Several players Kentucky has a great chance of landing based on circumstances at the moment...
TE Willie Rodriguez - The fact that Cutter Boley is now on board and recruiting him is a very good sign. Rodriguez officially visits the same weekend that Boley, Aba Selm, and Hayes Johnson are going to be on campus. I think you can make a case those are the four best prospects in the Commonwealth for the '24 class simply because of the Power Five offers each of those players have received. Said early on I believe Kentucky would take both Rodriguez and Damarion Witten. I feel slightly better about their chances with Rodriguez than Witten because of the Ohio State factor with the latter as well as the fact that he has frequently mentioned a lot of really big name programs, which leads you to wonder if he might bite at an opportunity. However, good chance with both ... just feels like things are trending UK's way with Rodriguez.
WR Cameron Monteiro - Seems like a guy Liam Coen and Scott Woodward have locked onto as a top target in New England. He visited in the spring and will return for an official in the summer. Monteiro has spoken to us about the allure of playing in the SEC. He seems like something of a natural. Multisport player, able to thrive wherever his coaches put him on the field. He will officially visit Virginia on 6/2 and his strong academic profile could mean the Cavaliers are interesting competition but coupling the SEC opportunity with the Coen/Woodward connection I believe Kentucky has the best shot.
WR Emmanuel Ross - Similar situation when compared to Monteiro. Northeast guy who seems enamored with the current iteration of the coaching staff in Lexington and the allure of playing in the SEC. Once again, a versatile player who can thrive at multiple positions on the field in high school. His scheduled officials are to Stanford (6/2), Kentucky (6/9), and Illinois (6/23). I am probably more confident on Monteiro than Ross at this moment because Stanford can be an interesting X-Factor in recruiting, almost like Notre Dame as a national "destination" brand for some players. But I do think Kentucky has a very good shot.
OT Jack Hines - The Northeast theme continues. Kentucky needs tackles and one of their top priorities has become Jack Hines from Connecticut. His planned official visits are to Wake Forest (6/2), Rutgers (6/9), and Kentucky (6/16). No knock on those other schools because Wake is a good school and a solid program and Rutgers has some clout with Schiano. Boston College is working on trying to get him up as well. Because of the need at offensive tackle and the SEC opportunity, Hines seems like a strong candidate to be a part of this class.
DL Dominic Kirks - Kirks has scheduled official visits to Pitt (6/2), Kentucky (6/9) and Washington (6/16) and loves the idea of playing in the SEC. This is someone Vince Marrow has reached out to a lot and we've heard Kentucky is a very strong player here.
CB Cameron Keys - The Florida cornerback has been on Kentucky's radar for quite some time now and he has scheduled official visits to Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Missouri for June. Seems like a guy they should stand a good chance of locking down because of their work with defensive backs in recent years under Stoops.
Keep in mind, there are many other players I'd put Kentucky in the top tier for and they will land many of those players. Just some of those I feel most strongly about their chances with based on a variety of factors. Would tentatively say that Kentucky may be the favorite for each of those players going into the all-important official visit month of June. Keys' four favorites are Mississippi State, Kentucky, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.
One thing I'd say about the Northeast inroads which seem to be forming ... While Kentucky's location has often been perceived as a negative because of the relative lack of local recruiting talent, it's a very interesting strategy to go into non-SEC areas and compete against non-SEC Power Five programs where the SEC brand is very strong. There are good players who can succeed in the SEC in those places and Kentucky is more centrally located to make a viable pitch to a lot of those guys than are some other SEC schools. Definitely seems like the Northeast is a big priority area right now and that's on both sides of the ball. Shouldn't be too surprising because both coordinators are from that area.
One other factor here is Michigan. The Wolverines have been recruiting so many of the guys we have mentioned and they are still in the mix with guys like LB Brian Robinson and DL Dominic Nichols just to name a couple.
TE Willie Rodriguez - The fact that Cutter Boley is now on board and recruiting him is a very good sign. Rodriguez officially visits the same weekend that Boley, Aba Selm, and Hayes Johnson are going to be on campus. I think you can make a case those are the four best prospects in the Commonwealth for the '24 class simply because of the Power Five offers each of those players have received. Said early on I believe Kentucky would take both Rodriguez and Damarion Witten. I feel slightly better about their chances with Rodriguez than Witten because of the Ohio State factor with the latter as well as the fact that he has frequently mentioned a lot of really big name programs, which leads you to wonder if he might bite at an opportunity. However, good chance with both ... just feels like things are trending UK's way with Rodriguez.
WR Cameron Monteiro - Seems like a guy Liam Coen and Scott Woodward have locked onto as a top target in New England. He visited in the spring and will return for an official in the summer. Monteiro has spoken to us about the allure of playing in the SEC. He seems like something of a natural. Multisport player, able to thrive wherever his coaches put him on the field. He will officially visit Virginia on 6/2 and his strong academic profile could mean the Cavaliers are interesting competition but coupling the SEC opportunity with the Coen/Woodward connection I believe Kentucky has the best shot.
WR Emmanuel Ross - Similar situation when compared to Monteiro. Northeast guy who seems enamored with the current iteration of the coaching staff in Lexington and the allure of playing in the SEC. Once again, a versatile player who can thrive at multiple positions on the field in high school. His scheduled officials are to Stanford (6/2), Kentucky (6/9), and Illinois (6/23). I am probably more confident on Monteiro than Ross at this moment because Stanford can be an interesting X-Factor in recruiting, almost like Notre Dame as a national "destination" brand for some players. But I do think Kentucky has a very good shot.
OT Jack Hines - The Northeast theme continues. Kentucky needs tackles and one of their top priorities has become Jack Hines from Connecticut. His planned official visits are to Wake Forest (6/2), Rutgers (6/9), and Kentucky (6/16). No knock on those other schools because Wake is a good school and a solid program and Rutgers has some clout with Schiano. Boston College is working on trying to get him up as well. Because of the need at offensive tackle and the SEC opportunity, Hines seems like a strong candidate to be a part of this class.
DL Dominic Kirks - Kirks has scheduled official visits to Pitt (6/2), Kentucky (6/9) and Washington (6/16) and loves the idea of playing in the SEC. This is someone Vince Marrow has reached out to a lot and we've heard Kentucky is a very strong player here.
CB Cameron Keys - The Florida cornerback has been on Kentucky's radar for quite some time now and he has scheduled official visits to Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Missouri for June. Seems like a guy they should stand a good chance of locking down because of their work with defensive backs in recent years under Stoops.
Keep in mind, there are many other players I'd put Kentucky in the top tier for and they will land many of those players. Just some of those I feel most strongly about their chances with based on a variety of factors. Would tentatively say that Kentucky may be the favorite for each of those players going into the all-important official visit month of June. Keys' four favorites are Mississippi State, Kentucky, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.
One thing I'd say about the Northeast inroads which seem to be forming ... While Kentucky's location has often been perceived as a negative because of the relative lack of local recruiting talent, it's a very interesting strategy to go into non-SEC areas and compete against non-SEC Power Five programs where the SEC brand is very strong. There are good players who can succeed in the SEC in those places and Kentucky is more centrally located to make a viable pitch to a lot of those guys than are some other SEC schools. Definitely seems like the Northeast is a big priority area right now and that's on both sides of the ball. Shouldn't be too surprising because both coordinators are from that area.
One other factor here is Michigan. The Wolverines have been recruiting so many of the guys we have mentioned and they are still in the mix with guys like LB Brian Robinson and DL Dominic Nichols just to name a couple.
