This War Room will lead us into the weekend, which should be one of the biggest of the early part of 2015 for Kentucky's recruiting efforts. Temper expectations for a flood of major action, as Kentucky has limited spots remaining. There will be some talented kids on campus and this is by no means an exhaustive list, but it's a start as I wait for more sources to speak.
Expected Saturday Visitors
A.J. Terrell (2017)
Marquez Louder
Nigel Walton
Jacoby Hill
Sean Mahone
Russ Yeast (2017)
Justin Swift (not 100-percent)
Jeffery Pooler
Kei Beckham
Tobias Gilliam
Logan Stenberg
Tavin Richardson
Mason Wolfe
Eli Brown
Zy'Aire Hughes
Landon Young
Drake Jackson
Davonte Robinson
Jaylin Bannerman
Justin Rigg
Gunnar Hoak
Kayaune Ross
Jabari Greenwood
Expected Sunday Visitors
Tyler Oden
Justin Oden
Jaylon King
Jordan Wilson
Princeton Fant
Drake Smith
Gentry Bonds
Jacob Phillips
Chris Bell
Kyle Oliver
Chris Myers
See post here
It's worth noting that Russ Yeast, the son of Kentucky great Craig Yeast, will also be visiting Louisville on Friday. The '17 recruit told me that he has been busy and hasn't been visiting other schools recently. Cincinnati and Washington State are among the other schools that have offered. Louisville has wanted to get him on campus for a while so I wouldn't be surprised if the Cardinals offer.
Yeast told me that he still has a high interest in Kentucky but said he does not have a favorite. Ohio State, Michigan State, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are among the others showing the most interest. The last time Yeast visited Kentucky was for the Wildcats' dramatic win over South Carolina last fall. He has been in touch with Tommy Mainord since then, as has his father -- who hasn't exactly kept his preference for UK a secret to Russ.
'16 offensive line commit Luke Fortner just has other commitments and won't be able to attend. No reason to worry.
Jacoby Hill is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end from Atlanta and Walton is his teammate, another '16 recruit. Derrick Ansley has had contact with Hill but I'm not sure he has talked directly to Walton before. Walton's a defensive back who had nine pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a pick last year. To my knowledge both players are waiting for their first offers.
Georgia Tech is one of the schools that's heavily recruiting Walton. He's visited GT, a hometown school for him.
As for Hill, he told me that he likes the idea of playing in the SEC and there was the all-important, "I like the uniforms," comment. Win. He had 10 sacks, 45 tackles, four forced fumbles, three recovered and a pick last year.
Hill has visited Mississippi State and Georgia recently.
Wednesday Visitors
We've already reported a bit on some of Kentucky's visitors yesterday. Three-star linebacker Ben Knutson and Kayaune Ross -- all 2016 recruits -- were at Kentucky.
Quarterback Picture
I've been told not to rule out Kentucky with four-star dual-threat Messiah deWeaver although most evidence is pointing towards him ending up at Michigan State. He does not appear to be on the visitor list at Kentucky this weekend and that could be telling. With a decision quickly approaching, UK may be moving in other directions.
Earlier today I posted about Dublin (Ohio) Coffman quarterback Gunnar Hoak. Kentucky does indeed like him and he's on the board for sure. He's listed at 6-foot-3, 190 on Rivals.com; on Hudl.com, 6-foot-4, 191. He was 171-for-261 with 2,584 yards and 30 touchdowns last year for Coffman.
You can watch Hoak's highlights here. Upon watching his film he doesn't have a huge frame but size does not immediately jump out as a major concern and certainly not a disqualifying factor. He will fill out nicely.
Hoak's not a dual-threat; he's more of a pro-style that can occasionally surprise a defense with the read option. He's got good footwork when he's scrambling. I also like his footwork in the pocket. He plays out of the gun and throws a nice live ball that comes out well. He doesn't have a huge cannon but neither did Austin Kendall. You don't need that necessarily. Kentucky has that now with Towles and frankly in UK's offense, with Brown or Dawson, accuracy is more important. The arm will take on a greater significance with Dawson wanting to throw vertically more.
Hoak goes through his reads much better than your average high school quarterback. Eventually I see him as a guy that's really going to be able to efficiently pick defenses apart, smoothly going through two and three reads relatively early in his college career.
I like his mechanics and his throwing motion and he looks like he's been well-coached. He does not appear to have happy feet and is consistent and solid in his drops.
I don't know how serious UK has been about any of these guys but some names that have popped up are Landon Coe (video here) from New Berlin, Wisc. and some others.
Another quarterback in Ohio that the Wildcats could move on is Peyton Ramsey. He attends Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder and while he's only a two-star quarterback he has Power Five offers from Boston College, Illinois and Indiana. He's unlikely to end up at BC, as they're probably getting Anthony Brown from New Jersey. He's someone to watch.
I would caution against angst over Logan Byrd picking North Carolina. Opinions on him varied widely. I'm not saying he isn't a good player. Shannon Dawson obviously liked him to an extent. But he is not far and away better than any of the other guys Kentucky will be able to get. He has been okay as a passer, not great. And while he might be labeled a dual-threat, he's not really a dynamic runner. He does a little of everything well but I haven't seen much that he's done great -- granted, I haven't seen him in person.
2017 QB Recruiting is Important
With all the fuss over '16 QB recruiting, it's important to remember that Kentucky has been planning to take two QB's in the 2017 class. So next year's class is going to be absolutely pivotal and will supply the program with much of its depth behind center for the foreseeable future.
Here are the 2017's to watch for Kentucky:
Hunter Johnson (offered)
Jake Fromm (offered)
Davis Mills
Jarret Doege
Charlie Brewer
Tristan Gebbia (offered)
Louisville and West Virginia have offered Mills. Interestingly enough Kentucky and Louisville are the two offers for Gebbia, who's from California. Johnson is one of the nation's best players and a Rivals100 to Watch already. He's visited multiple times but I can't say UK is the favorite. They're one of several involved. Fromm may be visiting at some point but when I last spoke with him he was largely unfamiliar with Kentucky.
UK Commitments Increasingly Popular
Just before committing to Kentucky, running back Benny Snell was offered by Iowa. I can tell you that, at the very least, Snell is on Michigan's radar. He's solid with Kentucky but I know the Wolverines have evaluated him and really like the Kentucky running back commit.
Speaking of Big Ten powers, Ohio State has been taking a look at a couple of Kentucky commitments, including A.J. Rose. The Buckeyes have not yet offered and I haven't heard anything to lead me to believe they will, but Rose is on their radar as a player to watch.
At the beginning of this month defensive back Jordan Griffin was offered by Mississippi State. That offers goes with others after his Kentucky commitment, including Stanford and Michigan State.
Tobias Gilliam has added offers from Pitt, West Virginia and others since committing to the Wildcats. He will continue to take visits but says UK's coaches are okay with that. I'm hearing they expect to keep him. Purdue has also been trying to get involved.
Jaylin Bannerman picked up a Michigan State offer after his Kentucky visit. He did visit East Lansing and said he thought the practice he observed was exciting. But keeping him on board after that visit was key. Vince Marrow's doing a great job with him. Hearing that UK sources are confident in their chances to keep him. Oregon is among the other schools watching Bannerman. That's not a surprise. They produced a player like Dion Jordan, who has Bannerman's height and is a lot bigger but the kind of size that UK would love for Bannerman to end up at.
Landon Young was recently offered by Ohio State and Alabama. He will visit both schools and won't rule out others, though he says he's solid. Drake Jackson is in an identical place, planning to continue with visits elsewhere. It's worth noting that almost every recruit continues to take visits now. Visits don't mean what they used to mean. Then again, decommitments are more common than ever.
Davonte Robinson added a Notre Dame offer and I'm expecting more to come his way.
Purdue, Northwestern and Pitt are among the schools that would love to pry Justin Rigg away from Kentucky, but the Ohio tight end seems very happy.
Some of Kentucky's commitments will be branching out and hitting the camp scene more aggressively. Landon Young is one of those. That could be an opportunity for him to better his ranking.
Miscellaneous
Four-star corner John Broussard still plans to visit Kentucky the weekend of April 25 but Auburn is the odds-on favorite and apparently his mom is on board with the Tigers if that's the choice.
Donta Evans is a player Kentucky has a very good chance with at linebacker. I'm expecting Kentucky to take one or two more at the position. It's less likely than before that they can get Jonathan Johnson or Keith Simms, but I think they're still in good shape with Evans, Ethan Tucky, Griffin Grady and Brock Miller if they move in any of those directions. Also wouldn't rule out Riley Cole from down in Alabama.
At the offensive tackle position I still believe the options are Alex Gellerstedt, Darius Harper, Alaric Jackson and Stone Forsythe. Gellerstedt visits North Carolina and Wake Forest this weekend. Forsythe has called Kentucky his favorite but told me that could change if he gets the "right" offers. So that's a dicey venture to say the least. Harper could a football player or a basketball player in college and UK is trying to figure out what he'll do, to my knowledge. And Jackson is open to a visit.
California receiver Chris Taylor-Yamanoha is a Louisville native and a three-star prospect with offers from all over the country. He will be visiting Louisville, Michigan and Notre Dame between April 16-20, and his dad told me they've been wanting to set up a trip with Kentucky. I haven't heard that UK is interested, but their family is definitely interested and have emphasized their Kentucky ties.
Class of 2017 Lake Mary, Fla., running back Marquis Mickens has offers from Kentucky and Louisville and said he plans to visit both schools later this month. He told me he was "bummed" that UK isn't having a spring game, but he'll make it anyways. He visits Louisville on April 17 and said he will try to jet over to Kentucky for a campus walk through around that time.
In short, between linebacker and the offensive line I think the forecast is very strong and the likelihood is very good that they will fill the need/want sufficiently.
Someone asked about numbers. I believe the most likely scenario is: QB (1), WR (1), OL (1), DL (3), LB (1), DB (1). Depending on who they find they could give a scholarship to a specialist. They won't be getting Drue Chrisman but summer camps could reveal another kicker/punter that they like.
This post was edited on 4/9 3:52 PM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/9 3:57 PM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/9 11:10 PM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/10 11:40 AM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/10 4:55 PM by JRowland
Expected Saturday Visitors
A.J. Terrell (2017)
Marquez Louder
Nigel Walton
Jacoby Hill
Sean Mahone
Russ Yeast (2017)
Justin Swift (not 100-percent)
Jeffery Pooler
Kei Beckham
Tobias Gilliam
Logan Stenberg
Tavin Richardson
Mason Wolfe
Eli Brown
Zy'Aire Hughes
Landon Young
Drake Jackson
Davonte Robinson
Jaylin Bannerman
Justin Rigg
Gunnar Hoak
Kayaune Ross
Jabari Greenwood
Expected Sunday Visitors
Tyler Oden
Justin Oden
Jaylon King
Jordan Wilson
Princeton Fant
Drake Smith
Gentry Bonds
Jacob Phillips
Chris Bell
Kyle Oliver
Chris Myers
See post here
It's worth noting that Russ Yeast, the son of Kentucky great Craig Yeast, will also be visiting Louisville on Friday. The '17 recruit told me that he has been busy and hasn't been visiting other schools recently. Cincinnati and Washington State are among the other schools that have offered. Louisville has wanted to get him on campus for a while so I wouldn't be surprised if the Cardinals offer.
Yeast told me that he still has a high interest in Kentucky but said he does not have a favorite. Ohio State, Michigan State, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are among the others showing the most interest. The last time Yeast visited Kentucky was for the Wildcats' dramatic win over South Carolina last fall. He has been in touch with Tommy Mainord since then, as has his father -- who hasn't exactly kept his preference for UK a secret to Russ.
'16 offensive line commit Luke Fortner just has other commitments and won't be able to attend. No reason to worry.
Jacoby Hill is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end from Atlanta and Walton is his teammate, another '16 recruit. Derrick Ansley has had contact with Hill but I'm not sure he has talked directly to Walton before. Walton's a defensive back who had nine pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a pick last year. To my knowledge both players are waiting for their first offers.
Georgia Tech is one of the schools that's heavily recruiting Walton. He's visited GT, a hometown school for him.
As for Hill, he told me that he likes the idea of playing in the SEC and there was the all-important, "I like the uniforms," comment. Win. He had 10 sacks, 45 tackles, four forced fumbles, three recovered and a pick last year.
Hill has visited Mississippi State and Georgia recently.
Wednesday Visitors
We've already reported a bit on some of Kentucky's visitors yesterday. Three-star linebacker Ben Knutson and Kayaune Ross -- all 2016 recruits -- were at Kentucky.
Quarterback Picture
I've been told not to rule out Kentucky with four-star dual-threat Messiah deWeaver although most evidence is pointing towards him ending up at Michigan State. He does not appear to be on the visitor list at Kentucky this weekend and that could be telling. With a decision quickly approaching, UK may be moving in other directions.
Earlier today I posted about Dublin (Ohio) Coffman quarterback Gunnar Hoak. Kentucky does indeed like him and he's on the board for sure. He's listed at 6-foot-3, 190 on Rivals.com; on Hudl.com, 6-foot-4, 191. He was 171-for-261 with 2,584 yards and 30 touchdowns last year for Coffman.
You can watch Hoak's highlights here. Upon watching his film he doesn't have a huge frame but size does not immediately jump out as a major concern and certainly not a disqualifying factor. He will fill out nicely.
Hoak's not a dual-threat; he's more of a pro-style that can occasionally surprise a defense with the read option. He's got good footwork when he's scrambling. I also like his footwork in the pocket. He plays out of the gun and throws a nice live ball that comes out well. He doesn't have a huge cannon but neither did Austin Kendall. You don't need that necessarily. Kentucky has that now with Towles and frankly in UK's offense, with Brown or Dawson, accuracy is more important. The arm will take on a greater significance with Dawson wanting to throw vertically more.
Hoak goes through his reads much better than your average high school quarterback. Eventually I see him as a guy that's really going to be able to efficiently pick defenses apart, smoothly going through two and three reads relatively early in his college career.
I like his mechanics and his throwing motion and he looks like he's been well-coached. He does not appear to have happy feet and is consistent and solid in his drops.
I don't know how serious UK has been about any of these guys but some names that have popped up are Landon Coe (video here) from New Berlin, Wisc. and some others.
Another quarterback in Ohio that the Wildcats could move on is Peyton Ramsey. He attends Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder and while he's only a two-star quarterback he has Power Five offers from Boston College, Illinois and Indiana. He's unlikely to end up at BC, as they're probably getting Anthony Brown from New Jersey. He's someone to watch.
I would caution against angst over Logan Byrd picking North Carolina. Opinions on him varied widely. I'm not saying he isn't a good player. Shannon Dawson obviously liked him to an extent. But he is not far and away better than any of the other guys Kentucky will be able to get. He has been okay as a passer, not great. And while he might be labeled a dual-threat, he's not really a dynamic runner. He does a little of everything well but I haven't seen much that he's done great -- granted, I haven't seen him in person.
2017 QB Recruiting is Important
With all the fuss over '16 QB recruiting, it's important to remember that Kentucky has been planning to take two QB's in the 2017 class. So next year's class is going to be absolutely pivotal and will supply the program with much of its depth behind center for the foreseeable future.
Here are the 2017's to watch for Kentucky:
Hunter Johnson (offered)
Jake Fromm (offered)
Davis Mills
Jarret Doege
Charlie Brewer
Tristan Gebbia (offered)
Louisville and West Virginia have offered Mills. Interestingly enough Kentucky and Louisville are the two offers for Gebbia, who's from California. Johnson is one of the nation's best players and a Rivals100 to Watch already. He's visited multiple times but I can't say UK is the favorite. They're one of several involved. Fromm may be visiting at some point but when I last spoke with him he was largely unfamiliar with Kentucky.
UK Commitments Increasingly Popular
Just before committing to Kentucky, running back Benny Snell was offered by Iowa. I can tell you that, at the very least, Snell is on Michigan's radar. He's solid with Kentucky but I know the Wolverines have evaluated him and really like the Kentucky running back commit.
Speaking of Big Ten powers, Ohio State has been taking a look at a couple of Kentucky commitments, including A.J. Rose. The Buckeyes have not yet offered and I haven't heard anything to lead me to believe they will, but Rose is on their radar as a player to watch.
At the beginning of this month defensive back Jordan Griffin was offered by Mississippi State. That offers goes with others after his Kentucky commitment, including Stanford and Michigan State.
Tobias Gilliam has added offers from Pitt, West Virginia and others since committing to the Wildcats. He will continue to take visits but says UK's coaches are okay with that. I'm hearing they expect to keep him. Purdue has also been trying to get involved.
Jaylin Bannerman picked up a Michigan State offer after his Kentucky visit. He did visit East Lansing and said he thought the practice he observed was exciting. But keeping him on board after that visit was key. Vince Marrow's doing a great job with him. Hearing that UK sources are confident in their chances to keep him. Oregon is among the other schools watching Bannerman. That's not a surprise. They produced a player like Dion Jordan, who has Bannerman's height and is a lot bigger but the kind of size that UK would love for Bannerman to end up at.
Landon Young was recently offered by Ohio State and Alabama. He will visit both schools and won't rule out others, though he says he's solid. Drake Jackson is in an identical place, planning to continue with visits elsewhere. It's worth noting that almost every recruit continues to take visits now. Visits don't mean what they used to mean. Then again, decommitments are more common than ever.
Davonte Robinson added a Notre Dame offer and I'm expecting more to come his way.
Purdue, Northwestern and Pitt are among the schools that would love to pry Justin Rigg away from Kentucky, but the Ohio tight end seems very happy.
Some of Kentucky's commitments will be branching out and hitting the camp scene more aggressively. Landon Young is one of those. That could be an opportunity for him to better his ranking.
Miscellaneous
Four-star corner John Broussard still plans to visit Kentucky the weekend of April 25 but Auburn is the odds-on favorite and apparently his mom is on board with the Tigers if that's the choice.
Donta Evans is a player Kentucky has a very good chance with at linebacker. I'm expecting Kentucky to take one or two more at the position. It's less likely than before that they can get Jonathan Johnson or Keith Simms, but I think they're still in good shape with Evans, Ethan Tucky, Griffin Grady and Brock Miller if they move in any of those directions. Also wouldn't rule out Riley Cole from down in Alabama.
At the offensive tackle position I still believe the options are Alex Gellerstedt, Darius Harper, Alaric Jackson and Stone Forsythe. Gellerstedt visits North Carolina and Wake Forest this weekend. Forsythe has called Kentucky his favorite but told me that could change if he gets the "right" offers. So that's a dicey venture to say the least. Harper could a football player or a basketball player in college and UK is trying to figure out what he'll do, to my knowledge. And Jackson is open to a visit.
California receiver Chris Taylor-Yamanoha is a Louisville native and a three-star prospect with offers from all over the country. He will be visiting Louisville, Michigan and Notre Dame between April 16-20, and his dad told me they've been wanting to set up a trip with Kentucky. I haven't heard that UK is interested, but their family is definitely interested and have emphasized their Kentucky ties.
Class of 2017 Lake Mary, Fla., running back Marquis Mickens has offers from Kentucky and Louisville and said he plans to visit both schools later this month. He told me he was "bummed" that UK isn't having a spring game, but he'll make it anyways. He visits Louisville on April 17 and said he will try to jet over to Kentucky for a campus walk through around that time.
In short, between linebacker and the offensive line I think the forecast is very strong and the likelihood is very good that they will fill the need/want sufficiently.
Someone asked about numbers. I believe the most likely scenario is: QB (1), WR (1), OL (1), DL (3), LB (1), DB (1). Depending on who they find they could give a scholarship to a specialist. They won't be getting Drue Chrisman but summer camps could reveal another kicker/punter that they like.
This post was edited on 4/9 3:52 PM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/9 3:57 PM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/9 11:10 PM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/10 11:40 AM by JRowland
This post was edited on 4/10 4:55 PM by JRowland
