts on Luke Fortner and what he brings?
Landon Young: I saw him at camp and he worked his butt off. He is a hard-working, determined kid.
Drake Jackson: Luke is a lot bigger than I thought. Saturday and Sunday was really the first time we got to hang out. He's about 6-4 or 6-5. Luke is actually very strong and athletic. He's proportioned well, too. He added weight the right way. The best thing is that he is coachable.
Tate Leavitt: What really impressed me about him was how he is so versatile and could honestly play all three positions and was impressive in what I saw.
Cats Illustrated: What are your thoughts on Landon Young?
Drake Jackson: Landon's potential is through the roof. A very solid 6-7, 300 pounds. He is such a great athletic for his size. For any size, really. Landon is coachable and wants to get better, and that's huge. And Landon will be as good as he wants to be.
Luke Fortner: Landon is going to be a great tackle because of how athletic he is while still being a big kid.
Tate Leavitt: Just off what I saw in some NFTC clips of him I was impressed with his footwork and he's light years ahead of me in terms of his pass set. He also has worked hard in the weight room to put the right weight on in a short amount of time.
Cats Illustrated: Same question about Drake. Your thoughts on him?
Luke Fortner: The first time I saw Drake play was this weekend and it's clear as to why he's ranked so high at center.
Landon Young: Drake is a great, coachable guy. He is awesome at playing and has a sense for the game. He works his butt off every day and it pays off. He deserves his high ranking and he continues to prove it every time I see him. He knows the game up and down and has already started to develop into a true SEC lineman.
Tate Leavitt: He seems to be ahead of many players in terms of his understanding of the game. He has worked in the weight room the right way to put up some good numbers and people need to stop counting him out because of his height because the kid can flat out play.
Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst
Kentucky's four offensive line commitments participated in a group conversation with Cats Illustrated and they opened up on a few pertinent topics.
It's likely to go down as the best class of offensive linemen in school history, and it might not be that close. Tate Martell, Drake Jackson, Landon Young and Luke Fortner will shoulder enormous expectations when they make their way to Lexington.
Landon Young has impressed his future teammates with his mix of size and athleticism.
Jackson and Young are Rivals250 recruits that picked up offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn and Ohio State over the course of their recruitments. They're both solid with Kentucky. Over the course of Leavitt's recruitment he picked up offers from Alabama, Auburn and Oklahoma, among others, and he picked Kentucky over the weekend.
Fortner is a standout student, can play every position on the offensive line, and is a player the UK coaches are very familiar with, having worked with him on multiple occasions.
The quartet of line commitments had a chance to interact with one another and with Cats Illustrated as we facilitated the discussion, touching on a range of topics that have come up within the world of Kentucky football.
Cats Illustrated: This question's for everyone. The story of this class is the offensive line. Just how good can the future up front be?
Tate Leavitt: In my opinion, based off talent alone, one of the best in the country. But playing offensive line we all know a lot more goes into it than just talent.
Landon Young: Tate couldn't have said it any better. We could be one of the best (based) off talent but it's how we develop our talent in college.
Drake Jackson: And we trust the coaches to develop our talent. We know that the strength and conditioning staff is one of the best in the country. I know I trust Coach (John) Schlarman. I've seen the way he coaches. I know he can get me to be the best I can be.
Luke Fortner: It's definitely great talent that could be well developed with the coaching staff at UK.
Cats Illustrated: Tate's obviously going to have to play right away but it usually takes offensive linemen a couple of years to hit their stride. What year do you think it will be when this class hits its stride. The offensive linemen, we mean.
Tate Leavitt is Kentucky's most recent offensive line commitment.
Drake Jackson: I can see Tate starting right away. I think me, Landon and Luke will for sure be on the field going into our third year at the latest. I think that we will have opportunities to be on the field sooner, too.
Landon Young: Yes, I believe we can be on the field sooner. But it just depends on how hard we want the position.
Cats Illustrated: Not a lot of fans know John Schlarman personally on the same level that you all do. What kind of a man is he and what kind of a coach is he?
Drake Jackson: He's a player's coach but he'll hold you accountable and push you. His personality is the best. Always positive and the nicest guy ever. I'd go out there and do anything for him.
Luke Fortner: He's a great man who cares a lot about his players. I look forward to playing for him.
Tate Leavitt: I'll add to what Luke said. It's not very often you find such a personable guy that coaches the offensive line and cares for his players like he does.
Cats Illustrated: He's not part of this recruiting class but Marcelys Jones will be eligible to start playing when you guys come in and he's got a lot of hype, too. Have you gotten to know him and what's your impression based on his personality and what you've heard about him from others?
Tate Leavitt: I met him and got to be around him these last two days and he always seems to have a lot of good energy, and he has the same vision for his program as everyone else I've talked to.
Landon Young: I have met him and he is a real nice, helpful guy.
Drake Jackson: He worked with me a little bit at the camp Saturday. He's really energetic. Huge get for us. He can be a stud.
Cats Illustrated: You all may not have seen all of the others play, but based on what you've seen and what you've heard, talk about your impressions of all the others. Start with Tate Leavitt.
Drake Jackson's feel for the game has made an impression on his future o-line teammates.
Landon Young: He is a big guy with some maturity and experience on the field already. Coaches will keep developing him and he worked hard to get where he is already. He will be a stud.
Luke Fortner: Just from a day with him I can already see why he's going to be so good. He's a big, honest dude who knows what he's doing.
Drake Jackson: There is a reason Tate will play right away. He has college experience, so you're more sure of what you're getting. He's a big boy, too. He has a very athletic body. SEC lineman. There's a reason so many big schools offered Tate.
Cats Illustrated: What about your thoughts on Luke Fortner and what he brings?
Landon Young: I saw him at camp and he worked his butt off. He is a hard-working, determined kid.
Drake Jackson: Luke is a lot bigger than I thought. Saturday and Sunday was really the first time we got to hang out. He's about 6-4 or 6-5. Luke is actually very strong and athletic. He's proportioned well, too. He added weight the right way. The best thing is that he is coachable.
Tate Leavitt: What really impressed me about him was how he is so versatile and could honestly play all three positions and was impressive in what I saw.
Cats Illustrated: What are your thoughts on Landon Young?
Drake Jackson: Landon's potential is through the roof. A very solid 6-7, 300 pounds. He is such a great athletic for his size. For any size, really. Landon is coachable and wants to get better, and that's huge. And Landon will be as good as he wants to be.
Luke Fortner: Landon is going to be a great tackle because of how athletic he is while still being a big kid.
Tate Leavitt: Just off what I saw in some NFTC clips of him I was impressed with his footwork and he's light years ahead of me in terms of his pass set. He also has worked hard in the weight room to put the right weight on in a short amount of time.
Cats Illustrated: Same question about Drake. Your thoughts on him?
Luke Fortner: The first time I saw Drake play was this weekend and it's clear as to why he's ranked so high at center.
Landon Young: Drake is a great, coachable guy. He is awesome at playing and has a sense for the game. He works his butt off every day and it pays off. He deserves his high ranking and he continues to prove it every time I see him. He knows the game up and down and has already started to develop into a true SEC lineman.
Tate Leavitt: He seems to be ahead of many players in terms of his understanding of the game. He has worked in the weight room the right way to put up some good numbers and people need to stop counting him out because of his height because the kid can flat out play.
