THE STRETCH RUN: Recruiting Hot Board (10/19)
It's mid-October and that means there are fewer than four months until National Signing Day.
Cats Illustrated honors the annual stretch run in recruiting with our Recruiting Hot Board, which will be updated or released in new editions as Signing Day approaches.
| Player | The Competition | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
|
QB Danny Clark |
Ole Miss, Purdue, Indiana, Iowa State, others |
Clark is set to announce his decision on Oct. 22, so in just a matter of days. He unofficially visited Kentucky two weekends ago and the Cats are the overwhelming favorite to land his commitment. The former Ohio State commit will also likely be a very helpful recruiter for Kentucky between now and Signing Day. PREMIUM: Danny Clark could be key in helping UK fill out its 2017 class. |
|
Ball State, BGSU, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, others |
Ellison was injured as both a sophomore and junior but has held up during this his senior year. He's an Ohio running back the Cats could keep an eye on if they decide they want another back. Ellison did tell Cats Illustrated this week that he has not been hearing from Kentucky lately but he did enjoy his trip to Lexington for Sunday Night Lights over the summer. He's close friends with UK freshman Jaylin Bannerman. LINK: Read what Ellison had to say after his summer camp at Kentucky. |
|
|
RB Josh Samuel |
Minnesota, WKU, UTSA, others |
Samuel is the older teammate of 2018 UK quarterback commit Jarren Williams and he, like Ellison, attended Sunday Night Lights this summer. He doesn't have an offer yet -- nor does Ellison -- but recently there has been talk that UK could have renewed interest. Darin Hinshaw visited Central Gwinnett recently to check on Williams and he was apparently there with some interest in Samuel as well. PREMIUM: Read what Cats Illustrated reported about Samuel in last weekend's special edition of the War Room! |
|
WR Rodney Scott |
Illinois, WVU, Louisville, Houston, Miami, others |
Scott was committed to Miami at one point before reopening his recruitment. Towards the end of the summer he told Cats Illustrated that he was sure he would be taking official visits to Kentucky, West Virginia and Illinois. PREMIUM: Read what Scott told Cats Illustrated about his recruitment in August. |
|
WR Danny Davis |
Penn State, Michigan State, Oregon, WVU, others |
Davis unofficially visited Kentucky over the summer and around that time it seemed like the Cats were the odds-on favorite to land the Rivals250 receiver from Springfield (Ohio). Most speculation still has Kentucky as one of the leading contenders for Davis, but his plans for official visits and a decision timetable aren't clear. PREMIUM: Danny Davis called UK a top choice after attending Sunday Night Lights. Also ... PREMIUM: What we're hearing about Danny Davis and others (War Room). |
|
Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, WVU, others |
Lamar Thomas recently offered this junior college receiver from California. Brown has not spoken much about Kentucky's offer or the program's chances. He has scheduled official visits to Cal (11/18), West Virginia (12/2) and Arizona State (12/9). LINK: Breaking down recent 2017 offers sent out by the UK staff. |
|
|
Miami commit |
It's not exactly clear how solid Dingle is to the Hurricanes. He told Cats Illustrated earlier in the football season that he planned to officially visit Kentucky the weekend of Sept. 24, but it doesn't seem like that trip panned out. It's not clear whether he might reschedule. PREMIUM: Dingle mentioned in late September edition of the War Room! |
|
|
WR Bruce Judson |
USF commit |
The Rivals250 athlete from Florida told Cats Illustrated recently that he plans to officially visit Kentucky in December. Lamar Thomas and Luke Walerius are in regular contact with Judson. He has mentioned Kentucky as a school of interest for many months, but the official visit -- assuming it happens -- will probably determine UK's ultimate chances at a flip. PREMIUM: Judson mentioned along with several others in Wednesday's (10/19) recruiting notes. |
|
ATH Lynn Bowden |
Michigan State, Indiana, Penn State |
It's tough to slot Bowden for a certain position and he could even be a defensive back prospect for Kentucky. He's electric with the ball in his hands, however. There's been a renewed sense of optimism when it comes to Kentucky's chances with Bowden lately. He's been in contact with the UK coaching staff and it's looking like an official visit is probably going to happen. PREMIUM: Steven Clinkscale's trip to see Lynn Bowden and more. |
|
Syracuse commit |
Kentucky's coaches have been pushing for Hackett to take an official visit and it looks like that will happen. Hackett said he's likely to be in Lexington sometime after his senior season. The UK staff believes Hackett would be a great fit in the offense, particularly as a pass catcher, and there could be a depth chart need at tight end. PREMIUM: UK staff wants Hackett to officially visit. Read what he tells Cats Illustrated. |
|
|
Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, ND, others |
The five-star tackle from Lafayette needs no introduction. At one point over the summer it seemed like a near certainty that Wills would be committing to Alabama before the start of his senior season. The Tide is still a strong contender but Wills' official visit to Michigan went very well and the Wolverines are probably in better shape than they once were. Wills has continued to unofficially visit Kentucky and it would be foolish to write Kentucky off. The Cats are probably one of his top choices, still. JOIN CATS ILLUSTRATED TODAY: For full access to everything linked in this content, as well as membership on our very popular House of Blue forum, click here. |
|
|
OT Jordon Carty |
Oregon State, North Carolina, Mississippi State, Alabama, others |
Carty has seen his recruiting stock rise dramatically in recent weeks. Just two weeks ago he told BeaversEdge.com that he was eyeing official visits to Oregon State and North Carolina. Shortly thereafter he told Cats Illustrated that he is very likely to take an official visit to Kentucky. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound tackle from Hollywood (Fla.) South Broward is long, athletic and a prototypical pass-protecting project. PREMIUM: Carty mentioned in Wednesday's recruiting notes. |
|
Miami commit |
For months Hillery has been telling Cats Illustrated that he might be taking an official visit to Kentucky. At one point a couple of months ago he described his recruitment as basically a two-horse race between Kentucky and Miami, but more recently it has seemed like more schools are involved. Hillery has not said he has a date picked out for his UK visit. NC State, Michigan and Auburn are some of the other schools Hillery has talked about taking official visits to. As recently as this week he told Cats Illustrated the Kentucky staff is still in regular contact. |
|
|
WVU, Cal, Oklahoma State, Louisville, TCU, others |
Wickline, a JUCO prospect, was formerly on the UTSA football team. His father, Joe Wickline, is the offensive coordinator for Dana Holgorson at West Virginia. Kentucky offered Wickline not long ago and the JUCO prospect has been reluctant to speak about recruiting openly. He's still adding offers. It's not clear what he will do with his official visits or what schools lead in his recruitment. |
|
|
Pitt, Tennessee, Louisville, Ohio State, others |
Munford is now eligible to play, following a transfer, and he's still a coveted tackle prospect. In another year he might be a priority for Ohio State, but as it stands Cats Illustrated sources have maintained that Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Louisville are and have been among the top contenders. The Ohio tackle visited Kentucky over the summer. |
|
|
Lousville, South Carolina, Missouri, Memphis, others |
Calbert admits that he doesn't know much about Kentucky's football program but he also told Cats Illustrated this week that defensive coordinator and area recruiter D.J. Eliot is making him feel like a wanted player. Calbert will unofficially visit Kentucky the weekend the Cats take on Austin Peay. He plans to take all five official visits. Louisville offer was a big deal to Calbert and he has an official to South Carolina set already. PREMIUM: Read what Calbert told Cats Illustrated this week. |
|
|
Pitt, UVA, Ohio, ODU, others |
Watkins landed an offer from Kentucky over the weekend following Vince Marrow's trip to the DMV to see Joshua Paschal and Cam Spence. He doesn't seem to be in any kind of rush to take his officials or make his decision but Watkins did say that he will probably be setting up an official visit to Kentucky. PREMIUM: Read what Watkins told Cats Illustrated following UK's visit and offer over the weekend. |
|
|
Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland, UNC, Notre Dame, OU, Tennessee |
Paschal's older brother played at Kentucky until last season and so he has visited Lexington several times, just not as much recently. Tommy Mainord was originally Paschal's recruiter and then Andy Buh was the coach assigned to him. With both coaches gone it has fallen to Vince Marrow to pursue Paschal. There's been a lot of chatter recently that UK is in very good shape with Paschal. PREMIUM: Read what Cats Illustrated reported on Paschal following UK's trip to Good Counsel last week. |
|
|
Florida, FSU, Syracuse, others |
Wright is a two-sport star who took an official visit to Kentucky last month. He seems to have a lot of interest in the Wildcats and enjoyed his time with host Denzil Ware while he was visiting. The coaches and facilities made an impact on him. Wright has, however, been a hot commodity, landing offers from Florida and Florida State over the past several weeks. That could influence his decision. PREMIUM: Read what Cats Illustrated wrote about Wright in a recent edition of the War Room! |
|
|
Rutgers, Cincinnati, WVU, Navy |
Kentucky offered the Hilliard Bradley (Ohio) defensive lineman later than some, but the Cats shook up his leader board when they did. There's no one clear front runner for the 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman, but UK and the other schools listed here seem to be the pool he'll be choosing from. Bordner had a great unofficial visit to Lexington about a month ago. This week Bordner said he is close to setting up official visits to Kentucky, Rutgers, West Virginia and Navy. PREMIUM LINK: Bordner is close to setting official visits. Read the latest. Also ... PREMIUM LINK: Read what Bordner told Cats Illustrated about his unofficial visit to Kentucky. |
|
|
DT M.J. Webb |
South Carolina commit |
There's no reason to believe Webb is wavering in his commitment to the Gamecocks but it's also safe to say Kentucky's coaches will continue to pursue the four-star defensive tackle from Georgia. He had a couple of good unofficial trips to UK and the Cats were on his short list before he picked Will Muschamp's program. |
|
DL B.J. Sharpe |
WKU, Mississippi State, others |
An unlikely recruiting battle between UK and WKU is shaping up for the Macon (Ga.) defensive lineman. Sharpe attended a couple of Kentucky camp events over the summer and looked good in Lexington. Jimmy Brumbaugh is in regular contact with him. Sharpe also unofficially visited UK for a game earlier this year. PREMIUM: Read what Sharpe told Cats Illustrated earlier this month about the UK-WKU recruiting battle that's shaping up. |
|
Auburn, UF, GT, Louisville, Ole Miss, South Carolina, others |
Truesdell is probably a relatively new name for most but a source recently mentioned that he's a defensive tackle that Kentucky would love to make a play for. He's ranked the No. 29 defensive tackle in the country according to Rivals.com. |
|
|
DE Gabe Cherry |
Cal commit |
Over the summer Cherry told Cats Illustrated that he would be taking an official visit to Kentucky. That hasn't happened yet, nor has there been much speculation saying the Cats are close to flipping the Pac-12 commit. |
|
DT Camaron Spence |
Maryland commit |
Spence was one of the main players Marrow was intent on checking out when he visited Maryland and D.C. over the weekend. The St. John's defensive lineman (formerly of IMG Academy) will be officially visiting Kentucky this coming weekend when the Cats take on Mississippi State. It will be his first official visit. Spence's mother was a track and field star at Kentucky. PREMIUM: Read what Spence told Cats Illustrated following Marrow's trip to St. John's last week. |
|
Ole Miss, Missouri, Oklahoma State, others |
Kentucky offered Clemons only recently but the Cisco C.C. defensive end appears ready to give the program a fair hearing. He has not yet decided whether he will officially visit Kentucky. PREMIUM: Read what Clemons said about UK's offer and his plans for official visits. |
|
|
Alabama commit |
At one point Dean told Cats Illustrated that he would be taking an official visit to Kentucky. Shortly thereafter he retracted, saying that was no longer the plan. Sources say Dean is still in the sights of the UK coaching staff and he's probably one of their top targets. |
|
|
Penn State, Alabama, Maryland, UNC, Virginia Tech, others |
Castro-Fields has not often been mentioned as a major Kentucky target but he now seems to be a defensive back the program has serious interest in. |
|
|
DB Yusuf Corker |
Auburn, South Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, others |
The Stockbridge (Ga.) Woodland defensive back has been hearing from Kentucky for well over a year dating back to the time when Derrick Ansley coached the defensive backs. Kentucky's staff is still recruiting Corker. He told Cats Illustrated over the summer that official visits would be difficult to plan because of his father's work schedule. Corker is actually the cousin of former UK running back Raymond Sanders, but he didn't grow up around the program. |
|
Michigan, MSU, Nebraska, Oregon, Alabama, others |
Kelly-Powell visited Kentucky over the summer and he's been a major target for the Cats for a very long time. Derrick Ansley once recruited him but when Steven Clinkscale replaced Ansley on the staff he already had a relationship with Kelly-Powell. The high three-star defensive back from Michigan visited Kentucky for Sunday Night Lights over the summer, although he didn't participate. He would unquestionably be one of Kentucky's top choices to fill out the class. |
|
|
Iowa, UCF, others |
It seems like Iowa and Central Florida are the front runners for Maxwell but he has told Cats Illustrated on several occasions that Kentucky's coaches have been keeping in contact with him. |
|
|
Colorado State, Iowa State, Arkansas, Oregon State, others |
Nixon is another JUCO prospect, like Dean, who could potentially play early for Kentucky or another school. He has been hearing a lot from the UK coaching staff and while he has said he would like to take an official visit that trip hasn't happened yet. |
|
|
UCF commit |
Kentucky offered the UCF guard/tackle commit this week. Dolcine has been telling Cats Illustrated that he is likely to take an official visit. Nothing is scheduled yet. With more offers likely to come, Dolcine may be biding his time to make sure he knows what all of his options will be. PREMIUM: UK offers Sebastien Dolcine. |