JARREN WILLIAMS: UK's lone 2018 commitment has said all along that he's solid with Kentucky. He has said he will take other visits. He hasn't told me that he will visit Tennessee but I would be surprised if he doesn't. As I posted here when he said it, at last check Williams told me that UK fans should not worry.
JOSH WHYLE: Mentioned this in another thread but I suspect the Cincinnati (Ohio) La Salle tight end will be getting some good news soon. What does this mean? After all, isn't Kentucky in a pretty good spot with four-star Ohio tight ends Brenden Bates and Leonard Taylor? That's my assumption. I think they're still in the place where they're casting a pretty wide net. I think two tight ends is a possibility, not a certainty, and that could help explain the offers at the position.
JEROME CARVIN: The 2018 offensive tackle from Cordova, Tenn., immediately jumped out to me at Sunday Night Lights so I am not surprised at all that he's picked up offers from Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi State recently. I don't think he's a 'lock' to go to Kentucky but I do still think the Cats have a very good chance with him. I know he's a priority for Kentucky because Carvin told me recently that Mark Stoops himself said that he will be recruiting him with Eliot no longer recruiting Tennessee.
D'ANDRE LITAKER: He's actually got a higher ranking than Carvin. The four-star defensive tackle, also from Tennessee, still seems interested in Kentucky but I think he, too, is taking a big picture view and UK will have to press hard this spring and maybe into the summer.
I'm mentioning those two guys because as of right now they're probably the two best players in Tennessee that Kentucky has a good shot at in the 2018 class. More might emerge. And the reason that matters is there will be a new area recruiter in Tennessee. I cannot say with 100-percent confidence but I think John Schlarman may very well be taking over as the Cats' recruiter in the state.
JEFF BADET UPDATE: West Virginia folk seem to think that Badet is likely to end up in Morgantown. We first reported that WVU was probably a leader and I have never heard any differently. I know some other schools have been mentioned in reference to him, but West Virginia seems like a good fit and wouldn't be shocked if it happens soon.
MORE ON DERRICK LEBLANC: Already posted what I heard about LeBlanc at USM, how he was mostly a guy who excelled at coaching and development, and was widely respected. The LSU publisher gave him a favorable review from his time as an asst S&C coach in Baton Rouge. I spoke with someone more familiar with his recent stint and UNT and the person emphasized his work in the Mississippi junior college league for a while. "One of those guys that doesn't matter where you put him, he will succeed. Great personality that gets along with anyone. Great guy, Stoops got a good one."
MORE ON DEAN HOOD: This is someone Mark Stoops is obviously very comfortable with. Second time he's targeted him, reportedly the second time he's offered him a job. I consider this hire to be similar in a lot of ways to the Eddie Gran hire. Someone that Stoops will trust to do the job he gives him, likes his emphasis on discipline and fundamentals, won't flinch even giving him a job (LB coach for instance) that he hasn't specialized in before. Think he's a good fit coaching wise.
OVERALL STAFF THOUGHTS: I think Stoops went heavy on the development and instruction side with these two hires. That tells me he is going to rely heavily on Vince Marrow to continue to pull in roughly half of his recruits from Ohio, and that he probably trusts that Gran and the rest of his staff recruiting down in Florida can supplement that over the next couple of years. I'm not saying the two hires aren't dynamic on the recruiting side, but some coaches are more known for their coaching, some are more known as recruiters, some become known for both. I think these two are both more known for their coaching. When Hood was at Eastern Kentucky I'm not sure they recruited at quite the same level over time but he was absolutely a respected coach.
OTHER AREAS: I am reasonably confident in the following: Darin Hinshaw will continue to recruit Central Florida, Matt House will probably remain as UK's main recruiter in Georgia (which isn't to say others can't recruit there whether they have been hired yet or not), Lamar Thomas is likely to remain in South Florida, Eddie Gran will continue in South Florida where he has been, Vince Marrow will handle almost all of Ohio and parts of Maryland (e.g. Good Counsel H.S.), Steven Clinkscale is a little bit scattered (parts of Maryland, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Youngstown, OH area), John Schlarman in Kentucky and Tennessee. I don't know where Dean Hood will be as of yet. He has a long coaching history so that will be interesting and there are a couple of possibilities. As for Derrick LeBlanc, I don't have a set territory but I would imagine he'd recruit JUCO guys, Louisiana and other parts of the Deep South.
WHERE WILL THE '18 CLASS COME FROM?
This is speculation-only but based on where UK is strong in the '18 class. I think the state of Kentucky has a solid amount of 2018 talent. It's pretty good at the top. No five-star guy but three in the Rivals250. Unfortunately for Kentucky, the early forecast isn't quite as good on in-state guys in '18. I would imagine Kentucky still ultimately takes three guys in-state, give or take a couple, because it's a big class. I think probably 50-60% of the class will come from Marrow in Ohio, as is customary. Would imagine Eddie Gran will probably land 5-6 guys from down in Florida. Believe Kentucky will be able to land another couple of players from the DMV because they do have some momentum and their early offers there have been well-received. Then sprinkled between Tennessee, Georgia and elsewhere.
COVERAGE NOTES: The new 3 Stripe Camps run by Rivals are now Pres. by Adidas and the schedule has been released. I am planning to provide all-day coverage of the camps in Columbus (May 14th) and St. Louis (May 21st). Those are the two camps that will produce the largest number of Kentucky targets and should have lots of video, interviews, performance notes, etc., from the event. I'm also making plans to attend a separate Under Armour All America Camp which will be held in Cincinnati on April 29th. Between those three events we should have unique coverage opportunities for virtually every Kentucky target within a six-hour radius of Lexington but also throughout the state of Ohio. Shortly thereafter, early to mid-summer, we'll blow out the coverage of summer camps. It's possible I could make plans to attend the camps in Florida but probably want to see who Kentucky's biggest targets down that way will be before committing to that.
JOSH WHYLE: Mentioned this in another thread but I suspect the Cincinnati (Ohio) La Salle tight end will be getting some good news soon. What does this mean? After all, isn't Kentucky in a pretty good spot with four-star Ohio tight ends Brenden Bates and Leonard Taylor? That's my assumption. I think they're still in the place where they're casting a pretty wide net. I think two tight ends is a possibility, not a certainty, and that could help explain the offers at the position.
JEROME CARVIN: The 2018 offensive tackle from Cordova, Tenn., immediately jumped out to me at Sunday Night Lights so I am not surprised at all that he's picked up offers from Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi State recently. I don't think he's a 'lock' to go to Kentucky but I do still think the Cats have a very good chance with him. I know he's a priority for Kentucky because Carvin told me recently that Mark Stoops himself said that he will be recruiting him with Eliot no longer recruiting Tennessee.
D'ANDRE LITAKER: He's actually got a higher ranking than Carvin. The four-star defensive tackle, also from Tennessee, still seems interested in Kentucky but I think he, too, is taking a big picture view and UK will have to press hard this spring and maybe into the summer.
I'm mentioning those two guys because as of right now they're probably the two best players in Tennessee that Kentucky has a good shot at in the 2018 class. More might emerge. And the reason that matters is there will be a new area recruiter in Tennessee. I cannot say with 100-percent confidence but I think John Schlarman may very well be taking over as the Cats' recruiter in the state.
JEFF BADET UPDATE: West Virginia folk seem to think that Badet is likely to end up in Morgantown. We first reported that WVU was probably a leader and I have never heard any differently. I know some other schools have been mentioned in reference to him, but West Virginia seems like a good fit and wouldn't be shocked if it happens soon.
MORE ON DERRICK LEBLANC: Already posted what I heard about LeBlanc at USM, how he was mostly a guy who excelled at coaching and development, and was widely respected. The LSU publisher gave him a favorable review from his time as an asst S&C coach in Baton Rouge. I spoke with someone more familiar with his recent stint and UNT and the person emphasized his work in the Mississippi junior college league for a while. "One of those guys that doesn't matter where you put him, he will succeed. Great personality that gets along with anyone. Great guy, Stoops got a good one."
MORE ON DEAN HOOD: This is someone Mark Stoops is obviously very comfortable with. Second time he's targeted him, reportedly the second time he's offered him a job. I consider this hire to be similar in a lot of ways to the Eddie Gran hire. Someone that Stoops will trust to do the job he gives him, likes his emphasis on discipline and fundamentals, won't flinch even giving him a job (LB coach for instance) that he hasn't specialized in before. Think he's a good fit coaching wise.
OVERALL STAFF THOUGHTS: I think Stoops went heavy on the development and instruction side with these two hires. That tells me he is going to rely heavily on Vince Marrow to continue to pull in roughly half of his recruits from Ohio, and that he probably trusts that Gran and the rest of his staff recruiting down in Florida can supplement that over the next couple of years. I'm not saying the two hires aren't dynamic on the recruiting side, but some coaches are more known for their coaching, some are more known as recruiters, some become known for both. I think these two are both more known for their coaching. When Hood was at Eastern Kentucky I'm not sure they recruited at quite the same level over time but he was absolutely a respected coach.
OTHER AREAS: I am reasonably confident in the following: Darin Hinshaw will continue to recruit Central Florida, Matt House will probably remain as UK's main recruiter in Georgia (which isn't to say others can't recruit there whether they have been hired yet or not), Lamar Thomas is likely to remain in South Florida, Eddie Gran will continue in South Florida where he has been, Vince Marrow will handle almost all of Ohio and parts of Maryland (e.g. Good Counsel H.S.), Steven Clinkscale is a little bit scattered (parts of Maryland, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Youngstown, OH area), John Schlarman in Kentucky and Tennessee. I don't know where Dean Hood will be as of yet. He has a long coaching history so that will be interesting and there are a couple of possibilities. As for Derrick LeBlanc, I don't have a set territory but I would imagine he'd recruit JUCO guys, Louisiana and other parts of the Deep South.
WHERE WILL THE '18 CLASS COME FROM?
This is speculation-only but based on where UK is strong in the '18 class. I think the state of Kentucky has a solid amount of 2018 talent. It's pretty good at the top. No five-star guy but three in the Rivals250. Unfortunately for Kentucky, the early forecast isn't quite as good on in-state guys in '18. I would imagine Kentucky still ultimately takes three guys in-state, give or take a couple, because it's a big class. I think probably 50-60% of the class will come from Marrow in Ohio, as is customary. Would imagine Eddie Gran will probably land 5-6 guys from down in Florida. Believe Kentucky will be able to land another couple of players from the DMV because they do have some momentum and their early offers there have been well-received. Then sprinkled between Tennessee, Georgia and elsewhere.
COVERAGE NOTES: The new 3 Stripe Camps run by Rivals are now Pres. by Adidas and the schedule has been released. I am planning to provide all-day coverage of the camps in Columbus (May 14th) and St. Louis (May 21st). Those are the two camps that will produce the largest number of Kentucky targets and should have lots of video, interviews, performance notes, etc., from the event. I'm also making plans to attend a separate Under Armour All America Camp which will be held in Cincinnati on April 29th. Between those three events we should have unique coverage opportunities for virtually every Kentucky target within a six-hour radius of Lexington but also throughout the state of Ohio. Shortly thereafter, early to mid-summer, we'll blow out the coverage of summer camps. It's possible I could make plans to attend the camps in Florida but probably want to see who Kentucky's biggest targets down that way will be before committing to that.
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