Stoops on December signing class: 'We hit all areas of need'
Kentucky's Vince Marrow (left) and Mark Stoops (right) officially added 22 players to the program on Wednesday. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
Mark Stoops acknowledged Wednesday that he was aware of the apprehension surrounding Kentucky's 2023 football signing class as it was being constructed.
For most of the fall, the class lacked a "crown jewel" type of player and some of the star power that Big Blue Nation has seen in recent years.
Sometimes you have to wait to see the finished product, though, the Kentucky coach noted as he officially unveiled the newest Wildcats on the first day of the December signing period.
"Really pleased with the way we finished," Stoops said of a group that currently includes 16 high school players and six transfer portal additions. "... If you look at us through this year, some people may have been a little concerned, but I really wasn't. We were working hard to try to finish as strong as we could. And really, if you look at it, if you look at average star ranking, we're really pretty high, pretty strong, Top 20 nationally."
The Cats are currently 44th in Rivals' team rankings, but that listing only accounts for high school and junior college players. Kentucky's average star ranking on those prospects ranks No. 20 nationally. And that does not acocunt for the proven productivity of the transfers, for which the UK staff reserved a large batch of scholarships.
"We just were really needing to address specific areas in the transfer portal and wanted to make sure we had room for some of that," Stoops said. "... The transfers really added to this strong class."
Kentucky bolstered its class by signing the top quarterback available in the transfer portal, Devin Leary of NC State, who is expected to take over for Will Levis in 2023. Leary passed for 1,265 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a 61% completion rate in six games for the Wolfpack this year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Florida State. He threw for 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns with only five interceptions in 2021.
"A guy who was highly sought-after," Stoops said. "Anybody that was in the quarterback market -- and I mean anybody and everybody -- was after him. We really feel like we hit a home run with him."
Kentucky was able to land its quarterback prior to officially announcing its new offensive coordinator, lending more credence to a deal being made with former OC Liam Coen to rejoin the staff once the LA Rams' season is complete.
The Cats also picked up running back Ray Davis from Vanderbilt, who rushed for 1,042 yards and five touchdowns for the Commodores in 2022. He had 26 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown in Vandy's stunning 24-21 win over UK in November.
Stoops said he felt like the physical Davis (5-9, 215) will help the Cats maintain continuity in the ground game after the departure of Chris Rodriguez Jr. to the NFL Draft.
Two former Bluegrass State products also elected to come back home to complete their college careers. Alabama offensive lineman Tanner Bowles played at Glasgow (Ky.) High School before signing with the Crimson Tide, and Ohio State defensive back Jantzen Dunn played at South Warren High School in Bowling Green prior to signing with the Buckeyes.
The final two transfers were Marques Cox, an offensive tackle who played against UK with Northern Illinois this season, and Jonquis "JQ" Hardaway, a defensive back from Cincinnati. Both were brought in to address big areas of need on the depth chart.
Among the high school signees were nine offensive players and seven defensive players. The Cats specifically targeted wide receivers (3) and defensive backs (4) in that group.
"Really feel like we hit all areas of need," Stoops said.
Seven four-star prospects signed out of the prep ranks, including: wide receiver Shamar Porter of Tennessee; defensive back Avery Stuart of Alabama; center Koby Keenum of Alabama; wide receiver Anthony Brown of Ohio; linebacker Grant Godfrey of Georgia; tight end Khamari Anderson of Michigan; and linebacker Jayvant Brown of Florida.
Geographically, UK signed players from 11 different states stretching from coast to coast.
Postion-wise, the Cats signed six defensive backs, five offensive linemen, three wide receivers, three tight ends, two linebackers, and one player each at quarterback, running back, and defensive line.
Stoops noted that there could be a couple more additions to the list that have not become finalized, including a high-profile running back out of the high school ranks.
Even without additions, he is pleased with the haul.
"Our Kentucky football team got better today," Stoops said.
