State of 2025 Recruiting
- Thread starter Rembrandt90
- Start date
With 10 verbal commits now, let's take a closer look.
Martels Carter, DB (S)
Marquise Davis, RB
Ja'kayden Ferguson, WR/CB
Tucker Kattus, OL (OG)
Andrew Purcell, DB (CB)
Stone Saunders, QB
Quintin Simmons, WR/slotR
Nicholas Smith, DL (DE/DT)
Darrin Strey, OL (OT)
Brennen Ward, QB
So, at this juncture, that's 6 offensive prospects, 3 defensive prospects, plus one (Ferguson) who is being recruited primarily as a WR but also intends to take practice reps at CB.
Stoops already has the QBs he needs in the class.
We know he wants at least one more WR. Dejerrian Miller, Andrew Marsh, Preston Bowman, and Samari Reed are still uncommitted.
Stoops might take one more RB in the fall, maybe a late flip, but no new RB names are on UK's public radar right now.
Coach Marrow is only recruiting one TE prospect (Brody Lennon) but most observers expect Lennon to commit to OH St.
We know Stoops wants at least one more OT. The prominent uncommitted name is Jermiel Atkins, whom Coach Marrow would like to wrap up today or at least in the next 2 weeks. Atkins is a high risk high reward prospect. If he is a take, Bryan Auguste is another likely OT possibility. There is one uncorroborated new report that Coach Wolf is recruiting Jason Ekperuoh and time will tell if it is valid. As far as the interior OL is concerned, Stoops is still waiting on Isaac Sowells. New names could pop onto Stoops' radar in the fall, like Marc Nave did late in 2023.
On the DL, we now have Nicholas Smith. Coach White and Coach Stewart are trying hard to close on Kalen Edwards and Javeon Campbell.
Numerically speaking, Stoops doesn't need more LBs in the 2025 class. But Christian Gass, Cedric Works, Jaiden Braker are too talented to pass up if Stoops can sign them. My guess would be that Stoops gets one of them, most likely Works.
In the secondary, we already have commitments from a CB (Purcell) and a S (Carter). These are strong commitments, but we still need another CB and another S. Dawayne Galloway and Noah King are still uncommitted, and new names will probably pop up on Stoops' radar in the fall. Galloway is considered a national top 250 prospect and would be an ideal fit for Coach White's secondary.
Because evaluations do not involve any standardization or guidelines concerning uniform depth of coverage, I am not a proponent of online player ratings, as everyone on the thread already knows. UK fans know Jacob Tamme, Randall Cobb, Josh Allen, and Bunchy Stallings went from being very lightly recruited in hs to All Americans in Lexington. Who is to say whether the #275 prospect is really better than the #400 prospect, and so forth? However, for those who follow such things, Simmons and Carter are ranked within the nation's top 250 hs football prospects. Marquise Davis is the #11 overall prospect in OH and the #21 RB prospect in the country. Darrin Strey is the #29 OT prospect in the country. Based on size, athleticism, and level of hs competition, our 10 commits are legitimate SEC prospects.
These players are OVing UK this weekend-
Jermiel Atkins, OL, Dayton, OH
Jaiden Braker, LB, Snellville, GA
Kalen Edwards, DL, Dyersburg, TN
Dejerrian Miller, WR, St Louis, MO
Nicholas Smith, DL, Monroe, GA (UK commit)
Cedric Works, LB, Clayton, OH
Smith committed to UK yesterday. All six of these prospects are important targets. It is widely believed that other thus far unreported prospects are also visiting UK this weekend, which remains to be seen.
Martels Carter, DB (S)
Marquise Davis, RB
Ja'kayden Ferguson, WR/CB
Tucker Kattus, OL (OG)
Andrew Purcell, DB (CB)
Stone Saunders, QB
Quintin Simmons, WR/slotR
Nicholas Smith, DL (DE/DT)
Darrin Strey, OL (OT)
Brennen Ward, QB
So, at this juncture, that's 6 offensive prospects, 3 defensive prospects, plus one (Ferguson) who is being recruited primarily as a WR but also intends to take practice reps at CB.
Stoops already has the QBs he needs in the class.
We know he wants at least one more WR. Dejerrian Miller, Andrew Marsh, Preston Bowman, and Samari Reed are still uncommitted.
Stoops might take one more RB in the fall, maybe a late flip, but no new RB names are on UK's public radar right now.
Coach Marrow is only recruiting one TE prospect (Brody Lennon) but most observers expect Lennon to commit to OH St.
We know Stoops wants at least one more OT. The prominent uncommitted name is Jermiel Atkins, whom Coach Marrow would like to wrap up today or at least in the next 2 weeks. Atkins is a high risk high reward prospect. If he is a take, Bryan Auguste is another likely OT possibility. There is one uncorroborated new report that Coach Wolf is recruiting Jason Ekperuoh and time will tell if it is valid. As far as the interior OL is concerned, Stoops is still waiting on Isaac Sowells. New names could pop onto Stoops' radar in the fall, like Marc Nave did late in 2023.
On the DL, we now have Nicholas Smith. Coach White and Coach Stewart are trying hard to close on Kalen Edwards and Javeon Campbell.
Numerically speaking, Stoops doesn't need more LBs in the 2025 class. But Christian Gass, Cedric Works, Jaiden Braker are too talented to pass up if Stoops can sign them. My guess would be that Stoops gets one of them, most likely Works.
In the secondary, we already have commitments from a CB (Purcell) and a S (Carter). These are strong commitments, but we still need another CB and another S. Dawayne Galloway and Noah King are still uncommitted, and new names will probably pop up on Stoops' radar in the fall. Galloway is considered a national top 250 prospect and would be an ideal fit for Coach White's secondary.
Because evaluations do not involve any standardization or guidelines concerning uniform depth of coverage, I am not a proponent of online player ratings, as everyone on the thread already knows. UK fans know Jacob Tamme, Randall Cobb, Josh Allen, and Bunchy Stallings went from being very lightly recruited in hs to All Americans in Lexington. Who is to say whether the #275 prospect is really better than the #400 prospect, and so forth? However, for those who follow such things, Simmons and Carter are ranked within the nation's top 250 hs football prospects. Marquise Davis is the #11 overall prospect in OH and the #21 RB prospect in the country. Darrin Strey is the #29 OT prospect in the country. Based on size, athleticism, and level of hs competition, our 10 commits are legitimate SEC prospects.
These players are OVing UK this weekend-
Jermiel Atkins, OL, Dayton, OH
Jaiden Braker, LB, Snellville, GA
Kalen Edwards, DL, Dyersburg, TN
Dejerrian Miller, WR, St Louis, MO
Nicholas Smith, DL, Monroe, GA (UK commit)
Cedric Works, LB, Clayton, OH
Smith committed to UK yesterday. All six of these prospects are important targets. It is widely believed that other thus far unreported prospects are also visiting UK this weekend, which remains to be seen.
Thanks for the time and effort you put in on recruiting.
Appreciate your gracious comment. If we are excited about UK football recruiting, it seems to me that June and December are the two easiest times of the year to get motivated. I am a believer that understanding the granularity involved in our staff's evaluation and recruitment of talent is far more important than the online player ratings. Wolf's apparent preference for Jermiel Atkins and Bryan Auguste over Cam Clark, Nolan Davenport, and Rafael Greene tells me something about how Wolf evaluates edge blockers. Coach Shorts' pursuit of Dejerrian Miller, Samari Reed, and Andrew Marsh over Montavin Quisenberry, Shaun Terry, Tate Nagy, and Jahmale Clark suggests to me that Shorts is now prioritizing catch radius, high-pointing, strength, and blocking over attracting more slot receivers. I was fascinated how quickly Stoops and Marrow turned Martels Carter's interest toward UK from FL St, Clemson, Auburn, and TN after Carter relocated to Paducah. To me, all of it is very interesting. I know I am not alone here.
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Yep. We need 1 more receiver from that group. Obviously marsh is the number 1 priority but any of those 3 is a great consolation
WR prospect Preston Bowman (Pickerington, OH) just committed to UK. Bowman, who recently attended a UK camp, is known for his strong hands, muscular body, and high football IQ. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow.
Rumors are circulating in the central KY sports media today that Coach Marrow is now on the verge of receiving commitments from Cedric Works, Jermiel Atkins, and Dawayne Galloway. We will see if these rumors have merit.
Rumors are circulating in the central KY sports media today that Coach Marrow is now on the verge of receiving commitments from Cedric Works, Jermiel Atkins, and Dawayne Galloway. We will see if these rumors have merit.
Miller and Marsh are. If one of them wants to play here, I believe it will happen. We don't have room for both.
Defensive back recruiting is going swell. How many of them are expected in this class and could any of them be WR prospects?
And then there were 12. As rumored earlier in the month, UK has flipped Demarcus Gardner from UCF.
Preston Bowman, WR, Pickerington, OH
Martels Carter, DB, Paducah, KY
Marquise Davis, RB, Cleveland, OH
Ja'kayden Ferguson, WR/DB, Missouri City, TX
Demarcus Gardner, DB, Cedartown, GA
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Andrew Purcell, DB, Enterprise, AL
Stone Saunders, QB, Harrisburg, PA
Quintin Simmons, WR/slotR, Cincinnati, OH
Nicholas Smith, DL, Monroe, GA
Darrin Strey, OL, Paw Paw, MI
Brennen Ward, QB, Columbus, OH
Bowman and Gardner have committed to UK today. Rumors continue to circulate in the KY media that Dawayne Galloway, Jermiel Atkins, and Cedric Works will commit to UK within several weeks. Meanwhile, FWIW, Andrew Marsh is saying great things about this week's UK OV.
Preston Bowman, WR, Pickerington, OH
Martels Carter, DB, Paducah, KY
Marquise Davis, RB, Cleveland, OH
Ja'kayden Ferguson, WR/DB, Missouri City, TX
Demarcus Gardner, DB, Cedartown, GA
Tucker Kattus, OL, Cincinnati, OH
Andrew Purcell, DB, Enterprise, AL
Stone Saunders, QB, Harrisburg, PA
Quintin Simmons, WR/slotR, Cincinnati, OH
Nicholas Smith, DL, Monroe, GA
Darrin Strey, OL, Paw Paw, MI
Brennen Ward, QB, Columbus, OH
Bowman and Gardner have committed to UK today. Rumors continue to circulate in the KY media that Dawayne Galloway, Jermiel Atkins, and Cedric Works will commit to UK within several weeks. Meanwhile, FWIW, Andrew Marsh is saying great things about this week's UK OV.
In 2014, Stoops signed 11 prospects from OH. Such things change each year. The guys Coach Marrow is recruiting out of OH this year are nice prospects.
Not that many.
If they can get Dawayne Galloway, they might be done with hs DBs in this class. Keep in mind Ja'kayden Ferguson wants to take practice reps at CB.
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Just getting Galloway would be very impactful for our 2025 class. The others would be gravy. We still have the fall visitation period to fill in the remaining gaps in the class. Last year, we added most of the guts of that class in the fall.
Don't forget Jayveon Campbell. Huge, HUGE target looming.
I was speaking of our remaining OH targets. It had been brought up by another poster that our 2025 class is becoming OH heavy. I believe Javeon Campbell will commit to UK when he announces early next month.
No worries. I see what you were probably thinking.
There will be more OVs in the fall.
For now, let's discuss the June recruiting progress.
Jermiel Atkins- Looks like UK versus VA Tech with UK probably in the better position because we received
his final visit. Atkins is scheduled to announce on July 4.
Bryan Auguste- UK versus BC. UK received his final visit. No significant news in either direction since his OV earlier this month. Might come down to whether UK still has an open scholarship after Atkins decides.
Jaiden Braker- UK, SCar, NC St, Utah.
Multiple crystal ball predictions earlier this month for SCar, but UK received his final visit.
Javeon Campbell- UK, GA, AL, Miami. Probably a UK lean. A week ago, Josh Edwards posted a crystal ball prediction for UK. Announcement reportedly coming early in July.
Kalen Edwards- UK versus Auburn. UK received his final visit.
Dawayne Galloway- UK, PA St, Purdue. Galloway is scheduled to announce on July 5. PA St received his final visit but Allen Trieu just posted a crystal ball prediction for UK.
Christian Gass- UK, FL, GA, TN, SoCal.
Brody Lennon- UK versus OH St. OH St received his final visit.
Andrew Marsh- UK, TX, MI, SoCal
Dejerrian Miller- UK, Ole Ms, TN
Samari Reed- UK, WV, PA St, Ole MS
Isaac Sowells- UK, NC St, SCar, Miami. NC St received his final visit. Scheduled to announce on July 18. There was a crystal ball prediction for NC St earlier this month.
Cedric Works- UK versus PA St. UK received his final visit. Josh Edwards just posted a crystal ball prediction for UK.
Probably the best chances on this list for us right now-
Atkins
Campbell
Galloway
Works
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If we get Galloway it would be interesting to see where our DB haul in this class compares with everybody else. No way of knowing now till they prove it, but maybe our best DB class ever? On the DL I think a guy like Edwards is what you build around. Our success of putting guys like that in the pro's has been good. He can be coached up to be that good. It would be a tremendous haul on the DL in this class if we got Edwards and Works to go with Smith and Campbell. And with the LB's we got last year, quantity and quality, our D could literally be better than ever. And that is with us being ranked high every year anyway but these two classes are raising the bar even more.
New crystal ball prediction today for Cedric Works to UK from Tyler Calvaruso, a PA St writer. Given that PA St is the other finalist for Works, this just about comes as close as possible to sealing it in my mind.
Works looks like he could be a starting edge here one day.
IDK if it is our best DB class ever, but it could be. You are definitely right that there is no way to know until they prove it. 2014 and 2017 were also solid DB classes. Some of those guys are still in the NFL.
Definitely. In our discussion of Edwards on this thread, we been mainly assuming he would be developed here as a zero-tech. But, the more I think about this, the more I think Edwards could be a 3-tech like Walker. They are so similar in athleticism that you just know Coach White will consider that. Especially if we take Jackson, who would definitely be a zero-tech here, possibly with three years of eligibility.
In terms of upside, it would be. We known what Edwards represents. Smith and Campbell will need to fill out and mature, but their upside is through the roof. And I am still excited about Brian Robinson and Jerod Smith.
Here is how I look at it. We will need to keep recruiting quality depth on our DL and keep our key defenders healthy, but the biggest litmus test in this scenario will be in our secondary. If guys like Addison, Stuart, Nichols, Scott, Dooley, Galloway, and Purcell are as good as I think they can be, we will be in business. Coach White is the right guy to bring this defense along, and IMO our entire defensive staff is in a good place now.
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Jack LB. Yes he could start. That takes some work, but he has the talent.
So around four or five commits the next couple of days? Most are pretty positive with Galloway and Works. Two more absolutely huge gets if true. Edwards is the big cheese. If we get him everybody needs to have a party and celebrate. He still really likes Auburn so I am pessimistic about pulling him from them. Atkins not announcing right now. So the next couple of days very significant.
I don't think so. Maybe another 3, 4, or 5 commits in the next month. That would fill 60-75% of our entire 2025 class, depending on how many scholarships Stoops plans to hold back for inbound transfers over the winter.
I sure wouldn't complain if we do, but that could be a stretch. Atkins has toyed with the idea of announcing over Independence Day weekend, and Galloway will announce on July 5. Sowells has scheduled his announcement on July 18. Campbell has suggested he might announce during the first half of July. I think UK will get Atkins, Works, Galloway, Campbell, maybe Sowells or maybe not, but I won't try to predict exactly when everyone will pull the trigger. Just hoping for an excellent class in December. If important dominoes like Marsh and Edwards happen to start falling our way, that would represent a level of summer recruiting momentum we have never seen here before.
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Of course, the operative word here is "could." UK "could" get"4 or 5 commits" which means maybe they "could not" get those commits. We'll just have to see what this week brings. I think you're on target on who UK could eventually bring in, not sure about Sowells however but those others would be an impressive haul. I'm hoping against hope they can sway Edwards to UK, that would be huge. Also wondering if they could be looking at Ekpuroh as a NT? He has played some D but is very, very raw. Anyway, agree I'm hoping for a top notch class come Dec, just feel the last 5 or so could push this class over the top.
With Stoops, I have always tended toward optimism because he is the best recruiter and best fundraiser we have had in the HC position. Now that Yenser and Woodward have been replaced by better successors who can recruit, I am much more optimistic.
This class is off to a strong start and I feel good about it. We know football games are won in the trenches, so signing more high upside linemen is a big litmus test. We already have Strey, Kattus, and Smith. Adding Edwards and Campbell on the defensive side and Atkins on the offensive side would be very important for the success of the class and the program.
It is being reported that there is a burner of around 4 coming the next few days. Galloway isn’t supposed to commit until July 5. Works, Atkins, Augusta, Sowells, and Campbell are all about to commit. I thought Sowells was mid July but we will see
