By now it's widely known that Kentucky did not sign any Commonwealth natives from the Class of 2018.

But just days ago Christian County quarterback Kolbe Langhi announced he had accepted a preferred walk-on offer from the Wildcats, so there will be at least some in-state presence on the roster from the crop of graduating high school seniors.

Some Cats Illustrated readers who follow football recruiting closely might remember Langhi, now a 6-foot-5, 220-pound prospect, from years ago. There was a real buzz in the state around Langhi early in his high school career because, even while he was carrying too much weight on his undeveloped frame, his throwing talent and potential was obvious.

Langhi did ultimately land some Division II scholarship offers as well as preferred walk-on opportunities from Louisville and Cincinnati.

He thought about all of those options for a while before deciding to attend Kentucky.

"As far as the Division II schools, there was that side that said they want me and I'm not going to have to pay for school if I go there," Langhi said. "But I don't want to look back on this decision and wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't (gone to a Division I school)."

While Louisville had extended the same preferred walk-on opportunity that Kentucky had, and even earlier than the Wildcats - theirs came during the 2017 season - Langhi said he was never really torn between the Cardinals and Wildcats.

Langhi had told Cats Illustrated years ago that he had grown up a Kentucky fan, so there was that. But there was also more to it than that.

"Louisville didn't really ask me to come on a visit. I mean, they barely talked to me. They offered me a preferred walk-on spot during the season. I just felt like Kentucky's coaches wanted me. I felt like it was a little bit more of, 'We want you.'"

After finally making a decision well after National Signing Day, and following a long period of deliberation, Langhi said his choice was both a sigh of relief and an occasion for excitement.

"But they're all good emotions," Langhi said. "I'm happy because I know that I can relax. I know what I'm doing. This whole senior year I didn't know. I really didn't know at all. Now I just finally got that off my shoulders and I'm also really excited."

Langhi said playing football for Kentucky is what he's always dreamed of, so that adds to the excitement.

As for not knowing what he would do with his future until recently, Langhi points out that Kentucky really didn't start recruiting him in earnest until about a month ago.

"I honestly didn't think it would happen," he said. "I was really excited when it did happen."

One night about a month ago Langhi was talking to his father about reaching out to Kentucky's football staff, in the hopes of a door opening. John Schlarman recruits Hopkinsville, surrounding areas and much of the state. But he hadn't been in contact with Langhi since his sophomore year of high school.

The day after that conversation with his father, Langhi spotted Schlarman in the hallway at his high school.

When the two were able to speak, Schlarman told Langhi that he was surprised he hadn't already signed with a Division I school or at least an FCS program. Langhi said was still looking for a home.

"From there he said he had to go talk to the coaches. So they went and evaluated my film and asked me to come on a visit," Langhi said.

Aside from Langhi's Kentucky fandom growing up, and the Wildcats' showing more interest than Louisville, is the reality that UK doesn't have a lot of proven quarterback depth. Most people from a bird's eye view aren't going to expect your average preferred walk-on to become a starting quarterback in the SEC, but that's not Langhi's mentality. He's got goals and picked Kentucky because he didn't want to wonder "what if" a best case scenario had played out.

"One of the things that really pushed me towards Kentucky as well was they were up front and honest with me about everything, and I respected that," Langhi told Cats Illustrated. "Because, you know, there's nothing worse than having a coach lie to you. They were up front and honest. They told me I'm going to have to work hard, that I'm going to be on the scout team and possibly redshirt.

"And another thing they said was that's just the best place for me to maximize my potential," he added. "I'm going in there with a chip on my shoulder and I know I won't have any regrets. At least I'll be able to say that I've tried."

Kentucky's coaches had been keeping track of Langhi from the time when he was a high school freshman. UK football fans love their in-state recruits and especially their in-state quarterbacks, so there was a small cult of dedicated recruitniks who were on the Langhi hype train early.

"My freshman year I would say I think I was out there playing but I didn't really know the game much," Langhi said. "I wasn't good on the board. I think I was just a good talent but even then my footwork wasn't very good. It was terrible. My footwork was bad and I was pretty much slow. I was 250 pounds then so after my freshman year I worked on being more agile and quicker."

As a sophomore, Langhi had started to change his body and he also started to tuck the ball and run it more.

"But my junior year is when I really got to be an athlete as far as being a quarterback," he said. "That's when I learned how to run he ball and started making plays with my feet outside the pocket."

Langhi said he's happy with his high school playing career. His only regret is he didn't win a state championship. That still stings, Langhi said, and he's still wishing he had another shot at that.

But now he knows where he's going and it's the place he's wanted to be all along. His family couldn't be happier for him.

"My family's happy, especially my cousins," Langhi said. "I've got some cousins that are diehard, I mean diehard Kentucky fans. That was really big for them. They were pretty psyched about it. My parents told me through the whole recruiting process to just do what I think is best for me. They supported me no matter what."