Admittedly I hadn't followed the intricate details of four-star UK defensive tackle commit Lamar Goods' situation recently because I was led to believe he was very solid and probably wouldn't take other trips. But as it was mentioned here, he is apparently set to officially visit Florida this weekend.
What should we make of that?
I've asked several people. Corey Bender of the Florida site is one I really trust. He is super familiar with Florida recruiting, the state, and now definitely the Gator scene.
He connected briefly with Goods who confirmed the visit and seems to be open to the Gators' pitch. About four or five UF coaches are following him on Twitter. We know less about Goods' interest in Florida than Florida's interest in Goods. I am told that he is not at the very top of their board among d-tackles (which is not to say he isn't a take, or isn't good - each staff has their own evals, schemes, priorities) but their interest in Goods is surging because they have missed out on some guys. Notably, Jalen Carter (6'4, 270) and Warren Brinson (6'4, 301), both of whom are committed to Georgia and flew off the board in the last three weeks.
On top of that, Florida really wants Timothy Smith, four-star d-tackle from Sebastian River, Fla., but their interest in Goods is forced somewhat because Smith has never given them a firm inclination in terms of where he's leaning or when they can count on a decision. They are covering their bases.
It is worth noting that nobody associated with Kentucky has ever expressed concern with regard to Goods' commitment and it isn't surprising that he would take other officials. Kentucky's recruiting is at an all-time level but in spite of ten wins, the draft and the Citrus, you are still up against it recruiting against national powers with 40, 60, 80 years of success in some cases.
There's more Florida-Kentucky overlap I want to dig into right now.
Baton Rouge, La., four-star cornerback Joel Williams just decommitted from Florida and told Rivals.com's Sam Spiegelman that Kentucky is one of the official visits he plans to take.
From what I've been told, Florida definitely didn't drop him. Most of his history and football success has come at wide receiver but he projects as a promising defensive back or really athlete, so either side of the ball. He is more coveted for defense, to my understanding. Apparently he camped with the Gators and their positive opinion was reinforced. His stock is up, not down. That's good news in terms of him being someone to get a little excited about, but bad news in that the competition is heating up, not diminishing.
When Williams committed to Florida his other finalists were LSU and Tennessee. Now that he's back on the market it's Florida, still, as well as Kentucky, Auburn, LSU and Alabama. Spiegelman reported that he will officially visit Kentucky the weekend of June 21 and Auburn the weekend of June 28.
Now, someone here astutely pointed out that Kentucky will also host Marco Domio and Jamal Potts of Delray Beach (Fla.) American Heritage, also defensive backs, for official visits that weekend. The obvious question is whether the staff would try to say, "Best available, come on board," and press one of them into making a decision. I don't believe that is the strategy. It's more about it being towards the end of the time when guys can take officials over the summer and wanting to get these guys on campus while they can.
Besides, in Williams' case, coveted by many and open with top suitors, he won't feel the squeeze. He'd shrug, wait and do what he wants. No leverage there, also no leverage with Domio. I will let @Travis Graf post what he's heard from someone with some LSU insight if he wants, but what he told me lines up with what I've heard, that the Purple & Gold Tigers really have Domio's attention right now.
Here's the thing: I wouldn't call Kentucky a huge favorite for Enzo Jennings, Makari Paige, Marco Domio, Jamal Potts, Joel Williams or even Rickey Hyatt, the last of which I do believe they're on the short list of (as they are with Jennings). But they should get Vito Tisdale, they have a great shot with Jennings and/or Hyatt, and they're "in the game" with lots of guys you'd be thrilled to land, and maybe you surprise and get one or two. Even one would be great, so their wide net is a good-looking net. And we're not even talking about Andru Phillips, who was physical as heck, fast closing and ultra-confident when we watched him Friday night. Good chance this turns out to be Kentucky's best defensive backfield class in a while, maybe since the West/Edwards haul or, potentially, even better.
- On Richie Leonard's recruitment, here's the latest. I think it's honestly a bad look that the Kentucky publisher (me) has picked Kentucky, the Florida State guy has picked the Noles, and Bender has picked Florida. I'm sensitive to appearances and value my objectivity. I can tell you this is not carrying water or just buying into whatever local sources are saying.
I am pretty confident Leonard is not a silent for Kentucky. I think they'll get John Young and Deondre Buford, and they have plenty of other options but Leonard I have filed under someone they want but don't know. After a conversation recently, I know that Florida folks believe that Leonard silently committed to the Gators recently in a conversation with their coaching staff. Not sure if that was on an unofficial visit. He has not officially visited and does not plan to, but those people believe that he told their staff he just wants to wait to make it public. For that reason, I am tentatively flipping my pick to Florida. But my confidence is not extremely high. This is no big surprise as even though I have included Leonard in mock class projections, I've always said that is less about thinking he goes to Kentucky and more about the field for those last couple of spots being pretty wide open and tough to call.
Big takeaways for the day...
If you thought Kentucky was going to cruise to a top 10 class, you were mistaken. I never led you to believe that.
But this is still probably going to be Kentucky's best class, whether to the rankings reflect it or not.
The news has been ridiculously good the last few weeks, and that was expected on the heels of the season and the draft. And also, UK has more ace recruiters than ever before.
But there will be times in this cycle when you wring your hands in frustration, because there always will be. Don't lose sight of the big picture.
The big picture: UK's class core, what it can count on, is very good. I would not include Rogers in that because that's still a dogfight. But Young, Allen, Phillips, Jackson, Davis, McClain probably Buford and Branham, likely Cummings, give this class a high floor.
And what also gives this class a high floor, barring a 2019 on-field disaster or a totally unexpected coaching shake down, is the sheer number of very talented players UK is in play for. Even if they don't hit on as many as they want to, and they might, they are on the short or semi-short list for enough big-time talents that they will get some - enough - for the class to be special by UK standards. Bama, UF, UGA, etc., can't take everybody. Some years UK's Plan B or Plan C or not all that enticing (although sometimes those not-as-enticing guys are Snell, Allen, Taylor, Baity, etc, so lets pump the brakes on what we think we know). This year UK's Plan B, Plan C guys, or wide net pool guys, are better than I've ever seen.
What should we make of that?
I've asked several people. Corey Bender of the Florida site is one I really trust. He is super familiar with Florida recruiting, the state, and now definitely the Gator scene.
He connected briefly with Goods who confirmed the visit and seems to be open to the Gators' pitch. About four or five UF coaches are following him on Twitter. We know less about Goods' interest in Florida than Florida's interest in Goods. I am told that he is not at the very top of their board among d-tackles (which is not to say he isn't a take, or isn't good - each staff has their own evals, schemes, priorities) but their interest in Goods is surging because they have missed out on some guys. Notably, Jalen Carter (6'4, 270) and Warren Brinson (6'4, 301), both of whom are committed to Georgia and flew off the board in the last three weeks.
On top of that, Florida really wants Timothy Smith, four-star d-tackle from Sebastian River, Fla., but their interest in Goods is forced somewhat because Smith has never given them a firm inclination in terms of where he's leaning or when they can count on a decision. They are covering their bases.
It is worth noting that nobody associated with Kentucky has ever expressed concern with regard to Goods' commitment and it isn't surprising that he would take other officials. Kentucky's recruiting is at an all-time level but in spite of ten wins, the draft and the Citrus, you are still up against it recruiting against national powers with 40, 60, 80 years of success in some cases.
There's more Florida-Kentucky overlap I want to dig into right now.
Baton Rouge, La., four-star cornerback Joel Williams just decommitted from Florida and told Rivals.com's Sam Spiegelman that Kentucky is one of the official visits he plans to take.
From what I've been told, Florida definitely didn't drop him. Most of his history and football success has come at wide receiver but he projects as a promising defensive back or really athlete, so either side of the ball. He is more coveted for defense, to my understanding. Apparently he camped with the Gators and their positive opinion was reinforced. His stock is up, not down. That's good news in terms of him being someone to get a little excited about, but bad news in that the competition is heating up, not diminishing.
When Williams committed to Florida his other finalists were LSU and Tennessee. Now that he's back on the market it's Florida, still, as well as Kentucky, Auburn, LSU and Alabama. Spiegelman reported that he will officially visit Kentucky the weekend of June 21 and Auburn the weekend of June 28.
Now, someone here astutely pointed out that Kentucky will also host Marco Domio and Jamal Potts of Delray Beach (Fla.) American Heritage, also defensive backs, for official visits that weekend. The obvious question is whether the staff would try to say, "Best available, come on board," and press one of them into making a decision. I don't believe that is the strategy. It's more about it being towards the end of the time when guys can take officials over the summer and wanting to get these guys on campus while they can.
Besides, in Williams' case, coveted by many and open with top suitors, he won't feel the squeeze. He'd shrug, wait and do what he wants. No leverage there, also no leverage with Domio. I will let @Travis Graf post what he's heard from someone with some LSU insight if he wants, but what he told me lines up with what I've heard, that the Purple & Gold Tigers really have Domio's attention right now.
Here's the thing: I wouldn't call Kentucky a huge favorite for Enzo Jennings, Makari Paige, Marco Domio, Jamal Potts, Joel Williams or even Rickey Hyatt, the last of which I do believe they're on the short list of (as they are with Jennings). But they should get Vito Tisdale, they have a great shot with Jennings and/or Hyatt, and they're "in the game" with lots of guys you'd be thrilled to land, and maybe you surprise and get one or two. Even one would be great, so their wide net is a good-looking net. And we're not even talking about Andru Phillips, who was physical as heck, fast closing and ultra-confident when we watched him Friday night. Good chance this turns out to be Kentucky's best defensive backfield class in a while, maybe since the West/Edwards haul or, potentially, even better.
- On Richie Leonard's recruitment, here's the latest. I think it's honestly a bad look that the Kentucky publisher (me) has picked Kentucky, the Florida State guy has picked the Noles, and Bender has picked Florida. I'm sensitive to appearances and value my objectivity. I can tell you this is not carrying water or just buying into whatever local sources are saying.
I am pretty confident Leonard is not a silent for Kentucky. I think they'll get John Young and Deondre Buford, and they have plenty of other options but Leonard I have filed under someone they want but don't know. After a conversation recently, I know that Florida folks believe that Leonard silently committed to the Gators recently in a conversation with their coaching staff. Not sure if that was on an unofficial visit. He has not officially visited and does not plan to, but those people believe that he told their staff he just wants to wait to make it public. For that reason, I am tentatively flipping my pick to Florida. But my confidence is not extremely high. This is no big surprise as even though I have included Leonard in mock class projections, I've always said that is less about thinking he goes to Kentucky and more about the field for those last couple of spots being pretty wide open and tough to call.
Big takeaways for the day...
If you thought Kentucky was going to cruise to a top 10 class, you were mistaken. I never led you to believe that.
But this is still probably going to be Kentucky's best class, whether to the rankings reflect it or not.
The news has been ridiculously good the last few weeks, and that was expected on the heels of the season and the draft. And also, UK has more ace recruiters than ever before.
But there will be times in this cycle when you wring your hands in frustration, because there always will be. Don't lose sight of the big picture.
The big picture: UK's class core, what it can count on, is very good. I would not include Rogers in that because that's still a dogfight. But Young, Allen, Phillips, Jackson, Davis, McClain probably Buford and Branham, likely Cummings, give this class a high floor.
And what also gives this class a high floor, barring a 2019 on-field disaster or a totally unexpected coaching shake down, is the sheer number of very talented players UK is in play for. Even if they don't hit on as many as they want to, and they might, they are on the short or semi-short list for enough big-time talents that they will get some - enough - for the class to be special by UK standards. Bama, UF, UGA, etc., can't take everybody. Some years UK's Plan B or Plan C or not all that enticing (although sometimes those not-as-enticing guys are Snell, Allen, Taylor, Baity, etc, so lets pump the brakes on what we think we know). This year UK's Plan B, Plan C guys, or wide net pool guys, are better than I've ever seen.
