Breaking down UK's recent football offers (3/1)
Kentucky's football coaches just aren't slowing down. The Wildcats have extended yet another batch of offers to Class of 2019 prospects, and as always Cats Illustrated is breaking down each and every one.
Kentucky hasn't heavily recruited the talent-rich Charlotte, N.C., area during the Mark Stoops era, although a few players from there usually land offers from each class. Before this week most of Paez's offers and interest were coming from smaller in-state and regional programs (App State, Coastal Carolina, Liberty, etc) but coaches evidently see something in him, with Kentucky and Texas A&M offering this week.
The connection here is obvious. Jackson is one of the top players in Arkansas and one of the South's best receivers, so it's natural that new Kentucky receivers coach Michael Smith would be very familiar with what kind of player he is. Time will tell whether that relationship is enough for UK to pry Jackson out of the Natural State. Jackson has other offers from Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri and Oklahoma State.
Wormley is that rare four-star recruit from Delaware, and as such he's one of the top recruits in the Mid-Atlantic region. Given new assistant coach Brad White's ties to the area (he attended high school in Rhode Island), that's his recruiting territory. Wormley also has offers from Florida State, Notre Dame and a dozen other schools. He recently told the Notre Dame site on Rivals.com that the number one factor in his decision-making process will be how quickly he can get on the field.
Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia have also offered Beasley. He's one of the fastest-rising defensive back recruits in the South with many of those offers coming recently. Beasley visited Auburn and Tennessee last week.
The Wildcats made a rare excursion into New Jersey to extend the offer to West Orange defensive end Bryce Nelms, a three-star prospect with a fantastic build (6'6, 255 pounds). He has a dozen offers in all, with most of the schools in the Northeast and many from the Mid-Atlantic on up included. Kentucky's offer is Nelms' first from the SEC.
Antoine visited Kentucky with a group that included several other prospects from the New Orleans area for the Wildcats' February 24th junior day, and he seemed to really enjoy himself. After the offer went his way, Antoine told Cats Illustrated that he had been expecting it and that his interest in Kentucky is "pretty high."
UK's offer to Mikel Jones is not surprising. The Wildcats are active in the region and Jones is one of the top prospects in Florida. His ranking has been on the rise recently. Darin Hinshaw is Jones' lead recruiter from Kentucky. Pulling Jones out of IMG won't be easy as he's got other offers from Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Oregon and others - some of the top recruiting powerhouses in the country.