^ From that list, looks like the center of our recruiting is Youngstown, OH. Wonder why that would be.
State of 2025 Recruiting
- Thread starter Rembrandt90
- Start date
I believe Brian Robinson will become one of our top players of the Stoops era. DJ Waller is also from Youngstown. They are the only two scholarship players from Youngstown on our current roster.
And it looks very good to me!! GO CATS!!
Man I must say it looks good to me as well. Like big time players good. This could turn into one the best classes we’ve ever had here if a few more balls roll our way. Great players want to play with other great players and we have a some solid talent that will hopefully help bring in some more studs to play with them. The staff is flat out working. Guys I miss football soo dang bad right now. Haha. Thanks for the updates everyone.
It could. Stoops and Marrow are off to a solid start. But there is a long way to go between now and December, and they will have to attract some SEC level defenders.
I would have never thought (due to UK putting players in the league) that we would be almost starving for DBs and OLT
As momma says “that’s Just the way it is sometimes”
As momma says “that’s Just the way it is sometimes”
Anyone sticking out to you who those big fish may be Rembrandt? Not going to ask you to predict or anything, just who at this time you think some may be. Thanks
I believe Martels Carter is leaning to UK and will eventually join our class. Carter is a very good player, and I believe he will have a strong UK football career as a S.
Dalen Penson has a crystal ball pick for UK. Online commenters seem increasingly convinced Brody Lennon and Javeon Campbell will sign with UK. That doesn't mean it will happen. But our coaches are recruiting these players very hard. For Campbell, who says he wants to go to college close to home, the fit is obvious.
Some of the uncommitted prospects who visit UK in June will commit to us, although I won't try to predict which ones (aside from what I have said above). The following have already scheduled OVs to UK in June-
June 7-
Javeon Campbell, DL, Frankfort, KY
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH (UK commit)
Isaac Sowells, OL, Louisville, KY
Darrin Strey, OL, Paw Paw, MI
Isaiah West, RB, Philadelphia, PA (UK commit)
N'Kye Wynn, OL, Muskegon, MI
June 14-
Bryan Auguste, OL, Pompano Beach, FL
Marquise Davis, RB, Cleveland, OH (UK commit)
Brody Lennon, TE, Gates Mills, OH
Cortez Thomas, DB, Lexington, MS
Brennan Ward, QB, Columbus, OH (UK commit)
June 21-
Christian Gass, LB, Covington, GA
Dejerrian Miller, WR, St Louis, MO
Dalen Penson, DB, Tyrone, GA
Andrew Stargel, OL, Roswell, GA
Dyllon Williams, DB, Demopolis, AL
Cedric Works, LB, Clayton, OH
Keon Young, DB, Lakeland, FL
Thanks a lot for that Rembrandt. Now that looks like a SEC visit list. I know there’s the big name recruiting geniuses and big time up and coming guys out there who get all the attention and hype, ( I know Vince has a great rep in this part of the country but he hasn’t gotten near the recognition he should’ve in my opinion), but this Kentucky Staff is amazing!! They’ve have gained more confidence and momentum the last few years and it’s showing every day. Being a blue in my veins Kentucky boy, haha, I’ve always felt Ky could become a powerhouse one day in football and that was even in the Joker days sitting at the top of the bleachers with no one in screaming distance. That’s a true story. Well at least in talking loudly distance Anyway, I have to say how proud of the work they’ve done and hope we can keep this group together for a few more years. Who knows if we’ll ever be able to honestly compete for a national title but it isn’t going to stop me from believing in Kentucky Football. Hey, Thanks again brother for everything you do to help us keep up with this roller coaster that recruiting is. That goes for all that contribute. I also want to say I think we’re going to love this freshman class on the field this season. Some really talented all SEC TYPE kids I’m seeing.
Rich Brooks always said to just ignore the noise and stay focused on the goal. He knew what he was talking about, and he rebuilt the culture. UK is a major University with a successful athletics department. The instate recruiting base is small, but that doesn't necessarily mean we can't be successful. Stoops and Marrow have done a visionary job of expanding UK's core recruiting territory. Given resources and patience, there is no reason UK can't compete for the SEC football championship and eventually win it. It doesn't matter which fans don't believe it. The leadership of our University believes it. You and I believe it. Most people only learn to believe such things after they happen.
A decade ago, many of our fans said seven wins was a ceiling for our football program. Now, seven wins is the floor. A decade ago, many of our fans said we could not win recruiting battles against the top SEC and B10 programs Now we do. That's change. I won't even get into the "basketball school" thing. Ask GA Bulldog players who is the most physical football team in the SEC east.
I also like our 2024 freshman class. Brian Robinson and Jason Patterson will be SEC stars. Very optimistic about Marc Nave, David Washington, Hardley Gilmore, Cam Dooley, Quay Scott, Steven Soles, and all the Smiths. And, yes, Boley can become a successful SEC QB but he will have competition (as it should be).
Need to lock up Campbell. Would not be suprised if he is fringe 5 star by the end.
Just 6 years ago, I had reasonable doubt that UK could again win 10 games in a season in my lifetime.
I had reached the age of 55 years, and had seen one ten win season in those 55 years.
In fact, just six years ago, we ranked 62nd among the 65 schools in the Power 5 conferences for recency of a ten win season, surpassing only the 3 P5 programs who (still) have never won 10 games in one season: I. U.; Vandy and Iowa State.
Now, the playoffs don’t look to be an insurmountable goal.
FWIW, elements in the sports media are characterizing Marquise Davis' UK commitment as a surprise out of left field. UL lover and Brohm cousin Nick Roush is calling Davis' UK commitment "shocking". Other commenters have used phrases like "out of left field", "recruiting coup", and "unexpected surprise".
But readers of this thread know differently. Right here on this thread on April 19, Bereacat suggested that UK was about to "lock up" Davis. For weeks, BigBlueManSouthCentralKY and I have pointed out that UK's opportunity to sign Davis was looking good. Others have also posted positively regarding Coach Stoops' chance to sign Davis. When a board moderator said here on April 22 that Davis had cancelled his UK visit, I pushed back because Davis had just UVed UK the prior week and was (still is) scheduled to OV UK on June 14. That being the case, I suggested that UK was in position for a commitment from Davis. That was almost 2 weeks ago.
So Davis' UK commitment may have surprised some people (like Roush), but was considered likely on this thread for weeks. FWIW.
But readers of this thread know differently. Right here on this thread on April 19, Bereacat suggested that UK was about to "lock up" Davis. For weeks, BigBlueManSouthCentralKY and I have pointed out that UK's opportunity to sign Davis was looking good. Others have also posted positively regarding Coach Stoops' chance to sign Davis. When a board moderator said here on April 22 that Davis had cancelled his UK visit, I pushed back because Davis had just UVed UK the prior week and was (still is) scheduled to OV UK on June 14. That being the case, I suggested that UK was in position for a commitment from Davis. That was almost 2 weeks ago.
So Davis' UK commitment may have surprised some people (like Roush), but was considered likely on this thread for weeks. FWIW.
Recruiting is among the most unpredictable of human behaviors. We know this. The December signing date is more than 7 months away. With all of that being understood, Davis' commitment is as solid as these verbal commitments can be. He decided to join our class despite knowing that Isaiah West was already committed. He cited UK's "family atmosphere" and his relationships with Coaches Stoops, Marrow, and Boulware. He chose UK over defending national champs MI, OH St, PA St, SoCal, ND, Miami, and three other SEC programs. He could have waited to commit, but he knows what he wants. This is another outstanding job by Coach Marrow. No one should be surprised.
Any player can change his mind. It's the times we live in. OTOH, there haven't been very many decommitments from recent UK classes. And when they have occurred, those decommitments have been replaced by other talented players.
Don’t see a lot of DL visits as of yet. Any DL targets that we are expecting to visit but haven’t confirmed?
Think it was last year but somebody researched commitments to UK/Stoops and found that 85-90% of those commitments stuck, a high and significant number IMO. You're right, recruiting gets funky sometimes but one must be very encouraged by the odds of this player and others staying a Cat.
First, let's acknowledge the returning roster for interior defensive linemen. Silver, Saunders, Gilbert, Gadson, and Jerod will be back in 2025. Robinson has the frame to add weight and move inside although he could also stay on the edge. Some analysts think Robinson will eventually fill out and grow into a 3 tech, but that remains to be seen.
Javeon Campbell, DL, Frankfort, KY
Javeon Campbell is currently billed as an "edge", meaning DE. He, like Robinson, will fill out quickly in a college program. I see Campbell as a college DT prospect.
Some other interior DL prospects reporting UK offers-
Delano Brown, DL, Olney, MD
Brandon Caesar, DL, Cleveland, OH
Kalen Edwards, DL, Dyersburg, TN
Shimyael Holt, DL, Suffolk, VA
Tristan Kyle, DL, Cleveland, OH
Eric Thomas, DL, Lehigh Acres, FL
UK is believed to be a finalist for Caesar but his only scheduled OV at this time will be to TN on June 21. UK's coaches are still trying to arrange an OV. The other guys report UK offers but seem to be at earlier stages of their recruiting process with no publicly reported favorites or scheduled visits.
Kalen Edwards 6-4 330 is the NG in that group. The others look like DT and DE in our system. Stiff competition for him with AU, GA and UL already in the mix. Would be a great get.
Again, I don't see why any defensive player would want to go to U6.
Guy that has been spot on and I absolutely trust says that Javeon Campbell has been a silent commit for awhile . Now this is recruiting and he could change his mind but my friend says he doesn’t think he will .
Thanks for sharing. I think the general prevailing wisdom says that Campbell will end up signing in UK's class. For one thing, he has expressed a desire to attend college close to his home in Frankfort. This is a good time to join UK's DL room, too, with so many key UK players using up their eligibility in the next two seasons. Coach White has a rep for putting solid defenses on the field, and Coach Stewart is gaining cred as a solid DL coach. It has been said that Wandale is helping UK with Campbell, but IDK.
But OTOH, GA, AL, and OH St are powerful programs with strong recruiters. That's the competition. We know those programs were publicly reported as having offered Campbell. In fact, he has scheduled OVs to all three. Once he gets on campus at those programs, he will be tested because their powers of persuasion are formidable.
At the end of the day, I think we have to be careful about our expectations prior to him taking all of his OVs, because you never know how a trip will affect his thinking.. I would like to think he ends up at UK, and I believe that is likely. But recruiting is among the most unpredictable of human behaviors.
Last edited:
I haven’t seen it but snow cat on HOB said wilting predicted him to UK. I haven’t see an actual CB on 247 from him though. He said Wiltfong also predicted Lennon and Carter to UK.
Okay. Based on what I have seen and heard in the last several hours, I now feel much more confident that Campbell will become a UK Wildcat. So does Steve Wiltfong. That doesn't make it a certainty, but he is seldom wrong.
The crystal ball pick for Carter to UK was logged on February 5 and I still feel confident it will eventually happen. All the indicators say so. Something has happened recently that is generating predictions for Lennon to UK. Hope that one turns out to be true.
I hadn’t seen the Campbell or Lennon predictions. I didn’t know Wiltfong had went to ON3. Hadn’t seen his show in a while
I don’t read ON3 either and hadn’t seen anything from Wiltfong. This is what I found when I looked it up. Not sure when he left 247 but he gone
Steve Wiltfong Articles | On3.com
Discover the latest Steve Wiltfong' in-depth articles on college sports, focusing on the NIL, transfer portal news, and NCAA developments, at On3.com.
Well, it appears you are correct. Interesting development. Came as a surprise. Wiltfong was just hired as On3's VP of Recruiting and Transfer Portal. He is now doing a syndicated online podcast.I don’t read ON3 either and hadn’t seen anything from Wiltfong. This is what I found when I looked it up. Not sure when he left 247 but he gone
Steve Wiltfong Articles | On3.com
Discover the latest Steve Wiltfong' in-depth articles on college sports, focusing on the NIL, transfer portal news, and NCAA developments, at On3.com.www.on3.com
I gather involvement by UK's staff in Edwards' recruitment is maybe getting off to a little bit of a late start. Coach Stewart is his primary recruiter. A UK scholarship was offered to Edwards just last week. He has already scheduled OVs to Auburn (May 31), UL (June 7), and GA (June 21) although those are the only public clues to his list of favorites. He has not publicly given a list, and I don't think he knows yet.
FWIW, Dyersburg is in the extreme western part of TN, halfway between Memphis and Paducah. So, not very far from the KY border. The drive from Dyersburg to Lexington is 340 miles. That would make OM, MS St, AR, MO, UL, and UK the closest Power 4 schools that have offered him so far.
UK has two more seasons of Keeshaun Silver and four seasons of Kendrick Gilbert. It's time to sign another young SEC level NT. Coach White's defense must have a zero tech who can occupy two blockers and hold his gap. Edwards would fill the requirement, but Coach Stewart will have to get a campus visit scheduled before we would have a reason for optimism. Still, an interesting prospect from an adjacent state.
For those still asking the question, Rushaune Vilane is a PWO. He and Coach White are alumni of the same hs in RI. Vilane's only publicly reported scholarship offer is RIU. Good looking player at the RI level and maybe has the size to be developed over a period of years. But the only 2025 LBs UK is targeting for scholarships are Christian Gass and Cedric Works, both of whom will OV here in June.
The Cats offered the number one TE (Kendre Harrison) in the country who plays at the high school my 3 kids attended (Reidsville, NC) and I have seen him play numerous times (as well as basketball).
He has great hands and can really run for a BIGGGGG guy after the catch. Also plays defensive end.
Reidsville is a football factory and has won 23 NC state championships. They will be really good again this year after winning the State Championship in football and basketball (its all football players who play the major minutes in basketball as well).
That said, I doubt he will come here. UNC and Notre Dame seem to be the favorites. All of the big boys offered him months ago. Our offer was just last week, so we were way behind in that regard.
He is going to be just a junior, but may be able to reclassify to 2025 so I'm including him in this thread.
Just an FYI...
He has great hands and can really run for a BIGGGGG guy after the catch. Also plays defensive end.
Reidsville is a football factory and has won 23 NC state championships. They will be really good again this year after winning the State Championship in football and basketball (its all football players who play the major minutes in basketball as well).
That said, I doubt he will come here. UNC and Notre Dame seem to be the favorites. All of the big boys offered him months ago. Our offer was just last week, so we were way behind in that regard.
He is going to be just a junior, but may be able to reclassify to 2025 so I'm including him in this thread.
Just an FYI...
Martels Carter will announce his school choice on May 25. There are many reasons to believe Carter will choose UK, and we have already discussed some of them here. Carter is an instate prospect with a crystal ball prediction from commenter Josh Edwards for UK. When highly rated prospects make early announcements, that usually (not always) means the instate school wins. Typically (not always), if a decision for an out of state school is coming, the announcement may come later rather than earlier.
To review, Carter is a S prospect from Paducah Tilghman hs. Many sources consider him the #1 prospect in Kentucky in 2025. He transferred to Tilghman hs from Chattanooga Brainerd hs. Prior to that, his family lived in Rome, GA. So Carter is well known to all SEC coaching staffs. Reportedly, he holds 13 SEC offers plus SoCal, MI, and Clemson. At the time Carter moved to Paducah, it was rumored that he was a GA lean. But Coach Marrow and Coach Stoops have recruited him hard and closed that gap.
Two UK safeties (Childress, Story) are scheduled to use up their eligibility this coming season. Carter is a potential impact addition early in his college career. His speed and quickness are elite, and he is a hard nosed player with a high football IQ. Coach Stoops likes multisport athletes, and Carter has run 100m for several hs track teams in the past. So his addition to our 2025 class would be big.
Earlier this week, RB prospect Isaiah West decommitted from our 2025 class a few days after he visited OH St. At the moment West is uncommitted. He has OVs scheduled to UK (June 7) and OH St (June 14). Some commenters are suggesting that the June visit to Lexington means UK's coaches can still persuade West to change his mind and rejoin UK's class. That may be a longshot now, although Coach Marrow is an excellent recruiter. Let's wait and see if West shows up in Lexington on June 7. As everyone on this thread knows, UK also has a commitment from Cleveland RB prospect Marquise Davis. In light of the fact that RB Bo Jackson seems to have eliminated UK from his primary list recently, it will be interesting to see if Coach Marrow and Coach Boulware develop other RB alternatives for 2025 or take only Davis.
To review, Carter is a S prospect from Paducah Tilghman hs. Many sources consider him the #1 prospect in Kentucky in 2025. He transferred to Tilghman hs from Chattanooga Brainerd hs. Prior to that, his family lived in Rome, GA. So Carter is well known to all SEC coaching staffs. Reportedly, he holds 13 SEC offers plus SoCal, MI, and Clemson. At the time Carter moved to Paducah, it was rumored that he was a GA lean. But Coach Marrow and Coach Stoops have recruited him hard and closed that gap.
Two UK safeties (Childress, Story) are scheduled to use up their eligibility this coming season. Carter is a potential impact addition early in his college career. His speed and quickness are elite, and he is a hard nosed player with a high football IQ. Coach Stoops likes multisport athletes, and Carter has run 100m for several hs track teams in the past. So his addition to our 2025 class would be big.
Earlier this week, RB prospect Isaiah West decommitted from our 2025 class a few days after he visited OH St. At the moment West is uncommitted. He has OVs scheduled to UK (June 7) and OH St (June 14). Some commenters are suggesting that the June visit to Lexington means UK's coaches can still persuade West to change his mind and rejoin UK's class. That may be a longshot now, although Coach Marrow is an excellent recruiter. Let's wait and see if West shows up in Lexington on June 7. As everyone on this thread knows, UK also has a commitment from Cleveland RB prospect Marquise Davis. In light of the fact that RB Bo Jackson seems to have eliminated UK from his primary list recently, it will be interesting to see if Coach Marrow and Coach Boulware develop other RB alternatives for 2025 or take only Davis.
As of now, I have to guess Martels Carter will be UK's next commitment. He is instate, he has a crystal pick for UK, and he has scheduled a public commitment later this month. Coach Marrow has prioritized his recruitment at a position (S) where he has a chance to play early at UK. So I expect Carter to pick UK on May 25. He would be the first defensive commitment in our 2025 class and a big recruiting win.
After that, it's going to depend on how the June campus visits go. But when I look at the list of players who have already scheduled UK OVs, these are the uncommitted guys who seem most connected to UK so far-
Bryan Auguste
Javeon Campbell
Martels Carter
Brody Lennon
Dejerrian Miller
Dalen Penson
Cedric Works
After that, it's going to depend on how the June campus visits go. But when I look at the list of players who have already scheduled UK OVs, these are the uncommitted guys who seem most connected to UK so far-
Bryan Auguste
Javeon Campbell
Martels Carter
Brody Lennon
Dejerrian Miller
Dalen Penson
Cedric Works
Similar threads
