We have reached the end of portal season for the Kentucky Wildcats football program in 2024. Their portal class is in the books. No more work to be done, no more additions to be had.
As we moved toward the end of this process we knew that Kentucky wanted to address certain positions and getting Waller at corner was a huge one. I could have seen them taking another offensive lineman, but the fact that they didn't probably tells you that they feel solid about a couple of young guys. Farmer is someone I continue to be bullish on. He's got the tools.
So from this point forward will be digging into each new Wildcat between now and fall camp, through the summer, but also putting more of a spotlight on high school recruiting.
High school recruiting is still important. I've asked around to gauge the feelings of folks around the program when it comes to things like:
How much time does the UK staff invest in recruiting players who are probably going elsewhere, knowing many players who go elsewhere will be prime portal candidates down the road?
On this point, it's probably going to vary coach to coach everywhere. You have some coaches who have recruiting in their blood and they love to do it, these guys will benefit from the portal era and their hard work will be rewarded but not right away. I feel like Kentucky will target guys who may be headed elsewhere in this manner but especially when it comes to kids from Kentucky and Ohio. Those are the guys who are prime candidates to transfer "back" home. Not only because of the relationship with the assistant coach, but also because they'd be going back closer to home.
However, there is a sense that Michigan is not going to be as formidable recruiting against UK in Ohio and there's some stuff backing this up. Think back to Brian Robinson last year, DJ Waller transferring in, the Smith brothers flipping to Kentucky, and then Marquise Davis recently.
Continue to hear that Michigan was just overconfident in their assessment of where they stood with Davis. Heard a lot about his relationship with Tony Alford when it seemed like the relationship with Marrow was a huge part of UK snagging him.
Clink was a very formidable recruiter at Michigan, especially in those head to heads against UK. I mention Michigan because locally, maybe only Ohio State is in that position where you worry about your chances whenever they get involved, so there's no much "conceding" guys period at the moment.
How do you plan ahead for spots and scholarship numbers now? It used to be easy.
Whereas you used to be able to very accurately forecast, OK, this many guys are set to exhaust their eligibility, a couple of guys may transfer, we have this many scholarships to use on high school kids. Now you have to consider losing guys who aren't happy with playing time but also losing guys who just find a better NIL situation. Things can change in a hurry, so there isn't much planning ahead beyond keeping the numbers right in the development pipeline in each position room. But again, you have to be ready for contingency plans and the portal is there for that.
UK's portal strategy makes sense on both sides of the ball if you just look at the state of the units. UK's defense was mostly set. Good depth at most spots. Good blend of proven, experienced plus younger prospects coming up. So they probably used a lot of NIL on the big names they brought in. Not many, but very high quality.
** I'm hearing that Kentucky is in a great spot with Martels Carter, Isaac Sowells, and Javeon Campbell. I have now logged FutureCasts for UK to land all three players. Was very early calling Carter and Sowells. With Sowells, NC State has been a real, formidable contender and I'm not writing them off but I'm saying as of most recent checks (and I mean recent) the feeling from my sources is that Kentucky is in the best shot with each player. I think in the NIL era it's going to be hard to beat Kentucky out for in-state kids. It means a lot for the program to keep those guys home. They tend to pan out at a higher clip. There's also the PR angle, which will prompt the NIL to be in place. So I think they will get all three players, which, on top of what they already have, would make for the start to an excellent class.
** Defensive commitments will pick up but the reason UK is offense-heavy so far is they were very defense-heavy last year. The big thing the rest of the way is finishing the offensive line strong.
** Three main targets in Ohio are now DL Cedric Works, CB Dawayne Galloway, and TE Brody Lennon. Works is between UK, Florida, and Penn State. For the first time recently someone told me that Kentucky might be the favorite to land Galloway. Lennon is someone I think they have a great shot with.
** Still a great chance Kentucky takes two running backs and two tight ends. They don't have a tight end yet, so I assume Lennon is an extremely high priority and I like the way that one is shaping up for them. Great athlete, would probably complement him with more of a traditional in-line tight end. With Isaiah West going to Ohio State, I'd still expect them to add someone alongside Marquise Davis, but only if it's someone they really like.
** One offensive lineman who has become a serious option for them is Jermiel Atkins, a towering and athletic offensive tackle from Trotwood Madison who still has some filling out to do but has some tools they can work with.
** Folks are very excited about the crop of talent in Ohio in '26 and their success up there right now bodes well for Kentucky having some momentum especially with the confidence about Michigan not being as big of a thorn in the side.
As we moved toward the end of this process we knew that Kentucky wanted to address certain positions and getting Waller at corner was a huge one. I could have seen them taking another offensive lineman, but the fact that they didn't probably tells you that they feel solid about a couple of young guys. Farmer is someone I continue to be bullish on. He's got the tools.
So from this point forward will be digging into each new Wildcat between now and fall camp, through the summer, but also putting more of a spotlight on high school recruiting.
High school recruiting is still important. I've asked around to gauge the feelings of folks around the program when it comes to things like:
How much time does the UK staff invest in recruiting players who are probably going elsewhere, knowing many players who go elsewhere will be prime portal candidates down the road?
On this point, it's probably going to vary coach to coach everywhere. You have some coaches who have recruiting in their blood and they love to do it, these guys will benefit from the portal era and their hard work will be rewarded but not right away. I feel like Kentucky will target guys who may be headed elsewhere in this manner but especially when it comes to kids from Kentucky and Ohio. Those are the guys who are prime candidates to transfer "back" home. Not only because of the relationship with the assistant coach, but also because they'd be going back closer to home.
However, there is a sense that Michigan is not going to be as formidable recruiting against UK in Ohio and there's some stuff backing this up. Think back to Brian Robinson last year, DJ Waller transferring in, the Smith brothers flipping to Kentucky, and then Marquise Davis recently.
Continue to hear that Michigan was just overconfident in their assessment of where they stood with Davis. Heard a lot about his relationship with Tony Alford when it seemed like the relationship with Marrow was a huge part of UK snagging him.
Clink was a very formidable recruiter at Michigan, especially in those head to heads against UK. I mention Michigan because locally, maybe only Ohio State is in that position where you worry about your chances whenever they get involved, so there's no much "conceding" guys period at the moment.
How do you plan ahead for spots and scholarship numbers now? It used to be easy.
Whereas you used to be able to very accurately forecast, OK, this many guys are set to exhaust their eligibility, a couple of guys may transfer, we have this many scholarships to use on high school kids. Now you have to consider losing guys who aren't happy with playing time but also losing guys who just find a better NIL situation. Things can change in a hurry, so there isn't much planning ahead beyond keeping the numbers right in the development pipeline in each position room. But again, you have to be ready for contingency plans and the portal is there for that.
UK's portal strategy makes sense on both sides of the ball if you just look at the state of the units. UK's defense was mostly set. Good depth at most spots. Good blend of proven, experienced plus younger prospects coming up. So they probably used a lot of NIL on the big names they brought in. Not many, but very high quality.
** I'm hearing that Kentucky is in a great spot with Martels Carter, Isaac Sowells, and Javeon Campbell. I have now logged FutureCasts for UK to land all three players. Was very early calling Carter and Sowells. With Sowells, NC State has been a real, formidable contender and I'm not writing them off but I'm saying as of most recent checks (and I mean recent) the feeling from my sources is that Kentucky is in the best shot with each player. I think in the NIL era it's going to be hard to beat Kentucky out for in-state kids. It means a lot for the program to keep those guys home. They tend to pan out at a higher clip. There's also the PR angle, which will prompt the NIL to be in place. So I think they will get all three players, which, on top of what they already have, would make for the start to an excellent class.
** Defensive commitments will pick up but the reason UK is offense-heavy so far is they were very defense-heavy last year. The big thing the rest of the way is finishing the offensive line strong.
** Three main targets in Ohio are now DL Cedric Works, CB Dawayne Galloway, and TE Brody Lennon. Works is between UK, Florida, and Penn State. For the first time recently someone told me that Kentucky might be the favorite to land Galloway. Lennon is someone I think they have a great shot with.
** Still a great chance Kentucky takes two running backs and two tight ends. They don't have a tight end yet, so I assume Lennon is an extremely high priority and I like the way that one is shaping up for them. Great athlete, would probably complement him with more of a traditional in-line tight end. With Isaiah West going to Ohio State, I'd still expect them to add someone alongside Marquise Davis, but only if it's someone they really like.
** One offensive lineman who has become a serious option for them is Jermiel Atkins, a towering and athletic offensive tackle from Trotwood Madison who still has some filling out to do but has some tools they can work with.
** Folks are very excited about the crop of talent in Ohio in '26 and their success up there right now bodes well for Kentucky having some momentum especially with the confidence about Michigan not being as big of a thorn in the side.
