Pretty much a universal practice for everyone. Under current rules some teams are recruiting with one hand tied behind their backs, I think both of our favorite schools are in that category. I don't think either school is going to win an auction as highest bidder against the buckeyes, vols and a few more, but depend on development of players and NIL after kids have earned it. Which is what it was meant to be.
State of 2025 Recruiting
- Thread starter Rembrandt90
- Start date
Pretty much a universal practice for everyone. Under current rules some teams are recruiting with one hand tied behind their backs, I think both of our favorite schools are in that category. I don't think either school is going to win an auction as highest bidder against the buckeyes, vols and a few more, but depend on development of players and NIL after kids have earned it. Which is what it was meant to be.
When was the last time you offered anything interesting to the readers? I must have missed it. You are criticizing the reader who started this recruiting discussion, provides a fair mount of the juice, and has 11 pages of responses. So that makes a lot of sense, right?
We want to develop our players and cut down on the number of needs. With the portal, transfers will continue. The idea is to minimize our need for them.
Seems to me the teams that get hurt worst by transfers leaving have been Georgia and Bama because good players get buried there. They also pick up lots of transfers, but they lose their investments in the kids who leave. Better to work harder to hang onto your own kids. Kentucky has lost a lot of transfers but not very many who were going to see the field. I wish we had managed to hang onto Wohlabaugh.
The transfer is a two way door for sure, but I agree that it has been largely a major net plus for us. One must wonder what we would have done about the QB position the last two seasons and this coming one without the portal. The portal loss that I really miss was Chris Lewis who had a big season in 2023.
At any rate for what ever reason a lot of high school players just don't develop into what you need, and our staff does recruit a lot based on potential as opposed to accomplishment so the portal is a valuable tool for them.
The reports of UGA losing 35 players are true, but when exhausting eligibility and Walk ons are included everyone's number is pretty high. The only player who was going to see significant snaps who left was Dumas Johnson and his snap total was going to take a hit. He is a great downhill LB, but unless he has cut some weight struggled in coverage.
I think that is true at QB the last 3 seasons, at least. Terry was a transfer pre-portal, or we could take it back at least 5 seasons.
Rationally, B10 and SEC schools should always be net gainers from the portal, possibly excepting the Georgia’s, Bama’s and Ohio States.
Bama has done very well in the portal. I think they had 6 transfer starters who were portal guys. Baring injuries UGA is likely to have 3 this fall on offense, maybe 4 with the TE who was forced to retire for medical reasons.
True, but only part of their transfer stories. We expect programs like GA and AL to attract transfers. But both programs have lost a lot of good players through the portal too. Like almost all programs, a lot of the players who leave were concerned about getting onto the field. But some outbound AL and GA transfers are good SEC players. UK fans know about Story, Vandagriff, and Dumas-Johnson, but there are many more.
To me, doing well in the portal is incoming quality total exceeding outbound quality total by a good margin.
They have lost good prospects but how many left that were actually playing. Most were not major losses for them. JDJ had gotten passes by younger faster backers. Most hadn’t cracked the two deep which is why they left.
Another 2025 recruiting update. Current UK class-
Stone Saunders, QB, Harrisburg, PA
Quintin Simmons, slotR, Cincinnati, OH
Brennan Ward, QB, Columbus, OH
Isaiah West, RB, Philadelphia, PA
As we know, UK's coaches are recruiting a long list of prospects. Typically, committable offers are confirmed in written letters from Coach Stoops in August. Sometimes verbal commitments are accepted before August, but many important commitments happen between August and January every year. That's one reason (among many) that summertime class rankings are utterly meaningless and fans should just ignore them.
Prior to the summer, the recruiting process is largely (not totally) an effort by UK's coaches to figure out which prospects on their 'A-list" are most serious about visiting Lexington. If a prospect won't OV, you aren't going to be able to sign them. Until this year, the NCAA allowed only 5 OVs. Now, though, OVs are unlimited by the new rule. So when a prospect agrees to make an OV now, that won't tell us as much about the strength of his interest as it used to.
With that being the case, UK's coaches are still talking with a lot of prospects, some of whom will (but some will not) receive committable offers from UK next August for various reasons. Recent additions of Coaches Hamdan, Wolford, and Shorts to our staff inevitably leads to a reordering of priorities for our list of offensive prospects, especially at WR and OL.
Based on recent news from multiple sources and publicly reported travel activities by our staff, here are some uncommitted prospects still likely to be active UK recruiting priorities-
Hunter Adams, LB, Lexington, KY
Mason Alexander, DB, Fishers, IN
Dillon Alfred, slotR, Saraland, AL
Jermiel Atkins, OL, Dayton, OH
Brian Auguste, OL, Pompano Beach, FL
Byron Baldwin, DB, Towson, MD
Rowan Byrne, OL, New Rochelle, NY
Brandon Caesar, DL, Cleveland, OH
Javeon Campbell, DL, Frankfort, KY
Michael Carroll, OL, Doylestown, PA
Marvels Carter, DB, Paducah, KY
Cam Clark, OL, Dexter, MI
Jayden Clark, OL, Northmont, OH
Marquise Davis, RB, Cleveland, OH
Iose Epenesa, LB, Edwardsville, IL
Ja'kayden Ferguson, WR, Missouri City, TX
Avery Gach, OL, Franklin, MI
Dawayne Galloway, DB, Columbus, OH
Christian Gass, LB, Covington, GA
Luka Gilbert, TE, W Chester, OH
Dontrell Glover, OL, Fairburn, GA
Rafael Greene, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Taren Hedrick, OL, Naples, FL
Justin Hill, LB, Cincinnati, OH
Eugene Hilton, WR, Zionsville, IN
Jack James, ATH, Paducah, KY
Josh Johnson, DB, Ironton, OH
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Gerritt Kemp, WR, Dacula, GA
Tyler Kielmeyer, TE, Westerville, OH
Kaleb Lanier, DB, Decatur, GA
Brody Lennon, TE, Gates Mills, OH
Andrew Marsh, WR, Fulshear, TX
Dante McClellan, ATH, Canton, OH
Cameron Miller, DB, Atco, NJ
Dejerrian Miller, WR, St Louis, MO
Tyler Miller, OL, Laurel, MS
Tristan Norman, slotR, Montgomery, AL
Lantz Pascal, LB, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Josh Petty, OL, Roswell, GA
Cannon Pigg, DL/TE, Florence, AL
Kentrell Rinehart, RB, Galloway, OH
Mason Short, OL, Evans, GA
Corey Sims, WR, St Louis, MO
Isaac Sowells, OL, Louisville, KY
Seaonta Stewart, ATH, Cincinnati, OH
Darrin Strey, OL, Paw Paw, MI
Jayquan Stubbs, DL, Cleveland, OH
Tavion Wallace, LB, Jesup, GA
Jacobe Ward, OL, Savannah, GA
Trennedy Whatley, ATH, Fayetteville, GA
Caleb Williams, DL, Chesterfield, VA
Dyllon Williams, DB, Demopolis, AL
Kamare Williams, WR, Delray Beach, FL
Cedric Works, LB, Clayton, OH
N'Kye Wynn, OL, Muskegon, MI
Keon Young, DB, Lakeland, FL
This list does not include a number of prospects previously suspected to be UK targets and discussed here earlier, simply because there has been no recent news of UK coaches visiting them or of them planning to visit UK. Obviously, that could quickly change with new news. Aveion Chenault, Grant Beerman, Nolan Davenport for example.
It's also likely that new UK Coaches Shorts and Wolford are still evaluating recruiting film and making decisions about which WR and OL prospects to pursue most vigorously with the available scholarships.
Stone Saunders, QB, Harrisburg, PA
Quintin Simmons, slotR, Cincinnati, OH
Brennan Ward, QB, Columbus, OH
Isaiah West, RB, Philadelphia, PA
As we know, UK's coaches are recruiting a long list of prospects. Typically, committable offers are confirmed in written letters from Coach Stoops in August. Sometimes verbal commitments are accepted before August, but many important commitments happen between August and January every year. That's one reason (among many) that summertime class rankings are utterly meaningless and fans should just ignore them.
Prior to the summer, the recruiting process is largely (not totally) an effort by UK's coaches to figure out which prospects on their 'A-list" are most serious about visiting Lexington. If a prospect won't OV, you aren't going to be able to sign them. Until this year, the NCAA allowed only 5 OVs. Now, though, OVs are unlimited by the new rule. So when a prospect agrees to make an OV now, that won't tell us as much about the strength of his interest as it used to.
With that being the case, UK's coaches are still talking with a lot of prospects, some of whom will (but some will not) receive committable offers from UK next August for various reasons. Recent additions of Coaches Hamdan, Wolford, and Shorts to our staff inevitably leads to a reordering of priorities for our list of offensive prospects, especially at WR and OL.
Based on recent news from multiple sources and publicly reported travel activities by our staff, here are some uncommitted prospects still likely to be active UK recruiting priorities-
Hunter Adams, LB, Lexington, KY
Mason Alexander, DB, Fishers, IN
Dillon Alfred, slotR, Saraland, AL
Jermiel Atkins, OL, Dayton, OH
Brian Auguste, OL, Pompano Beach, FL
Byron Baldwin, DB, Towson, MD
Rowan Byrne, OL, New Rochelle, NY
Brandon Caesar, DL, Cleveland, OH
Javeon Campbell, DL, Frankfort, KY
Michael Carroll, OL, Doylestown, PA
Marvels Carter, DB, Paducah, KY
Cam Clark, OL, Dexter, MI
Jayden Clark, OL, Northmont, OH
Marquise Davis, RB, Cleveland, OH
Iose Epenesa, LB, Edwardsville, IL
Ja'kayden Ferguson, WR, Missouri City, TX
Avery Gach, OL, Franklin, MI
Dawayne Galloway, DB, Columbus, OH
Christian Gass, LB, Covington, GA
Luka Gilbert, TE, W Chester, OH
Dontrell Glover, OL, Fairburn, GA
Rafael Greene, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Taren Hedrick, OL, Naples, FL
Justin Hill, LB, Cincinnati, OH
Eugene Hilton, WR, Zionsville, IN
Jack James, ATH, Paducah, KY
Josh Johnson, DB, Ironton, OH
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Gerritt Kemp, WR, Dacula, GA
Tyler Kielmeyer, TE, Westerville, OH
Kaleb Lanier, DB, Decatur, GA
Brody Lennon, TE, Gates Mills, OH
Andrew Marsh, WR, Fulshear, TX
Dante McClellan, ATH, Canton, OH
Cameron Miller, DB, Atco, NJ
Dejerrian Miller, WR, St Louis, MO
Tyler Miller, OL, Laurel, MS
Tristan Norman, slotR, Montgomery, AL
Lantz Pascal, LB, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Josh Petty, OL, Roswell, GA
Cannon Pigg, DL/TE, Florence, AL
Kentrell Rinehart, RB, Galloway, OH
Mason Short, OL, Evans, GA
Corey Sims, WR, St Louis, MO
Isaac Sowells, OL, Louisville, KY
Seaonta Stewart, ATH, Cincinnati, OH
Darrin Strey, OL, Paw Paw, MI
Jayquan Stubbs, DL, Cleveland, OH
Tavion Wallace, LB, Jesup, GA
Jacobe Ward, OL, Savannah, GA
Trennedy Whatley, ATH, Fayetteville, GA
Caleb Williams, DL, Chesterfield, VA
Dyllon Williams, DB, Demopolis, AL
Kamare Williams, WR, Delray Beach, FL
Cedric Works, LB, Clayton, OH
N'Kye Wynn, OL, Muskegon, MI
Keon Young, DB, Lakeland, FL
This list does not include a number of prospects previously suspected to be UK targets and discussed here earlier, simply because there has been no recent news of UK coaches visiting them or of them planning to visit UK. Obviously, that could quickly change with new news. Aveion Chenault, Grant Beerman, Nolan Davenport for example.
It's also likely that new UK Coaches Shorts and Wolford are still evaluating recruiting film and making decisions about which WR and OL prospects to pursue most vigorously with the available scholarships.
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That completely depends on who leaves and who arrives. It has been true for UK in recent years though.
Yes, but earned collegiate AA recognition in the process.
Now that is some depth!!
True. But it has been a mixed bag for them. It's so easy now for a player to transfer for any reason. Playing time is one.
JDJ was injured last year. That's probably a part of why he got passed. The guy was an All American. We can chalk this up to a high level of competition there, but it is extremely unusual for an All American underclassman to get passed, especially a high character guy like JDJ. In GA's system, he would have seen the field often. I will guess he had multiple reasons.
Vandagriff OTOH clearly left for playing time.
Disappointing there's no mid-TN players on this list, an area that should be a priority for UK in my opinion. Maybe Wolford will get cranked up again, he was responsible at least in part for UK recruiting, Barion Brown, the Wades, WR Porter. I know this is a '25 list but a top 2026 QB as well as a top '26 DL are located in Nashville.
Which 2025 mid-TN players do you like most for UK at the SEC level?
Consider these possibilities-
1. Might be a smaller than usual UK class next December unless we lose a huge number of outbound transfers in the spring.
2. Some scholarships will probably be held for incoming spring transfers, maybe at DB, WR, and OL.
3. Stronger than usual class in OH this year, especially in the Cincinnati area, and Coach Marrow seems to be in good shape with most of the OH prospects UK wants.
4. Stoops is in the process of expanding UK's recruiting footprint in TX, MO, MI, PA, and FL.
5. Could be a less impressive than usual class in TN this year.
6. Yenser and Woodward were interested in a couple of TN prospects that UK's coaches have backed off of since they left. CJ Jimcoily and Chauncey Gooden, for example.
Do you agree with these possibilities?
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All of that could be true, just don't want UK left out on what could be a strong, fertile recruiting area....and don't think they will be.
Sure. As a very general observation, it seems like Stoops and Marrow are really working to strengthen UK's recruiting footprint in urban areas such as Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, St Louis, Atlanta, Savannah, and even Charlotte. Judging by the fact that we signed BB and Porter, I agree with you that the Nashville area is also on their radar. Only natural. This year, though, maybe they just aren't that impressed with their options in central TN. And/or maybe one of the reasons (among others) that Yenser and Woodward are gone now is because their recruiting traction (which included TN) wasn't keeping up. IDK, but I suspect that may be part of it.
Logical. No doubt Stoops/Marrow have a plan and one would think it's a solid/sound plan. Be fun watching it unfold!
Dumas-Johnson is an excellent SEC player, he has shown that, Story was pretty highly rated, but he never showed the progression of being an every down SEC player and would have struggled to get on the field. Vandagriff has never gotten the chance to show what he can do, I think he will be a very good SEC QB. Always stings to lose a guy who has played like JDJ or a potential starter down the road like BV. We will have at least 4 more hit the portal after spring practice, well before Aug.1 anyway.
JDJ had gotten pretty big, last year he was elite as a downhill run stopper, but was a liability in coverage. If he drops some lbs he may get that quickness back. I think he got to about 245 and his ideal weight to be an every down LB is 220-225 range, imo. What happened is when he was injured his replacement made it hard to keep him off the field, was our best defender at end of year.
I had not focused on Isaac.
Top 5 Center, nationally, according to Rivals.
Has 21 offers. Penn State is one of them.
He’d be a big get!
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He’s a big ol boy and looks like they’re showing him a lot of love. Definitely has something to build on and could be a good player in a couple years here. Would be a good addition in my opinion and hopes it works out for him.
What about that said No Austin Alexander. That is a list of uncommitted players and he added two guys at the bottom. That isn’t a list of guys they’re recruiting. They’re is a good chance he goes elsewhere but they are recruiting him
Add Tucker Kattus to the board
Great get at a need position and from a territory we need to strengthen ties and relationships. Let's build a solid Cincy pipeline while Satterfield is at UC.
Great get at a need position and from a territory we need to strengthen ties and relationships. Let's build a solid Cincy pipeline while Satterfield is at UC.
As widely anticipated on this thread for months, Josh Kattus' younger brother Tucker from St Xavier hs in Cincinnati has now committed to UK's 2025 class.
Tucker Kattus is probably a future UK OG. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. Tucker reportedly holds offers from at least four SEC and six B10 programs.
Kattus and Quintin Simmons may be just the beginning of an unusually large 2025 signing contingent for Coach Marrow from the Cincinnati area.
UK's current 2025 class-
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Stone Saunders, QB, Harrisburg, PA
Quintin Simmons, slotR, Cincinnati, OH
Brennen Ward, QB, Columbus, OH
Isaiah West, RB, Philadelphia, PA
Tucker Kattus is probably a future UK OG. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. Tucker reportedly holds offers from at least four SEC and six B10 programs.
Kattus and Quintin Simmons may be just the beginning of an unusually large 2025 signing contingent for Coach Marrow from the Cincinnati area.
UK's current 2025 class-
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Stone Saunders, QB, Harrisburg, PA
Quintin Simmons, slotR, Cincinnati, OH
Brennen Ward, QB, Columbus, OH
Isaiah West, RB, Philadelphia, PA
Kattus with a low ranking for someone with good offers. Yet another example of holes in the ranking stuff.
Lost our way with getting any 4 star OL. I know, can't go by stars all the time. But it seems three fourths of our 3 star OL do not turn into 4 stars. It's like we are on the outside looking in for high ranked linemen. We do OK with most other positions. Maybe Wolford will be able to transfer a couple of the 3 stars into 4 stars.
I do not think you have to worry about the star rating for Mr. AK Kattus Jr. He will be a multiple year starter.
What interesting is Kattus said on KSR that Wolford was talking to him while at Bama which suggests he was atleast on the Tides radar.
Yes, again, this goes to show that online player rankings are not as informative as a player's offer sheet. Why? Because we are comparing evaluations made by college coaching staffs to online evaluations from website talking heads who are not college coaches. If a hs player holds offers from MO, MI, and WI (as Tucker Kattus reportedly does), we can be confident he is a good addition to our class. Not only that, Tucker comes from St Xavier hs in Cincinati and his father Eric Kattus played for MI and in the NFL. Nice pedigree.
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