State of 2025 Recruiting

[Rembrandt90]

Noah King, ATH, Hamilton, OH

Another Cincinnati area athlete picks up a UK offer. Following a strong camp performance in Lexington yesterday as a CB and nickel, King has now been offered by UK. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. He is a strong, athletic player with length and cover skills. This is King's 3rd Power 4 offer along with WV and OR St. King also had a strong camp performance at an Under Armor camp in Canton in April. He will OV UK on June 18.

 

[mrschwump]

Noah King, ATH, Hamilton, OH

Another Cincinnati area athlete picks up a UK offer. Following a strong camp performance in Lexington yesterday as a CB and nickel, King has now been offered by UK. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. He is a strong, athletic player with length and cover skills. This is King's 3rd Power 4 offer along with WV and OR St. King also had a strong camp performance at an Under Armor camp in Canton in April. He will OV UK on June 18.

TOS has a crystal ball for Sowells to NC ST. FWIW.

 

[Rembrandt90]

TOS has a crystal ball for Sowells to NC ST. FWIW.

I am not surprised by that. I have never been inclined to believe Sowells would end up at UK. Several reasons, not just one. I have discussed them here before.

 

[Bereacat420]

I am not surprised by that. I have never been inclined to believe Sowells would end up at UK. Several reasons, not just one. I have discussed them here before.

My main one is idk if he can be an SEC IOL

 

[mrschwump]

I am not surprised by that. I have never been inclined to believe Sowells would end up at UK. Several reasons, not just one. I have discussed them here before.

This was by a self-avowed NC ST "insider."

 

[mrschwump]

My main one is idk if he can be an SEC IOL

Agree plus Sowells is apparently being looked at as an OC. UK has RS freshman Keenum plus true freshman Selm there for the future.

 

[Bereacat420]

Agree plus Sowells is apparently being looked at as an OC. UK has RS freshman Keenum plus true freshman Selm there for the future.

Not saying Selm won’t play OC but he is perfect for OG. With Keemun at OC I see Selm playing a lot at OG next year(25)

 

[Bereacat420]

Noah King, ATH, Hamilton, OH

Another Cincinnati area athlete picks up a UK offer. Following a strong camp performance in Lexington yesterday as a CB and nickel, King has now been offered by UK. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. He is a strong, athletic player with length and cover skills. This is King's 3rd Power 4 offer along with WV and OR St. King also had a strong camp performance at an Under Armor camp in Canton in April. He will OV UK on June 18.

The big day today belonged to Evan Hampton for Owensboro, who picked up an offer today

 

[mrschwump]

Not saying Selm won’t play OC but he is perfect for OG. With Keemun at OC I see Selm playing a lot at OG next year(25)

I'd say you're right, I should've prefaced that was under Yenser that Selm would get a look-see at OC. Don't know what Wolford thinks of that. Of course, need somebody lined up due to potential injury. Still think at some point Scott Padgett's boy Lucas, a walk-on, might see time at C.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Selm will get a look at C. He could end up at C or G. Eli and Keenum are the two top Cs.

Lucas Padgett is a decent player but he will not see the field ahead of Eli and Keenum. And he is not a G. If he was a G, he still would not get on the field ahead of the guys who play in that rotation. That is not a criticism.

 

[C.W.S.pipesealer]

My main one is idk if he can be an SEC IOL

Sounds like you don’t trust the UK staff.

 

[Rembrandt90]

This was by a self-avowed NC ST "insider."

I think he may be onto something.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Sounds like you don’t trust the UK staff.

Enough trolling. Just stop. You never add anything useful to the other posters.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

The big day today belonged to Evan Hampton for Owensboro, who picked up an offer today

Hampton is a super athlete. Wants to be a two sports player. At about 6-0 200 he batted 470 this year in baseball. And he is a great running back with 4.42 speed. His whole family are big UK fans.

 

[C.W.S.pipesealer]

Noah King, ATH, Hamilton, OH

Another Cincinnati area athlete picks up a UK offer. Following a strong camp performance in Lexington yesterday as a CB and nickel, King has now been offered by UK. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. He is a strong, athletic player with length and cover skills. This is King's 3rd Power 4 offer along with WV and OR St. King also had a strong camp performance at an Under Armor camp in Canton in April. He will OV UK on June 18.

Being recruited as a safety.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Being recruited as a safety.

More likely a nickel.

 

[ABlueWildcat]

CWS Pipesealer is great. Stop hating

 

[Bereacat420]

Sounds like you don’t trust the UK staff.

Thank you I needed that laugh last night. I’m not saying I do or don’t trust them. I am not sold on how hard they are pushing for him. Also te last few years, and I know there have been several coaching changes, if it wasn’t for the portal the line would be really bad. They have missed on several good prospects and taken several that didn’t work out. OL is a hard spot to recruit and evaluate

 

[Rembrandt90]

CWS Pipesealer is great. Stop hating

Wait, what? Are you his mother? Why is it "hating" to answer a post that is likely to be misleading?

 

[Rembrandt90]

Taeshaun Gelsey, TE, Jacksonville, FL

Evidently UK is a finalist, Another multisport athlete, a popular feature with UK's coaches. Gelsey reportedly holds at least 3 SEC, 3 ACC, and 2 B10 offers. FL may be the team to beat. So far, his only OV was to FL.

 

[Rembrandt90]

I am beginning to think Stoops' next commitment might come from Demarcus Gardner or Jayden Clark, since neither has another OV scheduled after OVing UK on June 14. The following week, Dalen Penson will be here for his OV and he is another possibility.

I am not including Javeon Campbell in the discussion because he has already said he will announce in July. I expect Stoops will get 3-4 commitments before June is up.

 

[maroon79]

Palen a slot?

 

[Ukalum99]

I am beginning to think Stoops' next commitment might come from Demarcus Gardner or Jayden Clark, since neither has another OV scheduled after OVing UK on June 14. The following week, Dalen Penson will be here for his OV and he is another possibility.

I am not including Javeon Campbell in the discussion because he has already said he will announce in July. I expect Stoops will get 3-4 commitments before June is up.

This feels like too early to take Gardner. UCF is his only other P5 option. That feels like a guy you can lock down way later on and he lacks the size to have a recruitment that will really blow up. Lots of better options still out there that Kentucky has a real shot with. Galloway and Penson being the two big ones. They also just took three freshman corners in Marshall Nichols, and Scott and took a true sophomore in transfer Waller. I don't think corner is a position you need two scholarship players in this class and this feels like settling considering the guys they are also in with.

But its the portal era and I guess you can't bank on players returning like you used to

 

[Rembrandt90]

This feels like too early to take Gardner. UCF is his only other P5 option. That feels like a guy you can lock down way later on and he lacks the size to have a recruitment that will really blow up. Lots of better options still out there that Kentucky has a real shot with. Galloway and Penson being the two big ones. They also just took three freshman corners in Marshall Nichols, and Scott and took a true sophomore in transfer Waller. I don't think corner is a position you need two scholarship players in this class and this feels like settling considering the guys they are also in with.

But its the portal era and I guess you can't bank on players returning like you used to

The June OVs are for players they really want. They would not be having Gardner in for an OV this month if they weren't serious about him.

I think Stoops needs 2 solid cover CBs in this class. The CB position is the least settled position in Coach White's defense. Jaremiah Anglin left. We could lose Max Hairston to the NFL draft after this season. Avery Stuart has been hurt almost continuously since he got here, and JQ Hardaway has not worked out so far. A lot of responsibility will fall on Jantzen Dunn and we don't know how he will respond. I have high hopes for Terhyon Nichols but there were rumors in April that he might get a look at S. Waller will get a try as a CB but could still end up at S. There is no way Jiquavious Marshall ends up as an outside CB. Marshall eeds to fill out and looks like a nickel or a SS.

I think UK probably gets Penson, but it will be hard to sign Galloway. If we get Galloway, that could change some things. But I am not counting on that yet.

 

[Rembrandt90]

More new 2025 UK offers-

Jahmale Clark, DB, Dayton, OH
Xavier Millerton, LB, Dayton, OH
Baron White, DB, Dayton, OH

 

[mrschwump]

The June OVs are for players they really want. They would not be having Gardner in for an OV this month if they weren't serious about him.

I think Stoops needs 2 solid cover CBs in this class. The CB position is the least settled position in Coach White's defense. Jaremiah Anglin left. We could lose Max Hairston to the NFL draft after this season. Avery Stuart has been hurt almost continuously since he got here, and JQ Hardaway has not worked out so far. A lot of responsibility will fall on Jantzen Dunn and we don't know how he will respond. I have high hopes for Terhyon Nichols but there were rumors in April that he might get a look at S. Waller will get a try as a CB but could still end up at S. There is no way Jiquavious Marshall ends up as an outside CB. Marshall eeds to fill out and looks like a nickel or a SS.

I think UK probably gets Penson, but it will be hard to sign Galloway. If we get Galloway, that could change some things. But I am not counting on that yet.

Don't know how the process is handled but we have to figure in Nickle as that's an important part of Coach Stoops D so some of these guys we're talking about as a S or CB will likely end up as a Nickle.

I think Dunn will be a big surprise contributor for UK. The guy is a really good athlete and runs really well.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Don't know how the process is handled but we have to figure in Nickle as that's an important part of Coach Stoops D so some of these guys we're talking about as a S or CB will likely end up as a Nickle.

I think Dunn will be a big surprise contributor for UK. The guy is a really good athlete and runs really well.

I hope you are right about Dunn because we need more of our CBs to step up and play better. Reportedly, Dunn had a pretty good spring but is still having some trouble with the mental part. Our CBs basically lost to Clemson in the 4th quarter of the bowl game. I don't think that is much of an oversimplification. The rest of Coach White's defensive roster looks real strong if they can get our secondary to playing better.

To my eyes, the two MS schools are the SEC teams that have used the nickel as well as Coach White has. From a physical standpoint, Alex Afari has been the ideal nickel because he has cover skills and enough size to play close to the box. When Stoops got here, he installed a multiple 3-4-4 defense. Coach White modified the scheme by taking out the Sam LB in some situations and replacing him with a nickel. 3-3-5, like MS St was using. As the SEC has become more of a spread passing conference with 3-4 WRs on the field, we have seen more use of the nickel. Don't be confused by the fact that Afari has now grown as big as a true LB. When Afari first started playing nickel, he had not filled out and had been practicing at S and CB. As he has matured, he has grown into a hybrid LB and become a very physical player.

I suspect Antwan Smith and Jiquavious Marshall may end up as nickels as they fill out. Coach Marrow is recruiting Noah King out of OH as a nickel.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Yes, we already know all of that. We are SEC football fans.

So, again, GA offered Martels Carter on April 17, 2023, according to multiple independent sources. Prior to that, Carter was interested in GA, and nobody here has a log that documents the lengths to which Carter went. Not me. Not you.

Maybe I am incorrect, but you sure make it seem like you are suggesting UK is getting Carter, at least in part, because GA really didn't want him. I can't read your mind, but it seems fair to say this is the implication of your comments on Carter. In the past, you have complained that some of us don't take you seriously enough. Respectfully, note that we don't care whether Kirby wants Carter. That might be an issue for you, but not for us. We see Carter as an excellent match for our defensive secondary. Respectfully, this is why I have suggested trying to keep your comments more in the context of UK football, since this is the UK football board. I don't see that suggestion being disrespectful in any way. Pretty simple really. If you want to get yourself into a back and forth about whether Kirby wanted Carter, it just seems like the GA football board would be the place for that. That way, you won't distract the UK recruiting thread. But if you want to keep swimming upstream here, knock yourself out. It does not add to our discussion of UK's 2025 defensive recruiting, because we are glad to have Carter in our class for reasons extensively discussed here.

You do understand when a kid says he has no interest a smart coach wouldn't waste time and resources on him. Don't have that chip on your shoulder on every post someone makes because everyone isn't taking a shot.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

The June OVs are for players they really want. They would not be having Gardner in for an OV this month if they weren't serious about him.

I think Stoops needs 2 solid cover CBs in this class. The CB position is the least settled position in Coach White's defense. Jaremiah Anglin left. We could lose Max Hairston to the NFL draft after this season. Avery Stuart has been hurt almost continuously since he got here, and JQ Hardaway has not worked out so far. A lot of responsibility will fall on Jantzen Dunn and we don't know how he will respond. I have high hopes for Terhyon Nichols but there were rumors in April that he might get a look at S. Waller will get a try as a CB but could still end up at S. There is no way Jiquavious Marshall ends up as an outside CB. Marshall eeds to fill out and looks like a nickel or a SS.

I think UK probably gets Penson, but it will be hard to sign Galloway. If we get Galloway, that could change some things. But I am not counting on that yet.

Did Gardner not commit to Central Florida? Also think Story has impressed at safety and I thought that Bryant may get some look at nickel because of that?

 

[C.W.S.pipesealer]

Surely UK isn’t going to settle on a guy like Gardner.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Surely UK isn’t going to settle on a guy like Gardner.

What is "a guy like Gardner? What's that mean exactly? What is wrong with Demarcus Gardner that you see but our coaches don't see? Have you watched his film? Did you know Gardner is a hs track star in 100m, 200m, and long jump in addition to being a star WR and CB for Cedartown hs?

 

[Rembrandt90]

Did Gardner not commit to Central Florida?

Yes, that's right. But he will OV UK.

Also think Story has impressed at safety and I thought that Bryant may get some look at nickel because of that?

I heard that too. But Bryant will be back in the FS rotation as soon as one of our other safeties gets hurt, which seems to happen to us every season. Safeties take more hard hits than any other position on the field.

 

[Rembrandt90]

You do understand when a kid says he has no interest a smart coach wouldn't waste time and resources on him. Don't have that chip on your shoulder on every post someone makes because everyone isn't taking a shot.

We are accustomed to your habit of diverting our threads. Some of our fans find it distracting, so I have asked you to try to keep your posts oriented toward the UK football topic. I think that is very reasonable. After all, this is a UK football board. But if you insist on getting nasty and attacking me personally, that will take this to a different level that I don't think you will like. And, frankly, when it comes to thin skins, you have some of the thinnest here.

But this thread is about UK football recruiting, so I will ask you nicely yet again to stop trying to divert the threads away from the UK football topic. You know darn well what you are doing.

 

[Rembrandt90]

its the portal era and I guess you can't bank on players returning like you used to

That's a topic unto itself. The changing transfer portal rules have kind of taken a sledge hammer to college football. Nick Saban addressed this and many of us agree with him. So far, Mark Stoops has been close to masterful in handling the portal. Stoops has an advantage because our players like our coaching staff. So almost all the outgoing transfers happen because those players are getting buried on the depth chart for various reasons. So far, it has been a big boost for our program that players like Cox, Davis, Vandagriff and Dumas-Johnson wanted to come here. But the transfer portal is destabilizing, and it splits the attention of the coaches one more way.

 

[Bereacat420]

Yes, that's right. But he will OV UK.

According to 247, he OV UCF May 31st

 

[Ukalum99]

The June OVs are for players they really want. They would not be having Gardner in for an OV this month if they weren't serious about him.

I think Stoops needs 2 solid cover CBs in this class. The CB position is the least settled position in Coach White's defense. Jaremiah Anglin left. We could lose Max Hairston to the NFL draft after this season. Avery Stuart has been hurt almost continuously since he got here, and JQ Hardaway has not worked out so far. A lot of responsibility will fall on Jantzen Dunn and we don't know how he will respond. I have high hopes for Terhyon Nichols but there were rumors in April that he might get a look at S. Waller will get a try as a CB but could still end up at S. There is no way Jiquavious Marshall ends up as an outside CB. Marshall eeds to fill out and looks like a nickel or a SS.

I think UK probably gets Penson, but it will be hard to sign Galloway. If we get Galloway, that could change some things. But I am not counting on that yet.

What is "a guy like Gardner? What's that mean exactly? What is wrong with Demarcus Gardner that you see but our coaches don't see? Have you watched his film? Did you know Gardner is a hs track star in 100m, 200m, and long jump in addition to being a star WR and CB for Cedartown hs?

Fair points on the need for two corners in this upcoming class. But I agree that I do not see what the coach's see in Gardner. My biggest issue is that he plays for Cedartown and there is currently a Georgia and Clemson commit on his team and yet he has not been able to get any recruiting attention. He attended Florida's junior day and even after his commitment to UCF there has been almost no interest from other programs.

When Kentucky reaches for players in the south (AL, GA, MS, LA, TN) who are lower rated and are among the only P5 or SEC to offer the hit rate on those players is absolutely putrid. Since 2018 when Kentucky went to the deep south (not Florida- Florida is its own animal) and recruited a player with mostly G5 offers and not a consensus top 500 guy these are the results:

2018-
Allen Dailey
Kavosiey Smoke
Jerquavion Mahone
Chris Rodriguez

2019-
Tra Wilkins
Amani Gilmore
Marquez Bembry
Taj Dodson
KD McDaniel
Travis Tisdale

2020-
Josh Jones
D'Eryk Jackson

2021-
Martez Thrower
Devonte Ross
Adrian Huey
Kahlil Saunders
Chauncey Magwood

2022-
Andre Stewart
Quentel Jones

So no this staff has shown almost zero ability to go into the south and find players that these other SEC teams are just missing. These SEC staffs are absolute machines. If there are good players in these states other SEC/P5 teams are going after them as well. Stoops and staff are good developers of talent and have shown a good ability to identify talent but they aren't special. Trying to find hidden gems in the south is a fool's errand.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Fair points on the need for two corners in this upcoming class. But I agree that I do not see what the coach's see in Gardner. My biggest issue is that he plays for Cedartown and there is currently a Georgia and Clemson commit on his team and yet he has not been able to get any recruiting attention. He attended Florida's junior day and even after his commitment to UCF there has been almost no interest from other programs.

When Kentucky reaches for players in the south (AL, GA, MS, LA, TN) who are lower rated and are among the only P5 or SEC to offer the hit rate on those players is absolutely putrid. Since 2018 when Kentucky went to the deep south (not Florida- Florida is its own animal) and recruited a player with mostly G5 offers and not a consensus top 500 guy these are the results:

2018-
Allen Dailey
Kavosiey Smoke
Jerquavion Mahone
Chris Rodriguez

2019-
Tra Wilkins
Amani Gilmore
Marquez Bembry
Taj Dodson
KD McDaniel
Travis Tisdale

2020-
Josh Jones
D'Eryk Jackson

2021-
Martez Thrower
Devonte Ross
Adrian Huey
Kahlil Saunders
Chauncey Magwood

2022-
Andre Stewart
Quentel Jones

So no this staff has shown almost zero ability to go into the south and find players that these other SEC teams are just missing. These SEC staffs are absolute machines. If there are good players in these states other SEC/P5 teams are going after them as well. Stoops and staff are good developers of talent and have shown a good ability to identify talent but they aren't special. Trying to find hidden gems in the south is a fool's errand.

Almost zero ability? CRod and D'Eryk Jackson have been important starters, and CRod is in the NFL now. Khalil Saunders is a very good player. Several others contributed.

Anecdotally, it's easy to show a list of players and draw inferences because most of them didn't start. But if I show you the list of 4-star players Stoops has signed, you will no doubt be surprised to see that many of them have had little or no impact in the program. So should he stop signing 4-star players? No. He trusts his evaluators.

So every signing is a bet on a player's upside, and most players never live up to it. That's true everywhere, not just here. That's why your premise won't hold up in a more granular discussion, even though you offer some fair points. Keep in mind, Josh Allen, Bunchy Stallings, Luke Fortner, and Carrington Valentine are among the lowest rated prospects Stoops has signed here. Three of them are still playing in the NFL, and one of those had a monster season while earning a huge contract extension in 2023. The fourth was a first team AA. So we ought to be careful here with too much generalization.

With regard to Demarcus Gardner, it isn't difficult to see the issue. He weighs 170#. Too light. Right there, that means he will need time to get bigger and stronger as an SEC defender. Therefore he isn't an immediate impact prospect. Programs like GA and Clemson are looking for impact signings. But Gardner is a star sprinter in the 100m and 200m who competes in statewide meets, and also a star long jumper. Speed, athleticism, leaping ability, and loose hips are what our coaches see in him. That's good scouting. They put some good weight on Valentine and Hairston and made them into NFL prospects. They are putting good weight on Ty Bryant. I think that is the scouting calculation. Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't. But I understand the thinking.

 

[Rembrandt90]

According to 247, he OV UCF May 31st

Are we talking about Demarcus Gardner? Yes, I believe he did OV UCF on May 31.

 

[Bereacat420]

Are we talking about Demarcus Gardner? Yes, I believe he did OV UCF on May 31.

Yes

 

[Ukalum99]

Almost zero ability? CRod and D'Eryk Jackson have been important starters, and CRod is in the NFL now. Khalil Saunders is a very good player. Several others contributed.

Anecdotally, it's easy to show a list of players and draw inferences because most of them didn't start. But if I show you the list of 4-star players Stoops has signed, you will no doubt be surprised to see that many of them have had little or no impact in the program.

So every signing is a bet on a player's upside, and most players never live up to it. That's true everywhere, not just here. That's why your premise won't hold up in a more granular discussion. Keep in mind, Josh Allen, Bunchy Stallings, Luke Fortner, and Carrington Valentine are among the lowest rated prospects Stoops has signed here. Three of them are still in the NFL, and one of those had a monster season earning a huge contract extension in 2023. The other was a first team AA. So we ought to be careful here with too much generalization.

With regard to Demarcus Gardner, it isn't difficult to see the issue. He weighs 170#. Right there, that means he will need time to get bigger and stronger as an SEC defender. Therefore he isn't an impact prospect. Programs like GA and Clemson are looking for impact signings. But Gardner is a star sprinter in the 100m and 200m who competes in statewide meets, and also a star long jumper. Speed, athleticism, leaping ability, and loose hips are what they see in him. That's good scouting. They put good weight on Valentine and Hairston. They are putting good weight on Ty Bryant. I think that is the calculation. Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't. But I understand the thinking.

That's not true. And of course there are guys that have been good contributors. You of all people should know that. But recruiting is a numbers game. Not all five stars pan out, but they do at a much higher level. I listed 20 names you listed the only 3 that have been contributors. 16 guys on that list have transferred or retired from football without playing a snap. That is not a statistical anomaly when you are talking about a sample of 20 players over multiple classes and the transfer rate is over 80%.

The hit rate for 4 stars is much higher and the transfer rate for 4 stars at Kentucky would be well under 25-20%. I am not against taking three stars. Its unrealistic to expect a staff to sign nothing but top 500 guys. But I have never been a fan of going into the mostly hotly contested region of the country and picking up the scraps after the SEC/ACC powerhouses take the best players. Our staff has very limited connections to the high schools and pipelines in the deep south in comparison to other SEC programs. Trying to find players that have slipped through the other programs has been almost never successful. Even the guys you mentioned (Rodriguez and Jackson) were lower rated but atleast had a handful of other SEC offers.

You compared Gardner to Valentine and Hairston. Here is the difference. Valentine was lower rated but he carried 14 P5 offers including most of the regional teams (Cincy, UofL, Purdue, Michigan St). Valentine was also an Aspirations and Chris Vaughn guy so the staff was very familiar with him. Not to mention he hailed from Cincinnati, a city that the coaching staff is very well connected to coaches. They had good information on Valentine and being a guy that was only from Cincy and who had been around the program for a longtime he was also seen as a guy unlikely to transfer.

Hairston was a Clinkscale recruit out of Michigan. Clink was always well connected up there and proved to be among the best recruiters of Michigan high school talent in all of college football. Clink proved to be trusted in his evaluation of Michigan high school talent. That is not true of anyone in the current staff when it comes to any of the southern states. They simply do not have the connections that Clink had in Michigan. Also not including the fact that Hairston was a late rise his senior year and Kentucky was not even involved until then. He was also projected a P4 starter by 247 recruiting expert Allen trieu and held offers from Ole Miss, Arkansas, Cincy, Purdue, Virginia Tech.

There are times that I am okay "trusting the staff". When Vince recruits a kid, or we take a lower rated running back, or Brad White in the mid atlantic. But buying into the idea that Chris Collins and Anwar Stewart have somehow found a hidden gem in the middle of SEC country on a team with 2 kids committed to CFB playoff contenders is nonsense.