3/27/2016 football Edit

Kentucky picks up huge commitment

Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated

Publisher

Justin Rowland has been CatsIllustrated.com's publisher since 2015. He covered college football recruiting at programs nationwide for 15 years prior to that.

Rivals100 four-star athlete JaVonte Richardson committed to Kentucky on Easter Sunday. It's one of the biggest commitments of the Mark Stoops' era.

Credit Ohio recruiting ace Vince Marrow with securing Richardson's commitment.

It's Marrow's biggest commitment yet.

Richardson is ranked the No. 2 player in Ohio's Class of 2017. The Maple Heights (Ohio) junior is ranked the No. 3 athlete in the nation and the No. 84 player in the nation according to Rivals.com.

Richardson also had offers from Michigan and several other Power Five programs.

He's a 6-foot-4, 205-pound prospect that's universally regarded as a physical specimen. Although Rivals.com lists him as an athlete Richardson was recruited by Kentucky as a wide receiver.

He's the second highest-rated high school commitment of the Mark Stoops era for Kentucky, behind only five-star offensive tackle Landon Young from the Class of 2016.