National Signing Day is just around the corner but soon Kentucky's entire recruiting focus with rapidly shift to the 2018 class.
Cats Illustrated gets you one step ahead of the curve with this breakdown of UK's standing with Class of 2018 targets.
The Rivals250 is filled with potential Kentucky targets. While this is by no means anywhere close to an exhaustive list of UK targets - as many prospective Wildcats aren't here - it's a good glimpse at where the program stands with the highest-ranked recruits on their board at an early juncture.
WHERE UK STANDS: It's far too early to say whether Kentucky might emerge as a real dark horse contender for Emerson, who is one of the nation's top defensive linemen. But it's worth noting that the four-star (and five-star candidate) did visit Kentucky for a camp over the summer, along with a large number of other prospects from Tennessee. The Cats offered last May, about a month before Emerson made the trip to Lexington.
IN HIS WORDS: Shortly after visiting Kentucky, Emerson told Cats Illustrated that the trip was great. What did he like? "Honestly just the way UK is making their facility strictly for football. I mean just seeing the way it will be set up is amazing."
WHERE UK STANDS: Sources close to UK's end of things are confident that Kentucky be a legitimate option for Smith, who attends the same high school that sent Tobias Gilliam (and before that Dorian Hendrix) to Kentucky. The Cats will likely spell out a detailed and major role for Smith in the Kentucky offense to make themselves more attractive. Smith visited UK for one of the Cats' games early in the 2016 season. Smith is the teammate and classmate of Alex Reigelsperger, a major defensive end target for the Cats.
IN HIS WORDS: "Coach Marrow told me that Coach Cal said I could play both (sports) and they knew who I was just from basketball so I thought that was a big opportunity," Smith told Cats Illustrated shortly after Kentucky offered early last year. And after Smith visited in September he told Cats Illustrated: "Great visit. Enjoyed Coach Marrow. Got a chance to meet Coach Stoops. Top notch facilities."
LINK: A closer look at Kentucky's early arrivals from the 2017 class.
WHERE UK STANDS: Kentucky has already been recruiting Gouraige for a very long time. Chad Scott, now with North Carolina, was his original recruiter from UK. Gouraige is from the same area (and class) as one-time Wildcat commit and four-star prospect Jermaine Eskridge. When Eskridge committed there was chatter that Gouraige could join him. He's since blown up in the recruiting world and there hasn't been as much talk about Kentucky, but he's still on the wish list.
Kentucky could be an offensive or defensive lineman at the college level. Darin Hinshaw is now recruiting Gouraige for Kentucky. He's the teammate of 2018 athlete Andrew Cunningham, who has also been on the Cats' board for a while.
WHERE UK STANDS: Kentucky is more involved with another four-star tight end in Ohio now (scroll down just a bit) but the Cats starting recruiting Gillison at a very early date. Not only that, but Vince Marrow has shown interest in a couple of other 2018 players from Pickerington Central. That's the same high school that freshman Kentucky linebacker Jaylin Bannerman attended. Gillison visited Kentucky very early in the process, all the way back towards the end of 2015 football season. He made that trip Bannerman and a couple of his other teammates.
IN HIS WORDS: "Me and Jaylin are pretty close," Gillison told Cats Illustrated in late 2015. "Everything was good down there. I liked the scenery, I liked the facilities and their atmosphere. I liked how the stadium was nice. I saw their new press box that was in there. I liked how that looked. I didn't go into the field house but I saw it from outside and it seemed real nice."
WHERE UK STANDS: In recent months Vince Marrow's attention seems to have shifted to Taylor in terms of his focus on 2018 tight ends. The position is important to Kentucky in next year's recruiting cycle and Taylor could be the top option on the board. He was supposed to visit Kentucky late in the 2016 season.
IN HIS WORDS: Taylor has said that former Springfield defensive lineman and current Wildcat freshman Kordell Looney is like a "big brother."
WHERE UK STANDS: Based on what sources have told Cats Illustrated, Scates is another strong candidate to give Kentucky a Rivals250 commit. Apparently he has major interest in the Wildcats. However, there's a lot of competition for Scates. He has said that Ohio State, Penn State and Louisville are three more schools that have his attention and talk to him a lot.
WHERE UK STANDS: Here's a case of Kentucky having a viable shot with one of the nation's top defensive lineman, even if he's out-of-state and highly sought after. Litaker first visited Kentucky over the summer for a camp, and after that visit he seemed high on the Cats. He visited Kentucky for a football game during the fall and had even more good things to say about the school. It's very likely that Kentucky is among the leading contenders for Litaker.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: "My first time there (for a game), I'll have to say it was really impressive," Litaker told Cats Illustrated in November. He said the fans were great. "They were loud from pre-game all the way to the fourth quarter. It was just great all the way around."
As far as UK's facilities? "Man never seen anything like it," Litaker said. "I'll say between Kentucky and Texas A&M they have one of the best (facilities)."
WHERE UK STANDS: As recently as the summer of 2016, Watt was telling reporters that Kentucky was his favorite school. West Virginia is another program that Watt has been high on in the past. Miami is also a school to watch in Watt's recruitment. He has said that he likes the idea of staying close to home, but that's not totally consistent with the interest he's shown in Kentucky thus far. Kentucky was the third school to offer Watt. He now has more than a dozen total offers. Given UK's recruiting presence in South Florida it's safe to assume he'll be hearing from some incoming UK players as well as Kentucky coaches.
THE BIG QUESTIONS: What's Benny Snell's role and who backs him up?
WHERE UK STANDS: Smith knows Dorian Baker because he attended Cleveland Heights. He also knows 2017 UK commit JaVonte Richardson, who isn't far away. Every time Cats Illustrated has spoken with Smith he's had positive things to say about Kentucky. Still, there's a ton of work to do, as Smith took unofficial visits to Penn State, Clemson, Tennessee, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh during the 2016 season.
IN HIS WORDS: "I hear from Coach Marrow almost every other day," Smith told Cats Illustrated in October of 2016. "He's the coach who recruits my area. We keep in touch a lot. He's pretty cool even though I haven't met him face to face. We just talk on the phone and from what I've heard, from what we talk about, he seems pretty cool. I need to get up there for a visit and I'm trying to plan that now. But, yeah, based on what I know he seems like a good dude and he recruits the Ohio area real strong."
WHERE UK STANDS: Along with the others already mentioned, Bates is another four-star tight end from Ohio who has heard from the Cats. Playing time will likely be a big part of any continued pitch on UK's part. Kentucky was the first (and is to date the only) Power Five offer for Bates. However, Cincinnati recently offered Bates as well, and his older brother is a tight end with the Bearcats. It's likely that Cincinnati's new staff will make him a priority.
THE BIG QUESTIONS: Can any quarterback challenge Stephen Johnson next year?
WHERE UK STANDS: This Top 10 Buckeye State standout is coveted by schools from the Big Ten, ACC, SEC and more, and Kentucky has been involved with him for as long as almost anyone else. By the end of the summer of 2016, Vann had already visited Kentucky three times. So he knows the lay of the land, is comfortable talking to Vince Marrow, and knows that he's a coveted recruit. Notre Dame and Michigan State are just two of the other schools that Vann seems to be very interested in.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: "I'm talking to Coach (Vince) Marrow," Vann told Cats Illustrated back in August. "I talk to Coach Clink (Steven Clinkscale) a little bit and also the defensive coordinator, Coach (D.J.) Eliot. I like all of them. On the defensive side of the ball I like all of the coaches up there. They all know what they're talking about and what they're doing.
"I wish they had a camp just like the Notre Dame Irish Invasion that I could have gone to, just so I could have been coached up by just their coaching staff for a day to see how they would have molded me. But it was a good trip. I like those guys," Vann said.
WHERE UK STANDS: Kentucky was one of the first schools to start recruiting Brents, about two years ago, and the Cats are still interested. Towards the end of the 2016 season Brents took a roadtrip to North Carolina and checked out the likes of Duke and Wake Forest. Louisville and many others are also vying for Brents.
IN HIS WORDS: "It was a good trip," Brents told Cats Illustrated after he attended Kentucky's game against Georgia. "I got a chance to talk to Coach (Mark) Stoops and Coach (John) Schlarman. It was packed in there. A lot of energy from the crowd. I didn't get a chance to see the facilities. We got there a little bit before kickoff. I feel like they have turned things around since the beginning of the season. The team seems like they are together and playing hard, competing. I'm looking forward to the Louisville game."
WHERE UK STANDS: Dingle is not originally from Kentucky but has moved to the state and is being recruited as an in-state recruit for the Cats. He may be one of Kentucky's most important targets in the 2017 class, because he plays a position that will be a big priority in the next cycle, and because he's one of the nation's best at that position. Furthermore, he seems to have a very high interest level in Kentucky. He has visited UK multiple times and has spoken glowingly of Mark Stoops' program, even recently. Tennessee might be the main competition at this point.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: "For my first time actually going to a game it was an amazing experience," Dingle told Cats Illustrated after that UK-Georgia game, which he attended. "And just seeing their new facilities and whatnot, it was just breathtaking. Seeing the upgrades that they've been doing, I honestly think that they have one of the best facilities in the country now that they've upgraded everything.
"I talked to Coach (D.J.) Eliot. He was happy to see me and he was saying he was glad I got a chance to come up. He just told me I need to keep coming back and build that relationship." Dingle also said the crowd was "live" and noted the trip, overall, was "just a great experience and I would maybe want to experience that one day."
UK CONNECTIONS: Another 2018 defensive lineman likes Kentucky, has ties to the program
WHERE UK STANDS: Gant is another of Marrow's top targets in the state of Ohio, and he's from a part of the state that he's got good connections to. As recently as December 30th he told Cats Illustrated that he's still talking to Marrow "every so often." It does seem clear that Gant is very interested in Ohio State and Notre Dame as well, though.
WHERE UK STANDS: Rice is already familiar with Kentucky and will become much more so, if for no other reason than John Schlarman will be a frequent presence at his school, because UK is also recruiting Brents, his teammate. However, it doesn't seem like Kentucky has been much of a factor in Rice's early recruitment.
