Honestly I'm a little burnt out from the content produced thus far (thanks again to our great team). Nothing quite like a nighttime commitment to keep the midnight oil burning. Given recent developments, it's just right that we'd have a War Room.
-- Michael Nesbitt's commitment is very big on a number of levels, as covered in the Impact Analysis piece from earlier. Beyond the fact that he's one of the best skill position athletes to commit to Kentucky in recent years, and beyond Eddie Gran's Florida momentum, I think it's significant on another level. Nesbitt and Clevan Thomas in particular are "dogs". They are gritty, tough guys who are not going to back down on the field. They are the kinds of guys who will be among the toughest guys, mentally, on any field they step on. They won't be outworked and they have that 'hard work' demeanor that you find in guys throughout every winning program. They aren't vocal and local like Drake Jackson and Kash Daniel, but in a very similar way they're the kind of culture-change catalysts that you've got to have.
-- Could Kentucky take another defensive back? I think so. I couldn't tell you who would be the most likely at this point. There are some names like Zamari Maxwell, Yusuf Corker, Jhavonte Dean and others, but I'm going to have to really dig and try to piece together who the other most likely candidates would be.
-- Speaking of Nesbitt, I believe his commitment boosts Kentucky's chances with three-star defensive end Jordan Wright. I caught up with Wright briefly after Nesbitt's commitment (not for a full update). He was already planning to officially visit Kentucky the weekend of Sept. 24 (note: he's said that's subject to change). And he tweeted that he "already knew" what Nesbitt was going to do. Wright would not say whether Nesbitt's commitment helps Kentucky's chances, but I believe it absolutely does. Wright acknowledged that he and Nesbitt "grew up together" and are very close friends. Wright's a big-time athlete at defensive end (and could walk-on with UK's basketball team). If you paired Wright with ...
-- Chris Whittaker ... then that's a great finish to the Cats' defensive line class. If the Cats can land Wright and Whittaker, that's a great defensive end prospect and a DE/DT versatile player that you've got to have in a 3-4 program.
-- Then again, just those two might not completely finish it off. I think Kentucky could take upwards of three more defensive linemen if they like the guys they can get. They wouldn't turn away someone like Emmanuel McNeill or a strong defensive tackle or nose guard. There could be JUCO options they're keeping under the radar. You can't forget about B.J. Sharpe, Cal commit Gabe Cherry or some others who are floating around out there.
-- What about the offensive line? I'm increasingly bullish on Kentucky's chances at flipping Zalon'tae Hillery from Miami. Last night in a brief conversation Hillery told me that he's on very good terms with John Schlarman and Matt House. The Georgia offensive lineman is still planning to visit Kentucky and he really sounded excited when he talked about Kentucky's coaching staff. "They're just good people...." he emphasized. He hasn't set a date yet for a trip to Lexington, but I'm very confident it's happening.
I'm still waiting for any new developments on Danny Davis, Lynn Bowden, Mac Jones and some others, and don't want to just say something to say it until there's a change. I do think that Davis is now likely to take official visits. We'll see how that plays out.
Remaining priorities?
Best guess: (1) receiver, (2) offensive linemen, (3) defensive linemen, (1) defensive back.
That would put them at 20. If that's too many, take away one of the D-Linemen. Just a rough guess.
-- Michael Nesbitt's commitment is very big on a number of levels, as covered in the Impact Analysis piece from earlier. Beyond the fact that he's one of the best skill position athletes to commit to Kentucky in recent years, and beyond Eddie Gran's Florida momentum, I think it's significant on another level. Nesbitt and Clevan Thomas in particular are "dogs". They are gritty, tough guys who are not going to back down on the field. They are the kinds of guys who will be among the toughest guys, mentally, on any field they step on. They won't be outworked and they have that 'hard work' demeanor that you find in guys throughout every winning program. They aren't vocal and local like Drake Jackson and Kash Daniel, but in a very similar way they're the kind of culture-change catalysts that you've got to have.
-- Could Kentucky take another defensive back? I think so. I couldn't tell you who would be the most likely at this point. There are some names like Zamari Maxwell, Yusuf Corker, Jhavonte Dean and others, but I'm going to have to really dig and try to piece together who the other most likely candidates would be.
-- Speaking of Nesbitt, I believe his commitment boosts Kentucky's chances with three-star defensive end Jordan Wright. I caught up with Wright briefly after Nesbitt's commitment (not for a full update). He was already planning to officially visit Kentucky the weekend of Sept. 24 (note: he's said that's subject to change). And he tweeted that he "already knew" what Nesbitt was going to do. Wright would not say whether Nesbitt's commitment helps Kentucky's chances, but I believe it absolutely does. Wright acknowledged that he and Nesbitt "grew up together" and are very close friends. Wright's a big-time athlete at defensive end (and could walk-on with UK's basketball team). If you paired Wright with ...
-- Chris Whittaker ... then that's a great finish to the Cats' defensive line class. If the Cats can land Wright and Whittaker, that's a great defensive end prospect and a DE/DT versatile player that you've got to have in a 3-4 program.
-- Then again, just those two might not completely finish it off. I think Kentucky could take upwards of three more defensive linemen if they like the guys they can get. They wouldn't turn away someone like Emmanuel McNeill or a strong defensive tackle or nose guard. There could be JUCO options they're keeping under the radar. You can't forget about B.J. Sharpe, Cal commit Gabe Cherry or some others who are floating around out there.
-- What about the offensive line? I'm increasingly bullish on Kentucky's chances at flipping Zalon'tae Hillery from Miami. Last night in a brief conversation Hillery told me that he's on very good terms with John Schlarman and Matt House. The Georgia offensive lineman is still planning to visit Kentucky and he really sounded excited when he talked about Kentucky's coaching staff. "They're just good people...." he emphasized. He hasn't set a date yet for a trip to Lexington, but I'm very confident it's happening.
I'm still waiting for any new developments on Danny Davis, Lynn Bowden, Mac Jones and some others, and don't want to just say something to say it until there's a change. I do think that Davis is now likely to take official visits. We'll see how that plays out.
Remaining priorities?
Best guess: (1) receiver, (2) offensive linemen, (3) defensive linemen, (1) defensive back.
That would put them at 20. If that's too many, take away one of the D-Linemen. Just a rough guess.
