Quarterback Recruiting Front
I'll be touching base with Gunnar Hoak and Tylin Oden this week as we get a little closer to the weekend. UK has expected to be in contact with Hoak in the near future to reiterate that they are not in a position to wait. We will see if that friendly pressure has an impact on his decision timetable.
Oden's still planning to visit UK this weekend and the plan was for the coaches to set the stage and develop more of a relationship with him going into this trip. Mom will be there. The expectation is not that he will commit as he's been pretty clear that he wants the opportunity to throw for Notre Dame and Tennessee this spring. Of course, Tennessee's going to have a lot of young quarterbacks and Notre Dame has some options, too. They will host California quarterback Matt Fink, also a dual-threat, in the near future -- and they've offered him but not Oden.
The simple facts could favor Kentucky if they can afford to wait on Oden, but we'll have to see.
Shannon Dawson started following Skylar Thompson on Twitter just the other day. He's a three-star dual-threat from Missouri with offers from Kansas, Wake Forest and some others.
And of course there was the offer to Cole Kelley of Louisiana. I know Arkansas is really pushing hard for him so I need to talk to him and his family to see how viable an option UK would be at this point.
Kelley is planning to visit Arkansas this weekend so that's something to keep an eye out for. I think UK has a lot of ground to make up as a decision is likely to come soon.
Marquis Mickens, last I heard from him, was planning to visit Kentucky and Louisville this weekend. Louisville's spring game is on Friday and Mickens was hoping UK would have a big spring game event. His plan is to go to Louisville and zip over to UK to check out the school. Chad Scott's been recruiting the 2017 running back pretty hard. UK and UL may be going back and forth for a while over this kid.
6-foot-1 Dade City, Fla., athlete/defensive back Jayvaughn Myers was offered by Kentucky this week. This is a matter of the staff continuing to cast the net in the secondary to protect themselves but he's also someone they feel good about that has all the prerequisites (size and versatility, namely) that Derrick Ansley likes to see.
Jumbo athlete/TE Alex Parker from North Carolina is another player that visited UK over the weekend. My guess is he'd be more of a fullback/H-Back. No offer at this point.
Increasingly likely that UK signs a scholarship punter this year. The summer's specialist camp could well determine which direction they move in. Austin Johnson of Louisville (Ky.) DeSales is one that should be watched closely. He told me that G.A. Tyler Hancock is handling most of the kicker/punter stuff in the program now and he's increasingly interested in Johnson. For his part, Johnson would likely jump on a UK offer.
It's also a sign they won't be slowing down in south Florida anytime soon.
I'll be touching base with Gunnar Hoak and Tylin Oden this week as we get a little closer to the weekend. UK has expected to be in contact with Hoak in the near future to reiterate that they are not in a position to wait. We will see if that friendly pressure has an impact on his decision timetable.
Oden's still planning to visit UK this weekend and the plan was for the coaches to set the stage and develop more of a relationship with him going into this trip. Mom will be there. The expectation is not that he will commit as he's been pretty clear that he wants the opportunity to throw for Notre Dame and Tennessee this spring. Of course, Tennessee's going to have a lot of young quarterbacks and Notre Dame has some options, too. They will host California quarterback Matt Fink, also a dual-threat, in the near future -- and they've offered him but not Oden.
The simple facts could favor Kentucky if they can afford to wait on Oden, but we'll have to see.
Shannon Dawson started following Skylar Thompson on Twitter just the other day. He's a three-star dual-threat from Missouri with offers from Kansas, Wake Forest and some others.
And of course there was the offer to Cole Kelley of Louisiana. I know Arkansas is really pushing hard for him so I need to talk to him and his family to see how viable an option UK would be at this point.
Kelley is planning to visit Arkansas this weekend so that's something to keep an eye out for. I think UK has a lot of ground to make up as a decision is likely to come soon.
Marquis Mickens, last I heard from him, was planning to visit Kentucky and Louisville this weekend. Louisville's spring game is on Friday and Mickens was hoping UK would have a big spring game event. His plan is to go to Louisville and zip over to UK to check out the school. Chad Scott's been recruiting the 2017 running back pretty hard. UK and UL may be going back and forth for a while over this kid.
6-foot-1 Dade City, Fla., athlete/defensive back Jayvaughn Myers was offered by Kentucky this week. This is a matter of the staff continuing to cast the net in the secondary to protect themselves but he's also someone they feel good about that has all the prerequisites (size and versatility, namely) that Derrick Ansley likes to see.
Jumbo athlete/TE Alex Parker from North Carolina is another player that visited UK over the weekend. My guess is he'd be more of a fullback/H-Back. No offer at this point.
Increasingly likely that UK signs a scholarship punter this year. The summer's specialist camp could well determine which direction they move in. Austin Johnson of Louisville (Ky.) DeSales is one that should be watched closely. He told me that G.A. Tyler Hancock is handling most of the kicker/punter stuff in the program now and he's increasingly interested in Johnson. For his part, Johnson would likely jump on a UK offer.
It's also a sign they won't be slowing down in south Florida anytime soon.
