Tuesday Mailbag: UK's recruiting in Louisville, mock class and more

The summer has been an exciting team for Kentucky football, with freshmen arriving, other players reporting and commitments coming in waves.

Cats Illustrated readers and members submitted questions about UK football and recruiting this week, and I'm answering to the best of my ability.

DTXCat asks, "Are we still in the hunt for John Bivens? He’s easily my favorite RB we’re targeting in ‘19, and I really hope we end up with him."

The best I can tell you is that Kentucky has continued to track Bivens, but I haven't heard anything in recent weeks or months that would lead me know what he's going to do. With all-purpose back Travis Tisdale on board, Bivens is the kind of back who would make an excellent complement. I don't know that Kentucky's the favorite, but they are involved.

Bivens suffered an ACL injury last year but that hasn't slowed Nebraska, Southern Cal, Georgia, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Louisville and some others from continuing to pursue him. My guess is Bivens does not end up at Kentucky but he hasn't formally eliminated the Cats.

BankerCat12 asks, "Your thoughts on the responses you received from UofL fans with your comment on recruiting the city of Louisville with VM(?)"

It almost seems like a coordinated response to punch back, although I really just think it was bound to ruffle some feathers. What I said was, in effect, Kentucky's strategy was to put Vince Marrow in Louisville and let him eat; and that it seems to be working. The overwhelming response from Louisville fans and media figures was essentially, "He's got one commitment, you're getting ahead of yourself." I understand that take, but I also stand by what I said and was attempting to convey.

Two months ago Kentucky was a total non-factor for the top prospects in Louisville, and that's in a banner year for talent in the city. In a short period of time Kentucky has landed former UofL commit Demontae Crumes, added (and lost) a commitment from Shawnkel Knight-Goff (although I think they may well get him back), and made up a lot of ground with four-star linebacker Jared Casey and defensive end J.J. Weaver.

I've never said I thought UK would get everyone Marrow offered in Louisville, but Kentucky is a factor now and at least on even-footing with UofL in their home city. That's a substantial change and Marrow has to be credited.

I also pointed out that if Purdue had done what Kentucky has done in the city, Jeff Brohm would be praised non-stop.

We Believe asks, "Can you give us an idea of your mock 2019 class at this point? Class is starting to shape up with the recent commits, silent commit (is that still a thing?), and some very likely to commit.

I’m particularly interested in who we are targeting for OL and whether we have anyone who fits the bill for our Nose Guard position.Thanks!

The players who haven't yet committed who I would watch most closely, just to name a few, are Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons tight end Nikolas Ognenovic, Flint (Mich.) Carman-Ainsworth defensive lineman Michael Fletcher, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons cornerback Jaden Davis, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons defensive end Braylen Ingraham, Springfield (Ohio) defensive tackle Isaiah Gibson, Louisville (Ky.) Doss outside linebacker Shawnkel Knight-Goff, Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills athlete Wandale Robinson, Vero Beach (Fla.) receiver DeMarcus Hall, Georgia Military College defensive back D.J. Daniel, Deerfield Beach (Fla.) receiver Donte Banton, Louisville (Ky.) Moore defensive end J.J. Weaver, Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County offensive lineman Kamaar Bell, Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer defensive lineman Cavon Butler, Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis running back Delbert Mimms and Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar offensive lineman Jonathan Allen.

If I had to pick who Kentucky ends up with today I would probably say Knight-Goff, Casey and Robinson from Kentucky, Gibson from Ohio, Ognenovic, Davis and Hall from Florida, one more running back and a junior college defensive back. There will be more and that won't prove to be perfect, but it's about where I'd put things now.

Taterfd asks, "What’s the latest on C.J. Boone out of St. Louis?"

Kentucky made a big impression on him when they became the first SEC school to offer, and an early recruiting visit to UK's campus went a long way, too. My early impression was that Boone's decision would come down to Kentucky and Missouri barring unforeseen developments.

I spoke with Boone briefly in the last couple of weeks and he did confirm that he's still hearing from Kentucky. Minnesota and Purdue have offered Boone since it was an SEC battle between UK and Mizzou, so it is slightly more complicated than before.

Here's the thing: My gut inclination was that Boone would probably land at Missouri, but that was a long time ago. More recently it seems like Missouri is probably not where he will end up, unless things change. That's a good sign for Kentucky and the others that have offered.

I don't think Boone is in a hurry to make a decision because Ohio State, Penn State and some others are starting to show him more attention.

Emmitt69 asks, "Any chance we flip the stud Ky kids who committed to other schools. (Hudson, Bowles, Herron, etc)."

That's something I check in on and revisit every few weeks, because it would be a huge storyline and you have to imagine UK is trying to keep all of those lines of communication open. However, I don't believe Bryan Hudson (Virginia Tech), Tanner Bowles (Alabama) or Stephen Herron (Michigan) are any more realistic targets now than they were than when they made their decisions.

UKfan_515 asks, "Do you think the staff will try to pick up another late riser at QB or will stick with only Scalzo?"

When Scalzo committed I was told the plan was to take only one quarterback "for now" and I haven't heard anything that indicates that has changed. Of course, the phrasing left open the possibility that Kentucky could take a second. The timing on something like this is difficult. Most of the top quarterbacks commit early. Maybe Kentucky wants to see if their current quarterbacks are all going to remain on the roster, or see what the quality of play is in the fall, before deciding on whether to take a second quarterback. Maybe they want to see where things stand with Beau Allen, assuming that taking Scalzo ('19) and then Allen ('20) would be a fine plan. I think the situation is still in flux. I would assume they are still evaluating other 2019 quarterbacks just in case that's the route they choose.