** There is an obvious and unspoken theme down the stretch. I don't think anybody would say this publicly, but it's not about winning the public relations battle or building recruiting hype at this point. With the way this season has gone, Kentucky is going to be in "win now" mode going into next season. That doesn't mean anybody is punting on high school recruiting, but when you're thinking about allocating resources (NIL, scholarships, etc) the priority is obviously going to be the transfer portal. So if you're wondering about how remaining spots are going to be used, let that heavily influence your thinking.
** Their late splash was what we expected. We told you to watch out for Jayden Clark, Dyllon Williams, and Mikkel Skinner. They landed all of those players. We told you that Montavin Quisenberry was going to be a borderline guy for them. It's not surprising that he was a take especially given the way things played out with Ja'kayden Ferguson, perhaps had an inkling it might have been difficult to hold onto him given the way the dynamics of that recruitment were shaping up. The other guy they had really locked onto as a top target was Chaz Coleman, but there was no prediction because the recruitment hadn't narrowed down that much and going in the Penn State visit did loom large.
** The good thing is, the NIL era gives you the opportunity to counteract negative on-field momentum. But the other factor at work is how that NIL has to be allocated for the win-now reality.
** Keeping Martels Carter on board is obviously a big priority with Auburn, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, and others showing interest down the stretch. But remember this is a guy who picked up an offer from Ole Miss during the season and did not seem to waver. When you see what people covering other teams are saying about this guy it reads like they're shooting their shot but I haven't seen anything that would be overly concerning based on the present trajectory.
** 4-star defensive lineman Christian Ingram is officially visiting South Carolina this weekend and he also has Vanderbilt. He told us recently that Chris Collins and Anwar Stewart had their visit with him. The way he talks about Anwar Stewart makes it seem like that is definitely one of his strongest player/coach relationships. However, Kentucky seemed to make a splash and the list was shaken up out of nowhere going into his official visits down the stretch so that makes me wonder about the factor(s) that are really driving the recruitment. That is why you might be a little more concerned about trying to predict how things are going to finish there. He would obviously be a big addition for the defensive line, and I think their front seven talent in this class is one of the better hauls they've had in a while in terms of projecting upside down the road.
** As I mentioned, QB commit Stone Saunders seems to be in a position of holding pat but monitoring the situation. Obviously nobody is thrilled about how the offense looked this year and there are a lot of questions about the future. What UK has to be telling its offensive recruits is that they're going to slam the portal in the offseason and the look of the roster will be very different, so a lot of player replacement. I think that will be the message more so than continuity, even.
** At running back the task is still keeping Marquise Davis on board from the HS level. Beyond that, high school is not the priority. When looking at next year's roster I think you can realistically hope that Jamarion Wilcox is a RB1 type of guy after another year in the program but the snap count still makes you wonder. DSK is someone who would still be able to play a lot. Chip, I just don't think you can project what kind of role he is going to play or how much he can provide until he does it. So in order to not go into the situation with the questions they had this year, it seems obvious they would make this a priority in the portal.
** Ole Miss cornerback commit Maison Dunn landed a written offer from Kentucky when those could go out but if something has materialized there it is behind the scenes, I have not heard of anything imminent there. Many other schools were interested.
** UK brought in Bell Buckle (Tenn.) The Webb School OL Jason Ekperuoh for an official visit earlier this year. That's one they wanted to keep quiet. Massive kid but I don't think he checks enough of the boxes. There was serious interest there for a time.
** QB Matt Ponatoski is one of the signal caller targets Bush Hamdan has locked onto for next year. He hasn't had a chance to put much of his own stamp on the quarterback room with the exception of Brennen Ward, and even he was targeted before Hamdan was on the staff. In this day and age that's a long time for a coach not to make a HS/portal impact but we'll see what happens with the QB depth chart in the offseason. I think that's very much up in the air with regard to every player they have. There's another theme. This year, while UK has the resources and ability to make another impact in the portal, I think you have some guys who will seriously think about what happened with the offense this year and they are probably less sure of who is going to stick around.
** Otherwise, when you look at how many commitments they have from guys at each position it's not as though there is a great need or glaring holes. I think they would have liked to add another EDGE to pair with Cedric Works, but that was just as much about how they felt about Coleman. Of course, we also have the rumors/reports of Brad White being looked at strongly this offseason. So there is just a lot more uncertainty all around and the potential for things to really be thrown into flux. That said, the class has remained relatively solid and stable (maybe the impact of the NIL era?) in spite of the losses on the field.
** NC State WR commit Jamar Browder took an official visit to Kentucky during the season and I think if Michigan was not in the picture then the Wildcats would have a good shot at a flip but he picked UM earlier this month. Similarly, UK was making a push for WR Malachi Toney and locked in an official visit but he committed to Miami quickly thereafter.
** Everybody thought four-star Rivals250 WR De'Jerrian Miller was going to have made his college decision by now. The fact that it has dragged on so long is probably attributable to several factors. Tennessee was very strong for him but they don't have any more room. For the last little while Kentucky and UCLA have been arguably in the best position, but he may have been holding out to see what else could be available. Miller and Ingram are probably the two best chances they have at making a splash down the stretch run but I don't know how either of those situations are going to play out with certainty, just that UK was probably the favorite for Ingram after his official to Lexington (with the caveat that everyone expected it would still be a dogfight afterward unless he committed) and Miller is someone we've heard good chatter about since the summer.
** Their late splash was what we expected. We told you to watch out for Jayden Clark, Dyllon Williams, and Mikkel Skinner. They landed all of those players. We told you that Montavin Quisenberry was going to be a borderline guy for them. It's not surprising that he was a take especially given the way things played out with Ja'kayden Ferguson, perhaps had an inkling it might have been difficult to hold onto him given the way the dynamics of that recruitment were shaping up. The other guy they had really locked onto as a top target was Chaz Coleman, but there was no prediction because the recruitment hadn't narrowed down that much and going in the Penn State visit did loom large.
** The good thing is, the NIL era gives you the opportunity to counteract negative on-field momentum. But the other factor at work is how that NIL has to be allocated for the win-now reality.
** Keeping Martels Carter on board is obviously a big priority with Auburn, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, and others showing interest down the stretch. But remember this is a guy who picked up an offer from Ole Miss during the season and did not seem to waver. When you see what people covering other teams are saying about this guy it reads like they're shooting their shot but I haven't seen anything that would be overly concerning based on the present trajectory.
** 4-star defensive lineman Christian Ingram is officially visiting South Carolina this weekend and he also has Vanderbilt. He told us recently that Chris Collins and Anwar Stewart had their visit with him. The way he talks about Anwar Stewart makes it seem like that is definitely one of his strongest player/coach relationships. However, Kentucky seemed to make a splash and the list was shaken up out of nowhere going into his official visits down the stretch so that makes me wonder about the factor(s) that are really driving the recruitment. That is why you might be a little more concerned about trying to predict how things are going to finish there. He would obviously be a big addition for the defensive line, and I think their front seven talent in this class is one of the better hauls they've had in a while in terms of projecting upside down the road.
** As I mentioned, QB commit Stone Saunders seems to be in a position of holding pat but monitoring the situation. Obviously nobody is thrilled about how the offense looked this year and there are a lot of questions about the future. What UK has to be telling its offensive recruits is that they're going to slam the portal in the offseason and the look of the roster will be very different, so a lot of player replacement. I think that will be the message more so than continuity, even.
** At running back the task is still keeping Marquise Davis on board from the HS level. Beyond that, high school is not the priority. When looking at next year's roster I think you can realistically hope that Jamarion Wilcox is a RB1 type of guy after another year in the program but the snap count still makes you wonder. DSK is someone who would still be able to play a lot. Chip, I just don't think you can project what kind of role he is going to play or how much he can provide until he does it. So in order to not go into the situation with the questions they had this year, it seems obvious they would make this a priority in the portal.
** Ole Miss cornerback commit Maison Dunn landed a written offer from Kentucky when those could go out but if something has materialized there it is behind the scenes, I have not heard of anything imminent there. Many other schools were interested.
** UK brought in Bell Buckle (Tenn.) The Webb School OL Jason Ekperuoh for an official visit earlier this year. That's one they wanted to keep quiet. Massive kid but I don't think he checks enough of the boxes. There was serious interest there for a time.
** QB Matt Ponatoski is one of the signal caller targets Bush Hamdan has locked onto for next year. He hasn't had a chance to put much of his own stamp on the quarterback room with the exception of Brennen Ward, and even he was targeted before Hamdan was on the staff. In this day and age that's a long time for a coach not to make a HS/portal impact but we'll see what happens with the QB depth chart in the offseason. I think that's very much up in the air with regard to every player they have. There's another theme. This year, while UK has the resources and ability to make another impact in the portal, I think you have some guys who will seriously think about what happened with the offense this year and they are probably less sure of who is going to stick around.
** Otherwise, when you look at how many commitments they have from guys at each position it's not as though there is a great need or glaring holes. I think they would have liked to add another EDGE to pair with Cedric Works, but that was just as much about how they felt about Coleman. Of course, we also have the rumors/reports of Brad White being looked at strongly this offseason. So there is just a lot more uncertainty all around and the potential for things to really be thrown into flux. That said, the class has remained relatively solid and stable (maybe the impact of the NIL era?) in spite of the losses on the field.
** NC State WR commit Jamar Browder took an official visit to Kentucky during the season and I think if Michigan was not in the picture then the Wildcats would have a good shot at a flip but he picked UM earlier this month. Similarly, UK was making a push for WR Malachi Toney and locked in an official visit but he committed to Miami quickly thereafter.
** Everybody thought four-star Rivals250 WR De'Jerrian Miller was going to have made his college decision by now. The fact that it has dragged on so long is probably attributable to several factors. Tennessee was very strong for him but they don't have any more room. For the last little while Kentucky and UCLA have been arguably in the best position, but he may have been holding out to see what else could be available. Miller and Ingram are probably the two best chances they have at making a splash down the stretch run but I don't know how either of those situations are going to play out with certainty, just that UK was probably the favorite for Ingram after his official to Lexington (with the caveat that everyone expected it would still be a dogfight afterward unless he committed) and Miller is someone we've heard good chatter about since the summer.
