In-state offensive lineman commits after offer

Belfry, Ky., offensive lineman Austin Dotson attended Kentucky's junior day on Saturday. By the time Dotson left he was committed to the Cats.

Except for perhaps a select few individuals the turn of events leading to Dotson's name being added to Kentucky's 2017 commitment list comes as a stunning surprise.

It's not surprising that UK would have a commitment from Belfry's 2017 graduating class. After all, for months two of the program's top junior prospects have been visiting Kentucky at the request of the coaching staff -- defensive tackle Ray Horton and offensive guard Cole Bentley.

Horton and Bentley are on Kentucky's recruiting board but still don't have offers.

But on Saturday it was Dotson who became the Belfry player to pop for the Cats.

Dotson checks in at roughly 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds, according to sources close to the UK program who spoke with Cats Illustrated after the commitment and the junior day. That's identical to the listed height and weight of Dotson on his Rivals.com player profile page.

Although Dotson had a Rivals.com profile, he certainly wasn't exactly well-known in the recruiting world. He's rated a two-star recruit by the network and Kentucky's offer on Saturday was the first Power Five of the entire process for him.

That Dotson committed the same day is a testament, surely, to his feelings for the program and the staff.

Cats Illustrated spoke with multiple program sources following Dotson's commitment and all gave the Belfry junior glowing reviews.

"He's a good-looking kid. A really, really good-looking kid," said one trusted program source with a solid knowledge of the situation. "He's huge. If you're around him and you see what he looks like, he's an impressive guy."

Cats Illustrated asked sources whether Dotson camped with Kentucky last summer and they said that he had not. Given that, the fact that the staff probably knew Dotson would likely commit right away, and the general tendency to need thorough evaluation of the players from the Commonwealth due to competition concerns compared to the talent level elsewhere, it's interesting that Kentucky would move so quickly on Dotson.

Furthermore, as of the last couple of weeks sources had told Cats Illustrated that the program would likely be taking just two offensive linemen in the Class of 2017, with offensive tackles likely to be the players taken. Of course, five-star Lexington (Ky.) Lafayette offensive tackle Jedrick Wills has a spot as long as he's interested in Kentucky.

So does that mean Dotson's commitment leaves Kentucky waiting only for Wills, in terms of their recruiting needs for the offensive line?

Time will tell. It's unlikely UK will sever relationships with the many talented offensive tackles from other states that the coaches on the staff have been recruiting, including Obinna Eze, Thayer Munford, Matt Sichterman, Joel Honigford, Tony Gray and others.

But it Dotson's commitment does at least ensure that Kentucky will have largely addressed its need at tackle, which puts the program in a better position to wait on Wills. With just one (perhaps two, depending on how numbers shake out) openings waiting to be filled, and filled by an in-state player so eager to commit (and thus presumably 'solid'), the potential for dire straits later is drastically reduced.

Sources told Cats Illustrated that offensive line coach and Commonwealth recruiter John Schlarman is very familiar with Dotson, at least compared to coaches almost anywhere else. He has visited Belfry, though to the public and media the trips appeared to be to check on Horton and Bentley. Schlarman was evidently impressed with Dotson for some time, however, and there was probably an interest in keeping Dotson under the public eye until he was ready to commit.

Although James Hudson of Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic is listed as an offensive tackle sources say he could be a defensive lineman at Kentucky. He visited Lexington on Saturday as well.