Last night you read about Kentucky's pursuit of four-star Aliquippa, Pa., cornerback Marlin (MJ) Devonshire.
We confirmed UK's interest and his reciprocating that interest. Not a huge update here but today Devonshire confirmed to me that he is open to taking an official visit to Kentucky. The obvious question is when he would work that in as there is not a lot of free time for him on the calendar unless something frees up (Ole Miss 1/25). However, we are now hearing that he will not visit Ohio State this weekend. That doesn't mean he's visiting Kentucky. He might (and said he might today) but USC is also in the mix as well.
Devonshire's father said he is pretty much down to those schools. Kentucky has gotten involved since then so that could change, but I would definitely say the Cats have some ground to make up. Just worth paying attention to.
The reason all of these schools have started to make a play for Devonshire is in part because he's still unsigned but also because he had a really elite 2018 season and his stock is soaring.
UK has obviously been involved with Jammie Robinson for much longer than Devonshire. Coming off Robinson's official visit to Auburn there was some predictable buzz in the Tigers direction and I'm not writing that off. Even going into the trip Chad Simmons seemed to be an oracle, almost predicting that there would be a bump for the guys on the Plains.
However, what I will say is I am not reading much into where things stand right now with Robinson. Even if Auburn has surged in a major way, Robinson is now planning to officially visit Tennessee right now. My read on this situation is that it used to be South Carolina against the field, and I would have picked the Gamecocks. The first movement came on the trip to Kentucky, which leveled the playing field. Now Auburn has impressed him. That tells me he is impressionable on some level and it seems to be a four-horse race between UK, USC, Auburn and Tennessee. I can't imagine another school having a more favorable situation for a high school senior cornerback who wants to compete for time early in the SEC and I know Kentucky genuinely believes he can play for them early. But there's still a long way to go, and, as of today, more competition.
As for Devonta Lee, I don't have a whole lot new to report following his cancellation of the Texas A&M visit right before the weekend. One of the big questions (as with Jay Ward) has been his standing with LSU and I can tell you that the Tigers still seem to want him. The question is whether he is open to moving to a different position if he picks that route, whereas that is still not a concern with Kentucky.
Let me add a variable I haven't seen mentioned here. Sam Spiegelman of TigerDetails.com believes that the future LSU receivers coach Mickey Joseph is a big X-Factor here. Apparently Lee's mother likes him a lot but his contract expires in a few months. There is no real reason for folks to believe he is not going to be extended but that is a little uncertainty that might be contributing to his/family's hesitation with LSU. If forced to choose I would give LSU a slight edge at the end of the day but Kentucky still has a 30+% shot in my mind and a lot will hinge on whether he reschedules A&M and if he decides to visit Alabama, Georgia, Auburn or Ole Miss, schools that still want him to visit and with varying levels of interest.
With the news that Jalen Hurts is transferring to Oklahoma I should say this isn't a big surprise. While I did know that Kentucky might have some degree of interest it was always a long shot because of the number of schools in play and the fact that some blue blood programs (Miami before Martell's transfer, Florida State, etc) were linked to him. Several have wondered about Austin Kendall but I just do not see that as a major possibility right now. From the start I have felt like Terry Wilson is very likely to go into next season as Kentucky's second-year starting quarterback and nothing has caused me to change my opinion on that.
We confirmed UK's interest and his reciprocating that interest. Not a huge update here but today Devonshire confirmed to me that he is open to taking an official visit to Kentucky. The obvious question is when he would work that in as there is not a lot of free time for him on the calendar unless something frees up (Ole Miss 1/25). However, we are now hearing that he will not visit Ohio State this weekend. That doesn't mean he's visiting Kentucky. He might (and said he might today) but USC is also in the mix as well.
Devonshire's father said he is pretty much down to those schools. Kentucky has gotten involved since then so that could change, but I would definitely say the Cats have some ground to make up. Just worth paying attention to.
The reason all of these schools have started to make a play for Devonshire is in part because he's still unsigned but also because he had a really elite 2018 season and his stock is soaring.
UK has obviously been involved with Jammie Robinson for much longer than Devonshire. Coming off Robinson's official visit to Auburn there was some predictable buzz in the Tigers direction and I'm not writing that off. Even going into the trip Chad Simmons seemed to be an oracle, almost predicting that there would be a bump for the guys on the Plains.
However, what I will say is I am not reading much into where things stand right now with Robinson. Even if Auburn has surged in a major way, Robinson is now planning to officially visit Tennessee right now. My read on this situation is that it used to be South Carolina against the field, and I would have picked the Gamecocks. The first movement came on the trip to Kentucky, which leveled the playing field. Now Auburn has impressed him. That tells me he is impressionable on some level and it seems to be a four-horse race between UK, USC, Auburn and Tennessee. I can't imagine another school having a more favorable situation for a high school senior cornerback who wants to compete for time early in the SEC and I know Kentucky genuinely believes he can play for them early. But there's still a long way to go, and, as of today, more competition.
As for Devonta Lee, I don't have a whole lot new to report following his cancellation of the Texas A&M visit right before the weekend. One of the big questions (as with Jay Ward) has been his standing with LSU and I can tell you that the Tigers still seem to want him. The question is whether he is open to moving to a different position if he picks that route, whereas that is still not a concern with Kentucky.
Let me add a variable I haven't seen mentioned here. Sam Spiegelman of TigerDetails.com believes that the future LSU receivers coach Mickey Joseph is a big X-Factor here. Apparently Lee's mother likes him a lot but his contract expires in a few months. There is no real reason for folks to believe he is not going to be extended but that is a little uncertainty that might be contributing to his/family's hesitation with LSU. If forced to choose I would give LSU a slight edge at the end of the day but Kentucky still has a 30+% shot in my mind and a lot will hinge on whether he reschedules A&M and if he decides to visit Alabama, Georgia, Auburn or Ole Miss, schools that still want him to visit and with varying levels of interest.
With the news that Jalen Hurts is transferring to Oklahoma I should say this isn't a big surprise. While I did know that Kentucky might have some degree of interest it was always a long shot because of the number of schools in play and the fact that some blue blood programs (Miami before Martell's transfer, Florida State, etc) were linked to him. Several have wondered about Austin Kendall but I just do not see that as a major possibility right now. From the start I have felt like Terry Wilson is very likely to go into next season as Kentucky's second-year starting quarterback and nothing has caused me to change my opinion on that.
