SIGNING DAY PREVIEW: Wide receiver Isaiah Epps
Cats Illustrated isn't waiting until National Signing Day to get you ready for all the action. We're rolling out Signing Day content all week.
In our new Signing Day Preview series we'll profile every single one of Kentucky's 2017 early enrollees as well as those who won't be signing until Wednesday.
STATUS: Will sign Wednesday and enroll in June.
RESUME: Epps led Jenks, an Oklahoma and national powerhouse, in receiving as a senior in spite of just recently picking up the game of football. He had 59 catches for 1,209 yards and 13 touchdowns for a team that finished 11-1, not losing until the second round of the state playoffs.
RECRUITING HISTORY: Epps didn't play football until very late in his time in high school, and had he played as a junior - a player's most important year - then his coaches believe he would have had a lot more interest. As it happened, Kansas State and Illinois were among the other Power Five schools that offered. Epps was in the process of evaluating his options and listening to suitors when Kentucky became involved. UK reached out because quality control assistant Tommy Mangino's father, Mark, coached Epps' brother at Iowa State. That led to Darin Hinshaw traveling out to Oklahoma and falling in love with Epps game. When Epps visited he, in turn, fell in love with Kentucky. The rest is history.
SCOUTING REPORT: Epps has good speed and is comfortable finding soft spots in a defense's zone coverage. He's got a nice twitch and can elude defenders in space. For a player who hasn't been on the football field for long he's actually a surprisingly smooth pass catcher. That speaks to his natural athleticism. He's the kind of player who should be able to take sweeps and get the ball in a variety of ways, even as a bigger receiver. He can get good separation but doesn't have quite as much speed as some of the nation's top receivers. Though he's a natural Epps is also raw in some respects, which isn't surprising.
CATS ILLUSTRATED PROJECTION: Epps has the potential to surprise a lot of people and could eventually be one of the Cats' better prospects in this class. There will be an immediate learning curve in the SEC for someone who hasn't played much football, but he's one of Kentucky's most well-rounded athletes regardless of position and has the right character and work ethic habits to make a big impact in Lexington. Expect him to be a big contributor down the road.
| Size | Speed | Hands | Routes | Leaping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
9/10 |
8.5/10 |
8/10 |
8/10 |
7/10 |
MORE ISAIAH EPPS COVERAGE AT CATS ILLUSTRATED
COACH SPEAK: 'It's going to be scary' when Epps hits his stride
