2018 phenom commits to Kentucky

Kentucky has landed a commitment from one of the top rising sophomore football players in the entire country.

Rivals.com has not yet ranked Class of 2018 prospects but when they do it won't be surprising if new Kentucky commit Jermaine Eskridge lands in a strong spot.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver from Tampa (Fla.) Jefferson committed to Kentucky on Thursday, although he had already received verbal scholarship offers from Ohio State, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and many others.

Thanks to my coaches and parents proud to announce I have officially committed to the university of Kentucky #BBN🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/UWqRS2lTf9— Jermaine Eskridge (@Iam_Jermaine4) July 30, 2015

Eskridge spoke with Cats Illustrated immediately after tweeting out his decision.

"I talked to Coach (Chad) Scott and he was like, 'I can't even breathe right now,'" Eskridge said. "He was like, 'I'm so excited.' Yeah, the coaches are excited."

The coaches were a big factor in Eskridge's choice to commit early. He cited Scott, the academic support at the school, and the players coming into the program as big factors in his decision. Eskridge said he couldn't help but notice Kentucky's four Class of 2017 commitments in recent days, and said the excitement from that helped lead him to his choice.

"Yeah, that caught my eye," Eskridge acknowledged. "I've been talking to Mac (Jones) and a lot of their commits."

Given Eskridge's youth, the fact that he hasn't visited, where he resides and his offer list, some will wonder how difficult it will be to keep him on board.

"I'm very solid. Completely solid," Eskridge said. "But I am going to take my visits."

His first visit to Kentucky will be in December.

Eskridge said he believes Scott, UK's running backs coach, was in touch with his staff at Jefferson in the spring or even before then. Their contact is limited by NCAA restrictions but Eskridge has not hesitated to reach out to UK's running backs coach, who is his area recruiter.

"They like how I'm athletic, how I can jump and do a lot," he concluded.

Eskridge is Kentucky's first commitment from the Class of 2018.