I am not even trying to predict what the twins will do. Recruiting is one of the least predictable human behaviors, and I am still not convinced the two brothers are on the same page. If we sign them, that's great. If we can't, so it goes. Many years of watching Stoops and Marrow recruit have taught me to trust them. I try not to overreact.
State of 2024 Recruiting
- Thread starter Rembrandt90
- Start date
WR prospect Hardley Gilmore is still scheduled to announce on August 25. Reportedly this is down to UK, PA St, and UCF with UK being viewed by some in the media as the leader. Would be a great get for us if Coach Woodward pulls it off.
The September 8 OV list remains Kamron Mikell, Amontrae Bradford, and Lorenzo Cowan. If signed, Mikell would be one of the top players in UK's 2024 class at any position. Cowan could conceivably play any LB position in Coach White's 3-3-5. Because of UK's recent recruiting focus on the Savannah area, Cowan remains interesting. Bradford is an edge LB (like Isaiah Groves and Caleb Redd), so UK's interest in him might depend on where we stand with Brian Robinson and Jacob Smith.
The September 8 OV list remains Kamron Mikell, Amontrae Bradford, and Lorenzo Cowan. If signed, Mikell would be one of the top players in UK's 2024 class at any position. Cowan could conceivably play any LB position in Coach White's 3-3-5. Because of UK's recent recruiting focus on the Savannah area, Cowan remains interesting. Bradford is an edge LB (like Isaiah Groves and Caleb Redd), so UK's interest in him might depend on where we stand with Brian Robinson and Jacob Smith.
Any idea who the players are at OT, DL and ILB that we seemingly have a good chance or relationship with at this time?
By rule, our coaches can't discuss who they are recruiting. So if the prospect, his family, or his hs coaches aren't talking to someone in the media, we just don't know until they take an OV (if then). That's just the way it is, and has always been under current rules. Every fall, we find out about new recruiting targets. For example, Josh Allen, Trevin Wallace, and Tavion Gadson OVed UK very late in their recruiting cycles, and were unknown to our fan base until shortly before their visits.
Thanks, Rembrandt, for this thread and for your ongoing analysis - really thoughtful and knowledgeable.
I haven't found anything this week on a Gilmore injury. Anyone else? He is still scheduled to announce on August 25. The talking heads are still mainly pointing to UK although there has also been a little bit of late gossip about UCF. Recruiting is one of the least predictable of all human behaviors.
Berea mentions above the injury may have been to a teammate, not Gilmore.
I saw that. But he sounded uncertain. I haven't been able to find any reporting on this, one way or the other. So I am inclined to think it wasn't Gilmore. Hope not anyway.
Based on public reports, here is another update on the current recruiting board for UK's 2024 class. New names will appear on this list during the fall. They always do.
QB- Cutter Boley (UK commit)
RB- Tovani Mizell (UK commit), Jason Patterson (UC commit), Travis Kerney
TE- Willie Rodriguez (UK commit)
WR- David Washington (UK commit), Rico Scott (AL commit), Hardley Gilmore, Kamron Mikell
OL- Aba Selm (UK commit), Hayes Johnson (UK commit), Jadon Lafontant (UK commit), JacQawn McRoy (OR commit), Jordan Floyd (GA Tech commit)
DL- Jerod Smith (MI commit), Artavius Jones (Miami commit), Alex Foster (Baylor commit), Kendall Jackson (UF commit), Nasir Smith, Isaac Cannazzaro, Darius Wiley
LB- Elijah Groves (UK commit), Caleb Redd (UK commit), Antwan Smith (UK commit), Steven Soles (UK commit), Jacob Smith (MI commit), Brian Robinson, Lorenzo Cowan, Amontrae Bradford, Devin Smith
DB- Terhyon Nichols (UK commit), Jaquavious Marshall (UK commit), Quaysheed Scott (UK commit), Casey Etienne
K/P- Jacob Kauwe (UK commit)
QB- Cutter Boley (UK commit)
RB- Tovani Mizell (UK commit), Jason Patterson (UC commit), Travis Kerney
TE- Willie Rodriguez (UK commit)
WR- David Washington (UK commit), Rico Scott (AL commit), Hardley Gilmore, Kamron Mikell
OL- Aba Selm (UK commit), Hayes Johnson (UK commit), Jadon Lafontant (UK commit), JacQawn McRoy (OR commit), Jordan Floyd (GA Tech commit)
DL- Jerod Smith (MI commit), Artavius Jones (Miami commit), Alex Foster (Baylor commit), Kendall Jackson (UF commit), Nasir Smith, Isaac Cannazzaro, Darius Wiley
LB- Elijah Groves (UK commit), Caleb Redd (UK commit), Antwan Smith (UK commit), Steven Soles (UK commit), Jacob Smith (MI commit), Brian Robinson, Lorenzo Cowan, Amontrae Bradford, Devin Smith
DB- Terhyon Nichols (UK commit), Jaquavious Marshall (UK commit), Quaysheed Scott (UK commit), Casey Etienne
K/P- Jacob Kauwe (UK commit)
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Corrected. Thanks. Rodriguez is from Alexandria. Brain cramp there while typing too fast.
WR Hardley Gilmore from Pahokee, FL, committed to UK today. Gilmore reportedly holds at least six SEC offers (including AL and GA) and is being recruited by Coach Woodward and Coach Mike. Earlier this year, he was picked as the most outstanding WR prospect at a TX A&M camp.
So... He's like... Decent?
😂
Jokes aside, this recruiting momentum is amazing. Rembrandt, do you think high-level offensive recruiting will lead to even better defensive recruiting? Big names seeing big names commit... Birds of a feather and all that? I know there's more to recruiting than that, but I feel like that was a huge component of our improved recruiting in Stoops' first three years.
Current UK 2024 recruiting class-
Cutter Boley, QB, Lexington, KY
Hardley Gilmore, WR, Pahokee, FL
Isaiah Groves, LB, Cross Plains, TN
Hayes Johnson, OL, Campbellsville, KY
Jacob Kauwe, K/P, Billings, MT
Jadon Lafontant, OL, Greenwich, CT
Jiquavious Marshall, DB, Macon, GA
Tovani Mizell, RB, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Terhyon Nichols, DB, Cincinnati, OH
Caleb Redd, LB, St. Louis, MO
Willie Rodriguez, TE, Alexandria, KY
Quaysheed Scott, DB, Marion, SC
Aba Selm, OL, Independence, KY
Antwan Smith, LB/S, Atlanta, GA
Steven Soles, LB, Powell, TN
David Washington, slotR, Philadelphia, PA
Cutter Boley, QB, Lexington, KY
Hardley Gilmore, WR, Pahokee, FL
Isaiah Groves, LB, Cross Plains, TN
Hayes Johnson, OL, Campbellsville, KY
Jacob Kauwe, K/P, Billings, MT
Jadon Lafontant, OL, Greenwich, CT
Jiquavious Marshall, DB, Macon, GA
Tovani Mizell, RB, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Terhyon Nichols, DB, Cincinnati, OH
Caleb Redd, LB, St. Louis, MO
Willie Rodriguez, TE, Alexandria, KY
Quaysheed Scott, DB, Marion, SC
Aba Selm, OL, Independence, KY
Antwan Smith, LB/S, Atlanta, GA
Steven Soles, LB, Powell, TN
David Washington, slotR, Philadelphia, PA
Like you said, it is multifactorial. Biggest factor driving defensive recruiting now is Coach White's rep, along with Coach Stoops' defensive credentials and last year's defensive performance. After all, we had the SEC's #2 ranked defense in 2022. Defensive prospects know with a degree of certainty that they will be playing on a very solid SEC defense as long as Coach White is here.
Another factor is that UK's football team is on TV a lot, due to the SEC Channel as well as the overall and ongoing improvement that is playing out on Stoops' tenure.
Another factor is that Stoops is putting defensive players into the NFL draft. Josh Allen's accolades certainly underscored the point that Stoops develops players. Deone Walker's growing fame will intensify that.
We shouldn't end this discussion without mentioning Coach Mike, who is opening up south FL for our recruiting footprint. Last yea,r Coach Mike snagged Jayvant Brown and helped with Jaremiah Anglin's recruitment. He also has a big rep as a LB coach, and we are having what anyone would call a strong LB class that will probably get better. I know most of our current LB commits will be edge players, but we are still recruiting the inside positions. Everyone can see what Coach Mike has accomplished with D'Eryk Jackson and Trevin Wallace.
Of course, an improving offense will only help. Stoops has built a winning culture in the nation's top football conference.
We are totally building for the future. Next year receiver corps (if we keep everyone) will be deep and talented. Next years DLINE (if we keep everyone) deep. We need some quality LB and edge guys and a great RB for that room.
Next year's receiver corps will definitely be as talented as any here in my lifetime. How deep depends on transfers. We had a ton of outbound receiver transfers a year ago. Most of them were not very consequential, but losing Chauncey Magwood and Chris Lewis hurt. We have playmaker talent, but not enough bodies or enough experience to go through that again.
Yeah, I liked Magwood. But the writing was on the wall for guys that wanted to be WR1. Mag would have been in the 2 deep but would not of been able to unseat any of our 3 and with Porter and Brown, Anthony he was probably going to drop down a little further. I think if all the guys come back we will be one of the best in the SEC as far as that position.
Agree!! Forgot about that crucial position. We need 3 or so guys.
Dane Key and Barion Brown should receive all SEC recognition before they graduate. They are weapons. The catch Dane made in the Swamp last year on the long post throw by Levis was one of the best and most difficult plays I have ever seen. It was right in front of me, so I could see Dane physically whip the FL DB. A former UK player was sitting next to me, and he was very impressed. I am also major fan of Anthony Brown who IMO is significantly better than his online player ratings (lower than they should have been because he is small, probably). If Dekel Crowdus comes along and Shamar Porter is as good as his headlines, then this is UK's best group of receivers in a long time. And if Leary is as good as they say, we are looking at a big offensive season. But the depth just isn't there, so we have to be treated well by the football gods. But another thing to watch is that Coach Coen will split Cummings out. That's a mismatch for any defense, and Cummings has good hands.
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^ I thought Keenan Burton, Stevie Johnson, DIcky Lyons Jr & Jacob Tamme in '07 were pretty decent.
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Agree 1000%. The other to watch is the RB from NC State. Heard he has spent time split out as well.
They were one of the best receiver rooms in UK football history.
Our current receivers are faster. Maybe better, too, but we will soon see.
Have heard the same. Izayah Cummings will evidently also split out wided on some snaps, which should be tough on the DBs. We have a lot of RBs and TEs but possibly not enough WRs, so these adaptations make sense. Coach Coen is a practical man, which may be one of the biggest differences versus Scan (who wouldn't even let Cummings on the field).
It's all about the OTs. If they play well, this team is a juggernaut. And I think they will. Just got my tickets.
So much of it comes down to the injury luck breaking our way, having individuals step up at key positions, and having special teams rock during close games; but my optimism is off the charts. I would rather believe and be disappointed rather than the alternative.
Back to recruiting, I love this WR class even if we don't add Mikell or Scott. I just look at upcoming depth charts so much differently than prior to the portal changing drastically - it will be hard to build depth because good players want to play when they get stuck behind players that blossom - but you can add a piece to supplement much more easily. Not that it is a good idea to rely on the portal to the detriment of recruiting, but I think we are getting into a "new normal."
Back to recruiting, I love this WR class even if we don't add Mikell or Scott. I just look at upcoming depth charts so much differently than prior to the portal changing drastically - it will be hard to build depth because good players want to play when they get stuck behind players that blossom - but you can add a piece to supplement much more easily. Not that it is a good idea to rely on the portal to the detriment of recruiting, but I think we are getting into a "new normal."
And that “new normal” shows that SEC teams feast first on quality transfers, coming into the conference!!
Even with Stone Saunders in his ear, I suspect it will be very difficult to get Scott to flip. Not expecting it to happen.
It's not easy to project what will happen with Mikell. If he feels strongly about playing WR at the next level, then this might end up as a UK-AU battle with AU having the proximity advantage. But if Kirby really wants him, then GA is going to be a factor.
If we don't make progress with Mikell or Scott, then I would look for another WR name to pop up on the radar during the fall. It would be a bigger, taller receiver who offers more as an athlete, power receiver, and blocker (like Key does). IDK who that would be, but likely a flip candidate from a program that has trouble in the fall or a late decider from GA or FL. I don't think many prospects make their decisions based on one game. But if we keep beating FL over and over again, prospects down there will notice. With Coen back, this is a fun offense to play in.
Only way I see it is a very good year, meaning either SEC East Champs or New Years 6 bowl against a quality opponent with a big W there. Then the flip might happen.
The ONLY way it MIGHT occur is if Saban pulls his offer. The above was Scott's reply to Stone about joining up at UK.
Actually, flips to UK are already happening, and have been happening. Josaih Hayes, Trevin Wallace, Tyreese Fearbry, Khamari Anderson, Tavion Gadson, Kendrick Gilbert are current Wildcats who flipped their commitments to UK from other schools. I don't see Rico Scott flipping from AL to UK regardless of our season. I don't see Scott flipping to us even if we beat AL, although we never know how a youngster thinks. But chances are that one or more prospects will flip to UK this fall from somewhere else.
Making assumptions that Nik Hall makes it back from his back injury, Deuce Hogan remains on scholarship, and Dylan Ray gets placed on scholarship, I count 59 scholarship Wildcats due back in 2024. Mark Stoops' 2024 recruiting class currently has 16 commitments. Adding those two numbers together, we get a sum of 75 2024 scholarships already taken on paper. That number will increase with more 2024 commitments or decrease when current UK underclassmen players leave through the portal. Of course, we don't know how many current Wildcats will leave through the portal, but we know that number will be nonzero.
So, taking what we can count at this moment, we can probably assume at least 10 more additions to our 2024 football roster will be taken, either as new commitments to our 2024 class or as inbound transfers. Again, that number will increase every time a current Wildcat underclassman transfers out, or if a current Wildcat cannot continue to play football due to accumulated injuries.
Calculating these numbers is the easy part. It's a little bit more complicated to try to read Mark Stoops' mind and figure out what he thinks about remaining positional needs. DT, ILB, S, WR, OT, and a starting 2024 QB are easy for us to assume. It's harder to figure out what Stoops thinks about his returning DE, CB, OG, and RB rosters and kickers.
The easiest conclusion of all is that we will need more OTs. I think it's also a no-brainer that we need more outside receivers with length, another stout ILB, and at least one more high-level safety.
On Sept. 8, Kamron Mikell, Amontrae Bradford, and Lorenzo Cowan will visit. Based on publicly available information, Cowan might be a UK lean and Bradford might be looking primarily at UK and Vandy. Hypothetically, if Stoops were to accept a commitment from Bradford, that could indirectly tell us something about what Stoops believes his chances are with Jacob Smith and Brian Robinson. But Bradford is a hs teammate of Mikell, and Stoops really wants Mikell. So it's complicated. I suspect Cowan could play any LB position in Brad White's 3-3-5. So, hypothetically, if Stoops accepts a commitment from Cowan, that might tell us he doesn't expect to be able to sign Devin Smith. But these are guesses. Mikell is the big target now, and that is not a guess.
No other OVs to UK are currently scheduled. But it is a sure thing that more OVs will get scheduled during the fall. And as I have discussed before, Trevin Wallace, and Ardell Banks, Tavion Gadson, Jamarion Wilcox, and Jayvant Brown are examples of current Wildcats who OVed after the beginning of the SEC schedule and committed to UK very late in their recruiting cycle. Happens every year.
So, taking what we can count at this moment, we can probably assume at least 10 more additions to our 2024 football roster will be taken, either as new commitments to our 2024 class or as inbound transfers. Again, that number will increase every time a current Wildcat underclassman transfers out, or if a current Wildcat cannot continue to play football due to accumulated injuries.
Calculating these numbers is the easy part. It's a little bit more complicated to try to read Mark Stoops' mind and figure out what he thinks about remaining positional needs. DT, ILB, S, WR, OT, and a starting 2024 QB are easy for us to assume. It's harder to figure out what Stoops thinks about his returning DE, CB, OG, and RB rosters and kickers.
The easiest conclusion of all is that we will need more OTs. I think it's also a no-brainer that we need more outside receivers with length, another stout ILB, and at least one more high-level safety.
On Sept. 8, Kamron Mikell, Amontrae Bradford, and Lorenzo Cowan will visit. Based on publicly available information, Cowan might be a UK lean and Bradford might be looking primarily at UK and Vandy. Hypothetically, if Stoops were to accept a commitment from Bradford, that could indirectly tell us something about what Stoops believes his chances are with Jacob Smith and Brian Robinson. But Bradford is a hs teammate of Mikell, and Stoops really wants Mikell. So it's complicated. I suspect Cowan could play any LB position in Brad White's 3-3-5. So, hypothetically, if Stoops accepts a commitment from Cowan, that might tell us he doesn't expect to be able to sign Devin Smith. But these are guesses. Mikell is the big target now, and that is not a guess.
No other OVs to UK are currently scheduled. But it is a sure thing that more OVs will get scheduled during the fall. And as I have discussed before, Trevin Wallace, and Ardell Banks, Tavion Gadson, Jamarion Wilcox, and Jayvant Brown are examples of current Wildcats who OVed after the beginning of the SEC schedule and committed to UK very late in their recruiting cycle. Happens every year.
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Saw Nik Hall at Blitzing the Boro fan fest yesterday. Very glad to see him there. He was moving around well and tossing corn hole. He is one big dude. Hopeful for a full recovery.
Stoops has said Hall will miss the 2023 season because of a back injury. We don't know details of the injury, but I believe some back injuries are more curable than others. Nowadays they can use metal hardware to fuse together two vertebrae. My cousin had that surgery and now he is playing tennis again without any pain. But if it is more complicated, Hall could lose his football career.
Either way, we need more OTs. As I have discussed before, I believe all three current UK OL commits will be interior players in the SEC. Others disagree with me on that, so we will see. There are currently no known uncommitted OT prospects on UK's 2024 recruiting board although I believe Coach Marrow and Coach Yenser are still talking with a couple of OTs (Floyd, McRoy) who committed to other schools during the summer. Flips are part of recruiting. Although it won't be McRoy, I will be surprised if Stoops doesn't sign one true OT prospect in his 2024 class and take at least one more OT transfer through the portal.
This year’s team reminds me of that ‘’07 team, with this team being deeper at TE than ‘07. Here’s to making UGA 07’s LSU. Cheers.
