I am not sure we can get all three. But we don't necessarily have to. We really need Brown, and I am still optimistic about him.
It would be fantastic to sign Deone Walker, especially if it means Coach Wolford steers him away from Clinkscale at MI. Walker is a natural NT, but could also be a monster OT.
On September 6, OH St insider Bill Kurelic posted a UK crystal ball pick for Wagner. At the time, I figured that might be the last shoe to drop since Kurelic usually knows these things. But there has been very little news about Wagner in October, other than his visits to PA St and ND which were described as excellent. The final visit often has greater value. I think we might lose Wagner, but that is just a gut feeling. Coach Marrow is a good finisher, so he might get it done yet. Whether or not we sign him, I am confident either way that this will be an excellent OL class for us. Grant Bingham is a very nice prospect, Nik Hall is way underrated compared to his offer sheet and pedigree, and I still think UK will sign Goodwin.
Coach Wolford is still recruiting a couple interesting uncommitted players, and it's even possible (although I wouldn't get my hopes up) Coach Marrow could pull Tshabola away from OH St. There is a rumor about Walker Parks maybe transferring to UK. I don't expect Tshabola or Parks, but it would not be a huge shock. There are still a lot of possibilities from uncommitted hs players and college players in the transfer portal. This staff knows how to recruit.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This is a day to be thankful, and UK fans have a lot to be thankful for. Good health and happiness to everyone in the year ahead.
Let's continue to keep this thread strictly focused on UK's 2022 recruiting class. Let's encourage substantive posting about UK football recruiting.
On October 30, I offered the logical case (above) why UK's coaches had fallen into a disadvantaged position with Aamil Wagner's recruitment. Although others disagreed with what I said at the time and expressed confidence that UK would get a commitment from Wagner, I had lost confidence that it would happen. It was just a guess on my part, based on Wagner's campus visit to ND and the lack of recent news involving Wagner and UK. But it didn't feel right. Subsequently, Wagner committed to ND and I think he will stick with that. I doubt this development took UK's coaches by surprise. They had to know.
But I also think UK will sign a strong OL class anyway, provided that Coach Marrow can hang onto Kiyaunta Goodwin. I admit, I have become a little concerned about Goodwin. It isn't that Goodwin keeps taking more visits. Lots of prospects do that after committing. It's more about where he has been visiting and what he has been saying. Coach Marrow is a good finisher. If I have to guess, I still lean toward believing Marrow will get the job done and close the deal with Goodwin. But let's be honest, I don't think Goodwin's mind is totally made up yet. We could lose him, and that would be a problem. Right now, Goodwin has the inside track to the starting LT job in 2022 as long as Dare Rosenthal jumps to the NFL draft. So let's hope Goodwin sticks with his UK commitment. I still think he will, but it isn't with high confidence anymore because it is still an unfolding story.
There is also a risk that UK could still lose DeCarlos Nicholson to Ole Miss. Nicholson has officially visited Oxford subsequent to giving UK his commitment. He is from Perkinston, MS. Ole Miss continues to push for his interest. Since Nicholson has an inside track for a starting CB job at UK in 2022, Coach Collins will try hard to hang onto him. Collins does not yet have a track record as an SEC recruiter, so this is a test for him. Stoops' recent acceptance of Elijah Reed's commitment, coming after Reed was said to be ready to commit since June, makes you wonder.
Recently, UK received a couple more 2022 commitments. Here is our current 2022 class-
Alex Afari, DB, West Chester, OH
Jordan Anthony, slotR, Tylertown, MS
Grant Bingham, OL, Paintsville, KY
Barion Brown, ATH, Nashville, TN
Tomiwa Durojaiye, DL, Middletown, DE
Tyreese Fearbry, LB, Pittsburgh, PA
Kiyaunta Goodwin, OL, Charlestown, IN
Nikolas Hall, OL, Austin, TX
Josh Kattus, TE, Cincinnati, OH
Dane Key, WR, Lexington, KY
Treyveon Longmire, ATH, Corbin, KY
DeCarlos Nicholson, DB, Perkinston, MS
Elijah Reed, DB, Louisville, KY
Jackson Smith, K, Danville, KY
Andre Stewart, DB, Kennesaw, GA
Destin Wade, ATH, Spring Hill, TN
Keaton Wade, LB, Spring Hill, TN
Brandon White, slotR, Cincinnati, OH
I believe UK will sign at least 25 in this class, since we are allowed to replace our super seniors this year. There will also be incoming and outgoing transfers, and UK has already accepted WR Taj Harris as a transfer from Syracuse. Here are some uncommitted prospects with UK offers who are still reportedly interested in UK. This is not intended to be a complete list, and do not claim that these offers are currently committable. Only our coaches know that for sure.
BJ Blake, DB/WR, Hyattsville, MD
Quinton Conley, WR, Kansas City, MO
Noah Demeritt, OL, Kingsland, GA
Cory Hendrix, OL, College Station, TX
Jason Jones, LB, Kingsland, GA
James Kyle, TE, Wilmette, IL
Alex McCalop, LB, Greensboro, NC
Kawaun Northington, ATH, Louisville, KY
Dominique Orange, DL, Kansas City, MO
Andrew Savaiinaea, DL, Graham, WA
Demetrius Walker, DL, Muskegon, MI
Deone Walker, OL/DL, Detroit, MI
Elijah Zollicoller, OL/DL, Covington, GA
