State of 2025 Recruiting
- Thread starter Rembrandt90
- Start date
Andrew Sturgel cancelled his OV. Read that since the OSU offer a lot of big programs have started recruiting him
Most Gator fans and insiders believe if Napier goes, so too will Strickland.
I can’t call it that, especially since it’s just a 15-20 minute drive outback of my house.
I still think UK probably snags Jermiel Atkins. We can probably have Auguste if Coach Wolf pushes. Not sure what Sowells will do but NC State gets his final OV.
I know Wolf is good recruiter. He has been in the past. I don’t feel like he has done a good job of closing this year. Strey is good prospect. The other two could be good but are developmental prospects. Thinking back to his 1st go round, he was lead on Deone but he got steen to go with him to Bama but didn’t really do much otherwise. I know he recruited great at Bama but that is Bama. Hope he can step it up and do a great job coaching the guys that are here
I've been a little disappointed in Wolford's recruiting to date. Maybe I was expecting too much. I am pleased that he pushed aside a couple of guys Yenser had identified, didn't think they were SEC. And I think Strey will be a good player....in time but his misses, including Sturgel/Hedrick hurt. Add to that, Atkins/Auguste are a couple of years away. But, like I said, this is probably on me, I might have been expecting too much.
EVERY high school Offensive Lineman is a few years away.
I’d take Wolford and his recruiting/coaching over anyone in that spot at the moment.
He will coach them up.
Preston Bowman, WR, Pickerington, OH
Bowman will OV UK tomorrow. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. Bowman, a late riser and standout at multiple camps, was recently named WR MVP at an Ole MS camp in Oxford. In addition to UK, he reportedly holds an offer from MI, and is likely to be offered by Ole MS.
Bowman will OV UK tomorrow. He is being recruited by Coach Marrow. Bowman, a late riser and standout at multiple camps, was recently named WR MVP at an Ole MS camp in Oxford. In addition to UK, he reportedly holds an offer from MI, and is likely to be offered by Ole MS.
The OL from Westerville Ohio that decommitted looks like he is a lot better than his previous ranking with the off season he has had. Will we go after him? Just something about us struggling with getting top rated OL and has been that way for quite a while now. Our net has been spread wider this year but we are still a level down where we need to be.
Me neither. Greene has not been a UK recruiting priority since Yenser left, His body has too much bad weight and would need to be resculpted, which might take two seasons and a complete nutritional redo. Last weekend, Greene OVed at Marshall and that was his only scheduled OV according to the reports. Maybe he wants to w/o, which could be a different story. O/w it would be interesting to find out what Wiltfong is thinking.
Me too. All of us probably are. It takes some time to get re-established, and I doubt we have come close yet to seeing what Wolf can do here if he sticks around this time.
Rembrandt,
Whats your take on Stargel cancelling his OV to UK...implication that Sowells is in the fold?
Thanks
Are we talking about Jake Cook? He already holds a UK offer. It looks like he really wants to go to OH St, although we don't know if Coach Day will take him.
It's still June. I'm not sure we should conclude in mid-June that we are struggling. We certainly did struggle when Yenser was here. No doubt about that. But we have commitments from Strey and Kattus now, both of whom look like legitimate SEC prospects to me. I like Atkins' upside and would like to see him play here. Atkins will OV UK next weekend. We don't know yet what Sowell and Auguste will do, but I like them both. Wolf can talk with other prospects all summer and bring them for visits in the fall. Let's keep in mind that Marc Nave committed to UK on November 16.
No. If Sowells was "in the fold", he would probably not be following through with his visits to Miami and NC St although maybe he enjoys traveling and is just going through those motions. Coach Marrow never discourages our targets from taking other visits, because he wants them to be sure. In any case, I have never believed Sowells has been a UK lean, and I doubt he will make his final decision until after he has OVed NC St. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.
I also don't believe Sowells is a key recruit for us. Not saying he isn't a good prospect. He is. But not uniquely suited to fill a need for our OL. If Stoops signs him, so much the better. But it isn't an impact issue for our 2025 class.
Stargel is simply receiving a lot of late interest. His options have grown and he is no longer interested in taking a June visit to UK that he could still take next fall if that is necessary for him. (Which it won't be.) This stuff happens all the time.
FWIW, Bill Kurelic has entered a crystal ball prediction for Cook to OH St.
DB Dawayne Galloway (Columbus, OH) and WR Andrew Marsh (Fulshear, TX) OVed UK today. Getting them on campus is a big deal for us. Signing one of them would be fantastic and, to be honest about it, unexpected. Signing both would be huge for the class.
Folks that catch the biggest fish tend to fish where big fish swim!!
There has been a slow but steady increase in the quality of our visitors and our commitments since 2013.
Yes, there has. And this month is very interesting.
Both of them were not 160 lbs. They were powerfully built at 18
Yep. There's a difference between being short and slight and short and stout.
See Mark Higgs. 5-4 & 184#. Thighs as big around as telephone poles.
If he's not, I guess those other ten schools after hiim are sure glad they dodged a bullet now! And all the talk about the 100 times, you guys do realize those were two years ago right?
You are correct that Preston Bowman is OVing UK today, and that Bowman also reportedly holds an offer from MI. Marrow is Bowman's primary UK recruiter. I'm sure Shorts is involved on some level with recruitments of every WR that receives a UK scholarship offer. Bowman's recent participation in a UK camp allowed Shorts, Hamdan, and Marrow to watch him. One thing you didn't bring up has contributed to Bowman's recent recruiting blowup. At a recent WR camp held by Ole MS coaches in Oxford, Bowman was named the WR MVP by Ole MS offensive coaches. That report has hit the internet and everyone in the business knows about it.
Since Bowman's recruitment is blowing up, I am inclined to doubt he will commit soon. But that is just a guess and I could be wrong. Andrew Marsh just OVed UK yesterday, and Dejerrian Miller will OV this coming weekend. Marsh and Miller are UK's top two uncommitted WR targets. But Marrow wouldn't have offered a scholarship and wouldn't be recruiting Bowman if UK didn't want him. They do.
In an online article earlier today, widely known UK football observer Josh Edwards has made some interesting observations that many on this thread will probably want to hear about.
Firstly, Edwards believes LB prospect Cedric Works' (Clayton, OH) decision will come down to PA St and UK. Works recently visited PA St and will OV UK this coming weekend. Edwards says he likes the fact that UK gets Edwards' final visit. FWIW.
In another incremental prediction, Edwards says Kalen Edwards' (NT from Dyersburg, TN) decision is coming down to Auburn and UK. Here again, UK is receiving his final visit this coming weekend.
Edwards basically thinks UK has lost Brody Lennon to OH St. No surprise.
But he is also expecting a "surprise visitor or two" to show up in Lexington this coming weekend. No hints who he thinks the surprise visitors could be, but this coming weekend is the last OV opportunity before the upcoming dead period.
Finally, Edwards discussed a "musical chairs" scenario that might ultimately guide Isaac Sowells to UK. Here's how Edwards sees it playing out. Jake Cook just decommitted from UL and will soon commit to OH St. (Multiple recent crystal predictions for Cook to OH St.) OH St is recruiting Cook and Andrew Stargel for the same open scholarship, so Stargel will get pushed to NC St where he just OVed last weekend. Stargel and Sowells are being recruited by NC St for the same open scholarship, so NC St will take Stargel and Sowells will end up at UK. There are some uncertainties and fluid aspects to this reasoning, but maybe Edwards will turn out to be right about Sowells and UK.
All these protections potentially hold major implications for UK's 2025 class because the names involved are some of the most important prospects currently holding UK offers.
Firstly, Edwards believes LB prospect Cedric Works' (Clayton, OH) decision will come down to PA St and UK. Works recently visited PA St and will OV UK this coming weekend. Edwards says he likes the fact that UK gets Edwards' final visit. FWIW.
In another incremental prediction, Edwards says Kalen Edwards' (NT from Dyersburg, TN) decision is coming down to Auburn and UK. Here again, UK is receiving his final visit this coming weekend.
Edwards basically thinks UK has lost Brody Lennon to OH St. No surprise.
But he is also expecting a "surprise visitor or two" to show up in Lexington this coming weekend. No hints who he thinks the surprise visitors could be, but this coming weekend is the last OV opportunity before the upcoming dead period.
Finally, Edwards discussed a "musical chairs" scenario that might ultimately guide Isaac Sowells to UK. Here's how Edwards sees it playing out. Jake Cook just decommitted from UL and will soon commit to OH St. (Multiple recent crystal predictions for Cook to OH St.) OH St is recruiting Cook and Andrew Stargel for the same open scholarship, so Stargel will get pushed to NC St where he just OVed last weekend. Stargel and Sowells are being recruited by NC St for the same open scholarship, so NC St will take Stargel and Sowells will end up at UK. There are some uncertainties and fluid aspects to this reasoning, but maybe Edwards will turn out to be right about Sowells and UK.
All these protections potentially hold major implications for UK's 2025 class because the names involved are some of the most important prospects currently holding UK offers.
Stargel is similar to what you said earlier about Bowman his recruitment is really taking off. OSU may turn him away but that doesn’t guarantee he settles for NC St. The article I read this week from Rowland was that he said he was cancelling his OV to UK as several big programs had been recruiting him hard lately. I read as he was waiting to take more visits until he decides which schools he wants to visit. It could be possible that his relationship with NCST coaches wins out but nothing solid in those assumptions by Edwards
I believe Joker is recruiting him. If we can’t beat Joker for an instate recruit then we problems with our recruiting.
I don't think we are having problems with instate recruiting. The two essential 2025 instate prospects for UK are Martels Carter and Javeon Campbell. We already have a commitment from Carter and Campbell recently OVed UK.
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I'm not sold on Sowells. I'd prefer holding out for Fall or a portal take.
Sowells is a solid Power 4 prospect with a nice pedigree. FWIW, Male hs is among the top instate programs. But Sowells is also one-position prospect, and it really isn't a position of need for UK in our 2025 class. JMO, but I still don't think he is even close to being a "must-get" for us this year. We need OTs, WRs, DBs, and defensive linemen. And, notwithstanding, I would rather have Christian Gass or Cedric Works. We only have 2 defensive commits in this class currently.
FWIW, I thought the most tactically important projections in the article for our 2025 class were about Cedric Works and especially Kalen Edwards.
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Totally agree. Edwards could be Bohanna 2.0. As for Gass, have seen it mentioned he has an interest in USC/TN and I cannot imagine why a good defensive prospect would be interested in schools who have such little regard for defense. For me personally, Edwards/Works/Gass added to Nick Smith/Campbell would make me as happy as a pig in slop.
An unusual observation given the discussion. Just look at the 8 to 10 names Rembrandt and others have thrown out in the last 24 hours. Almost all are Rivals 4 Star athletes with offer lists of The Who’s Who of college football. Gas and Sowells are 5.7 Rivals 3 Stars with nearly as impressive offer sheets.
Then to measure the overall health of our recruiting by the pending decision of one 17 year old???
Come on, follow the bouncing ball.
A decade ago, we felt fortunate having a handful of 4 Star players visit us in a year.
The State of Kentucky annually produces 2-4 “blue-chip” recruits.
We are now hosting a handful of OUT-OF-STATE Four Star players per week.
Our latest Rivals 4 Star commitments are from Texas and Alabama.
We are currently 13th in average Star ratings among programs with 9 or more commitments. Let just a little more “magic” occur, and we could find ourselves north of 20 recruits/signees with more than half defined as national “blue-chip” rated players.
If these events collectively show “something is wrong with our recruiting,” I hope to find out what it is, and apply it to my finances, weight loss regimen, business, and with a quart left over for my engine oil!!!
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So as of right now, the most possible and most intriguing prospects on defense that we have a good chance to land are Edwards, Campbell and N Smith for the DL. Works either edge or ILB. Christian Gass a LB. And Galloway in the defensive backfield. Gass looks like the least likely of that bunch but he did say the one time he came to UK he really enjoyed it and liked the coaches enough that he would probably take an official visit. Any other high profile to add here?
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I posted a "mock 1.0" class recently and it is already largely wrong. Such is the unpredictability of recruiting (as well as my own inability to predict it). But if I have to guess now, we already have commits from Carter and Purcell and I expect Smith and Campbell to commit to UK soon. If we get Works and Edwards, that's big. And we are still in the running for Galloway, Gass, and Braker. Now there is some online gossip that Ja'kayden Ferguson wants to take practice reps at CB.
