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State of 2022 Recruiting

RE Deston to QB, my hunch there is that's similar to the situation back when we recruited Randall Cobb, we wanted him as a receiver but he wanted a shot at QB, rather than just vetoing that, they let him try QB and he quickly found out for himself that his future was as a receiver (although he did get spot duty as QB on occasion). Let the player experience and decide for himself. I might be wrong and he might become a great QB but my money is he winds up as a receiver or safety and he has a bright future at either spot.

Agree. Well played by the staff to promise him a chance to compete for the job but nothing more. I See no issue with telling a kid he can compete there even knowing it's a near certainty he'll have to change positions. Who knows maybe he surprises and wins it
 
It's a rite of passage as a UK commit, isn't it? Freakin criminal, but if the kids don't care, I don't care. I hope UK guys continue to shove the star rankings down people's throats by going in the early rounds and playing in the league.
What counts is how well they play as Wildcats. Nothing else. Player rankings don't put points on the board. There are more than enough good examples to prove that star ratings don't help a player play better in college. The most prolific RB in UK history was Benny Snell. Our all time sack leader was Josh Allen. The best cover corner I have seen here was Trevard Lindley. All three were very lightly recruited. Some highly rated recruits have played well here, but others have not. All I am saying is that I trust our coaches because they have earned it, and I don't care what a website says about our recruits.
 
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His film does not match up with his offers and ranking. Kid has some juice to him. Catches everything and doesn't go down easy. I find it hard to believe there are 50 TE better than him.
His dad played TE at UM and went to play in the NFL for 6 years.
We have a new OC and a new offense, so it is a sure thing that TEs will be used differently in Coach Coen's offense. It has been reported that incoming transfer TreVon Morgan, once eligible, will see some duty as a pass receiving TE. Keaton Upshaw and Brenden Bates have multiple seasons of remaining eligibility. Jordan Dingle has a high ceiling. And by my count, there are still at least ten uncommitted 2022 TEs out there with UK offers. Not long ago, someone in the media with a UK connection speculated that Brody Foley of Cincinnati might be UK's TE target of most interest. I don't know if that is true or not, but it was reported. So given all of that, it is hard for me to guess which uncommitted 2022 TEs are takes at this point. A crystal ball pick does not necessarily have any bearing on that, but I don't know whether Josh Kattus is or isn't a take.
 
Where do you anticipate this class ending up?
Let's break it down. It's really too early, but let's give it a try.

The primary reason Mark Stoops has had success at UK has been the strength and athleticism of his lines. I believe Kiyaunta Goodwin will be the next UK commitment later this weekend. Goodwin holds offers from just about every significant program including almost all SEC schools. Goodwin and Grant Bingham are very high upside offensive linemen. UK's coaches are in on other good OL prospects, and I think this OL class will at least rival 2016 if not surpass it. OTOH, we don't have a DL commitment yet, and I'm not sure how that will end up although there are some outstanding DL prospects with interest in UK. Whether Brad White can add some athletic defensive linemen will go a long way toward determining the final strength of this class.

Our DB class is already very strong if we can hang onto Stewart and Caldwell.

Keaton Wade looks like the edge LB we have needed for some time. We need more LBs in the class, and there are some good uncommitted ones out there with an interest in UK.

I am not going to pass judgment on Destin Wade as an SEC QB prospect, but Coach Coen wouldn't have taken him if he didn't have talent.

We obviously need RBs and WRs in order to run a pro style offense, and there will be roster attrition at these positions after the fall season. So the ability of our coaches to address these needs in our 2022 class is very important, and an unanswered question so far.

Jackson Smith is a legacy and an interesting special teams prospect.

So it's way too early to guess how good this class will be, but it is certainly off to an excellent start.
 
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That isn't what well played means in that context.
I understood your context. Regardless of how you intended it to sound, every UK commitment gets the same promise. All of them have to earn their playing opportunities. It is important for everyone to understand this correctly, because some fans still don't believe it.
 
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Only 10 teams above us with a better average star ranking. I'm sure less than that without Berry in the mix.
Still way too early. No players have signed yet. They are all still free to decommit. So class ranking after seven verbal commitments has no correlation with the eventual impact of the class on the program. Even at the very end of the class, after they sign, I don't believe class rankings are nearly as important as which other programs seriously recruited the players we sign. Offer sheets reflect evaluations by coaching staffs, which tell us a lot more than rankings by websites. And even more important than that is the actual impact of the class on the program, which takes years to play out.
 
It is too early to really know. But just looking at who you might have a good shot at as of right now, I'd say (and this is going by 247 composite)...Goodwin and Key would give you five 4-stars. Then maybe Longmire gets bumped up and you get Afari and he's a high 3-star. Realistically, that could be seven 4-stars. Most years, that would put you in that top 20-25 range. This year, I don't think many schools will take a full class, so maybe just inside the top 20 if you don't take many mid or low 3-stars.
 
Nebraska currently. Mizzou hasn't offered him. Conley only has one OV scheduled so far and that is to Kentucky on June 11th. Buffano and Marrow have done a good job recruiting him.
Thanks. Those two would be a great combo to get for TE.
 
Starting to look like Josh Kattus and Quinton Conley will be the two TE's in this class.
I get to see Kattus and Foley up here in Cincinnati, Kattus is probably a little better blocker, whereas I believe Foley is a future NFL pass catcher with his athleticism and size. Both are really bright futures.
 
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Is Missouri our competition for Conley?
Mizzou's "hold" on their state's recruits and fanship might be a little less than most Southern States.

Since they joined the conference, I've met any number of folks from Mizzou who don't know who "The Tigers" are when I ask. Pro sports have more solidly taken the attention of Missouri folks than most Southern States.
 
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Expecting a commitment this weekend from Kiyaunta Goodwin. Along with Grant Bingham, Goodwin gives us a fantastic start for our next OL class. Which brings up the question, who else will sign to play on UK's future OL?

OL has been a big factor in Mark Stoops' success in building a "physical" football team. Darian Kinnard and Luke Fortner will be gone after 2021. UK's other OL starters will be on campus for 2-3 more seasons. We already have some good young offensive linemen backing them up, but this is an important OL class for the future.

By my count, UK has offered at least 35 scholarships to uncommitted 2022 offensive linemen, and several appear interested enough to visit once campus visits are permitted again by the NCAA this summer. Among those appearing most interested in UK so far-

Fisher Anderson, Franklin, TN
Ryan Baer, Eastlake, OH
Drew Bobo, Columbia, SC
Ka'Marii Landers, Dearborn, MI
Grayson Morgan, Nashville, TN
Daughtry Richardson, Miami, FL
Aamil Wagner, Dayton, OH
Desaun Williams, Colonial Heights, VA

It has also been reported by several commenters that UK might want Deone Walker (Detroit) as an OT. Walker is being recruited by Coach Clinkscale and holds offers from at least eight SEC schools, although some appear to want him as a defensive lineman.

It's early. I am not predicting which of these players will actually visit Lexington or end up in UK's class, because I don't know. I am not optimistic about Wagner or Walker at this point, but that is JMO. It is open to conjecture which players are or aren't currently takes for UK's staff. The broader and more important point is that Goodwin and Bingham are really good prospects, and they are likely to be joined in UK's class by a group of other solid OL prospects because OL is a point of emphasis in this class, and because Eric Wolford is really good recruiter.

The present and future development of UK's OL should facilitate recruitment of skilled QBs, RBs, and receivers for Coach Coen's offense, and makes me very optimistic for the future of our football program.
 
Still way too early. No players have signed yet. They are all still free to decommit. So class ranking after seven verbal commitments has no correlation with the eventual impact of the class on the program. Even at the very end of the class, after they sign, I don't believe class rankings are nearly as important as which other programs seriously recruited the players we sign. Offer sheets reflect evaluations by coaching staffs, which tell us a lot more than rankings by websites. And even more important than that is the actual impact of the class on the program, which takes years to play out.
For sure, I was just pointing it out that, as of today, the class is actually a little better than 18th. I agree on the offers a kid has being a better indicator than a star from a service meant to sell subscriptions.
 
I understood your context. Regardless of how you intended it to sound, every UK commitment gets the same promise. All of them have to earn their playing opportunities. It is important for everyone to understand this correctly, because some fans still don't believe it.

You must not because in this context it means they did a good job.

They were honest and didn't over promise even though two huge recruits were on the line
 
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You must not because in this context it means they did a good job.

They were honest and didn't over promise even though two huge recruits were on the line
I understood the context. The point is, that is exactly how our coaches treat every recruit. Every UK recruit cites our coaches for their honesty. Nothing is guaranteed and everything is earned. No UK recruit is overpromised, and every UK player understands he will have to compete for playing opportunities. They haven't treated the Wade twins differently, and I am glad. I don't want to argue arbitrary interpretations, just glad that the Wade twins chose UK.
 
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For sure, I was just pointing it out that, as of today, the class is actually a little better than 18th.
Oddly, the Smith punter/kicker commit actually can hurt our class ranking, at least by "average stars."

And that's stupid, considering he is Number One in the nation as both a kicker and punter.

If we sign 21 prospects, and the "lowest" non-kicker is a lowly 5.5 three star, our score on Rivals will increase because Smith's 5.2, two Star numbers will be excluded from all our Rivals averages . . . only the top 20 commits count.

And, again, that's real stupid.

Kicking is one-third of the game, and Jackson Smith will win us some football games in the next four years!!
 
For sure, I was just pointing it out that, as of today, the class is actually a little better than 18th. I agree on the offers a kid has being a better indicator than a star from a service meant to sell subscriptions.
Yes, it is actually very interesting to read our younger players' offer sheets. When I do, I am struck by the generational change in the quality of our football recruiting. When I see it, there is no mystery why we get invited to play in bowl games every year. We now have many players on our roster who were offered by large numbers of SEC programs as well as other successful coaching staffs in the B10, B12, ACC. I count at least 12 players on UK's 2021 football roster who turned down offers from Bama. We will add another one later today when Goodwin commits. As you and I know, this has not always been the case at UK, even when Brooks was here.
 
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Oddly, the Smith punter/kicker commit actually can hurt our class ranking, at least by "average stars."

And that's stupid, considering he is Number One in the nation as both a kicker and punter.

If we sign 21 prospects, and the "lowest" non-kicker is a lowly 5.5 three star, our score on Rivals will increase because Smith's 5.2, two Star numbers will be excluded from all our Rivals averages . . . only the top 20 commits count.

And, again, that's real stupid.

Kicking is one-third of the game, and Jackson Smith will win us some football games in the next four years!!
All true, and well explained too. Just another reason why internet class rankings do not accurately reflect the relative quality of recruiting classes.

The main point is that many recruits vastly underperform or overperform their prospect ratings. UK fans should know this better than anyone. Just look at the complete list of all SEC and All American UK players since Mark Stoops got here. Landon Young, Drake Jackson, and Darian Kinnard were heavily recruited. Lynn Bowden was fairly heavily recruited. But most of Stoops' best players were lightly recruited.

So Stoops is excelling at evaluating raw talent and developing it into impact SEC players. UK's staff gets in with the hs players they like before most other staffs do their homework and offer. The class rankings certainly don't explain how we beat PA St and UF, and don't explain how Will Muschamp failed at UF and SC. Outcomes aren't predictable. Some players flunk out, get arrested, or fail to compete hard enough. Others work very hard in the conditioning program, stay focused, and use their heads. Some coaching staffs have what it takes. Others just don't.
 
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Only 10 teams above us with a better average star ranking. I'm sure less than that without Berry in the mix.
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Oddly, the Smith punter/kicker commit actually can hurt our class ranking, at least by "average stars."

And that's stupid, considering he is Number One in the nation as both a kicker and punter.

If we sign 21 prospects, and the "lowest" non-kicker is a lowly 5.5 three star, our score on Rivals will increase because Smith's 5.2, two Star numbers will be excluded from all our Rivals averages . . . only the top 20 commits count.

And, again, that's real stupid.

Kicking is one-third of the game, and Jackson Smith will win us some football games in the next four years!!

In the end he won't effect the team ranking because only the top 20 count
 
I understood the context. The point is, that is exactly how our coaches treat every recruit. Every UK recruit cites our coaches for their honesty. Nothing is guaranteed and everything is earned. No UK recruit is overpromised, and every UK player understands he will have to compete for playing opportunities. They haven't treated the Wade twins differently, and I am glad. I don't want to argue arbitrary interpretations, just glad that the Wade twins chose UK.
I didn't say they did. In fact I praise them often on here for preaching competition and not making overreaching promises.

As a staff they honed in on the key concern for the twins which was the opportunity at qb. They utilized their resources and closed the deal. Incredible job.
 
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Do we sign 21?

I don't know.

Stoops has hinted there will be more attrition.
There is always attrition after spring practice ends. There should also be a little bit of attrition over the summer. There always is. So I don't think we know yet how many scholarships will be filled in this recruiting class.

Many times, I have thought I had a pretty good idea how big a class would be ahead of time, but I am usually wrong.
 
Oddly, the Smith punter/kicker commit actually can hurt our class ranking, at least by "average stars."

And that's stupid, considering he is Number One in the nation as both a kicker and punter.

If we sign 21 prospects, and the "lowest" non-kicker is a lowly 5.5 three star, our score on Rivals will increase because Smith's 5.2, two Star numbers will be excluded from all our Rivals averages . . . only the top 20 commits count.

And, again, that's real stupid.

Kicking is one-third of the game, and Jackson Smith will win us some football games in the next four years!!
Well, he's 5.4 now. Still hurts the number while helping the class. Go figure.
 
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Do we sign 21?

I don't know.

Stoops has hinted there will be more attrition.

I think with the new transfer rule that just past I think most schools will sign less than 25, at least for 1 or 2 years and fill the remaining slots with transfers. I know we only signed 20 in the 21 class, have 82 on the roster right now and I am expecting to lose 2-4 after spring, we did have 3 return for a freeyear that arent included in that 85. We have a transfer coming in from WV, and are looking for 2-4 more. If an AA or All SEC type want to transfer in to your school. You dont want to tell them sorry no room.
 
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In the end he won't effect the team ranking because only the top 20 count
True.... When we sign over 20. As I posted in the other thread, I don't know why the services count kickers at all. Most end up WOs or PWOs.
 
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I think with the new transfer rule that just past I think most schools will sign less than 25, at least for 1 or 2 years and fill the remaining slots with transfers. I know we only signed 20 in the 21 class, have 82 on the roster right now and I am expecting to lose 2-4 after spring, we did have 3 return for a freeyear that arent included in that 85. We have a transfer coming in from WV, and are looking for 2-4 more. If an AA or All SEC type want to transfer in to your school. You dont want to tell them sorry no room.
The new transfer rule cuts both ways. It becomes easier to get incoming transfers, but it also becomes inevitable that each SEC team will lose more every year by attrition as some players leave to pursue more playing time elsewhere. Every time an SEC program receives a commitment or takes a transfer, that development potentially displaces one or more players already on their roster.

It has now become more difficult than ever for coaches to foresee how many scholarships will be available the following year.

Since players primarily transfer to seek more playing time, and since more playing time can often be found in a less competitive conference, it is inevitable that SEC teams will lose more players than they gain as transfer rules become easier and quicker to satisfy. For that reason, I actually think most SEC teams may have to sign more hs players. I am not commenting about GA per se, since this is a UK recruiting thread. In UK's case, there have been more undergrad departures than incoming transfers. I suspect that will be true for almost every SEC program.
 
It's really mucked things up in basketball, where a guy can transfer and easily assimilate in a new system. Football, maybe a little harder to do that, so hopefully it doesn't end up being a mess. NIL, however, is a gamechanger for both. FSU already pouring a ton of money into that with their APEX program. Potential for a new arms race there, just like there was with facilities.
 
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I hate the rule personally. I mean, I get it...We live in an age of instant gratification, but I feel like there's something to be said about sticking it out and overcoming adversity.
I totally agree. But these are the times in which we live. These days, it is not politically correct to hold anyone to any standard of responsibility unless they can be sued in court for significant monetary damages.

So far, this new transfer rule has probably helped UK, insofar as Wandale Robinson, Will Levis, Luke Fulton, and Justice Dingle are likely to be a big help. But in the long run, I think it will hurt every SEC football program because a lot of SEC players are likely to leave for more playing time in less competitive conferences where the overall caliber of player is a little lower.
 
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