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Massive OT adds Kentucky offer, eyes summer visit

While Kentucky landed three offensive tackles on Signing Day earlier this month the Cats still seem to be interested in bolstering the position in 2018, if they can find the right player or two.

Their recent offer to Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius offensive tackle Darian Kinnard is evidence of that.

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"That literally happened less than an hour ago," Kinnard told Cats Illustrated on Wednesday, referring to Kentucky's offer.

It came as a surprise.

"A lot of these offers are starting to come out of the blue," Kinnard said. "The last three offers have hit me by surprise. Kentucky, Purdue and Minnesota came out of nowhere. No prior communication and they offered me after one conversation. That's been very surprising."

Toledo was Kinnard's first offer. Then came Iowa State followed by Maryland and Cincinnati.

The only school Kinnard has visited so far is Ohio State. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound tackle was in Columbus for one of Urban Meyer's camps over the summer.

As is true in the case of any Ohio player the Cats are recruiting it's important to keep track of what the Buckeyes are thinking.

"Coach (Greg) Studrawa (Ohio State's offensive line coach) said he loved what I was doing and what I showed out there," Kinnard said. "He just wanted to see what I would do in the future. I got to talk to Urban Meyer, which was a cool experience, and they said they were going to look out for me over the next two years to see how I progress."

But on Wednesday he was thinking about Kentucky following his conversation with Vince Marrow, the coach who extended the offer and will serve as UK's lead recruiter.

"Coach Marrow's a good guy," Kinnard said. "He said he likes my film and we just kind of talked about other things. We talked about where we lived and what we have in common. The cool thing I found out is he grew up in Youngstown. I was born in Youngstown. I didn't grow up in Ohio, but it was cool having something small like just being born in the same area. So that was kind of a step in the right direction."

Kinnard grew up in the Knoxville, Tenn., area, although he hasn't heard from the Volunteers yet. If Tennessee offers, Kinnard admits that will be tempting.

"I think it would be a big offer," he said. "People up in Ohio probably wouldn't understand, but I'd say it would be big."

The 2018 lineman told Cats Illustrated it's likely he will visit Kentucky in the months ahead.

"I'll probably visit," he said. "Usually in the summertime and whenever I get a good extended break I like to head down to Tennessee. I've got my grandma and my great grandma down there, so I like to go through Tennessee and coming back I could take a detour to Kentucky."

What's Kinnard looking for in a school?

"I'm looking for a good structural base for developing players," Kinnard said. "A great coaching staff that will help me improve myself. A nice family fit that's comfortable and a place where I'll push myself. Just a place that will make (players into) stars. A great place to get my academic education, too."

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