Wood likes the class he's a part of
Walker Wood was one of Kentucky's earlier commitments from the Class of 2017.
Since giving his commitment to UK the Lexington (Ky.) Lafayette dual-threat quarterback has watched with satisfaction as the Wildcats have put together one of the nation's best classes.
Kentucky's class is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation according to the Rivals.com national chart. Wood's a part of that. The three-star (5.6) prospect has multipositional value for Kentucky. He'll arrive at UK next year with the expectation of playing quarterback, but one reason Eddie Gran and the Kentucky staff like him, presumably, is the fact that he could play a skill position if he has to down the road. But that's not the plan.
With Kentucky landing a couple more commitments from 2017 prospects recently -- JaVonte Richardson and Alex King from Ohio -- Cats Illustrated touched base with Wood and a number of other 2017 Kentucky commitments to check their reaction.
Wood is understandably excited about the Richardson commitment. As a quarterback, he now knows that the Wildcats have a commitment from an elite receiver recruit. Richardson is ranked the No. 2 player in Ohio's 2017 haul and a Rivals100 recruit.
"That was really good news," Wood said. "He's a baller. I watched some of his highlight tape. He can really play. He's extremely athletic. I'm excited about how the class is coming along. It seems like they have to update the commitment picture every week."
That commitment picture is an montage featuring all of the players pledged to the Cats from the 2017 class, and as Wood noted, it's been frequently updated.
Wood is excited about the recent additions to the class but he's closer to the players who have been committed for longer, like himself.
"I talk to pretty much all of them on a regular basis," Wood said. "Mike (Warren) and James (Hudson) a lot. Mac (Jones) and Russ (Yeast). Really, all of them. I've been talking to Mike, James and Russ since they committed, because we all committed before Jamin (Davis) and all the guys (recently). But I talk to all of them."
"Talk" in today's recruiting world -- and increasingly the world in general, among those Wood's age -- often means texting and direct messaging on social media platforms. But Kentucky's commitments also see one another while visiting UK for various events.
When Cats Illustrated caught up with Wood on Sunday he had just returned from Florida where he spent his spring break. That trip to the Sunshine State prevented Wood from attending scrimmages or spring practices at Kentucky during that time period. He does plan to attend UK's spring game on April 16, which promises to be another big recruiting event.
Before the trip to Florida, Wood did go to a Tuesday practice at UK.
"I came in the morning and sat in on some meetings. Then I went to the practice and I saw the warm ups," he said. "I got to watch some of the quarterback drills ... just saw them doing that. I didn't really get to see them in the one-on-ones or team stuff."
When Wood committed to Kentucky he, like fellow quarterback pledge Mac Jones, expected Shannon Dawson to be the offensive coordinator. Since Darin Hinshaw took over the quarterback coaching duties Wood has become much more familiar with him as a person and a coach. He knew Hinshaw before he was hired, as the Cats' co-offensive coordinator had recruited him when he was coaching at Cincinnati.
"I really like how Coach Hinshaw does things," he said. "Like the things he does in warm ups to get your feet going and your body going. It really resonates with me why he does things the way he does. I like stuff like that. That's good because I want to be able to be on the same page as my coach."
Wood said he was never too close with Dawson, now the offensive coordinator at Southern Miss, but he did say that he "thought Coach Dawson was a good coach as well."