Spring Recruiting Big Board: Where Kentucky’s defense sits
College football recruiting never stops. In a few short weeks, everyone’s attention will turn to the transfer portal as the last chance to complete some roster-building before the 2024 season arrives. Kentucky will be active shoppers when that free agency window arrives and will likely see some two-way movement on the waiver wire. There are numerous positions that the Wildcats could look to upgrade.
Before that arrives, now feels like a good time to take a step back and see where Kentucky sits at each position in the 2025 high school recruiting haul. Kentucky is entering the end of the spring semester with five commitments in the fold, and all of them are on offense, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
After gathering intel, KSR+’s recruiting department is diving deep into the spreadsheets. Commits, targets, and where the Wildcats sit at each position. Your defensive spring big board has arrived after touching on offense on Friday. Let’s dive in.
Spring Recruiting Big Board: Offense
Defensive Line
PlayerRankingHigh SchoolRecruit StatusIose EpenesaHigh 4-star (No. 48 overall)Edwardsville (Ill.) HighTargetChristian Garrett4-star (No. 119 overall)Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue ChristianTargetKade Pietrzak4-star (No. 303 overall)West Fargo (N.D.) SheyenneTargetJaveon Campbell4-star (No. 326)Frankfort (Ky.) Western HillsTarget
Skinny: Light board in the trenches.
Kentucky enters the 2024 season with 12 scholarship defensive linemen on the roster. The Wildcats have five players in year one of year two in the system. Deone Walker is likely gone after the season, but Josaih Hayes is the only player in his last season of eligibility. The coaching staff can afford to be picky at this position.
Iose Epenesa and Kade Pietrzak were some big swings taken early by the staff in areas (Illinois and North Dakota) that Kentucky doesn’t typically recruit. Javeon Campbell has become a surprise big-time recruit in Kentucky’s backyard. The Wildcats are in a good position but must close strong in June.
I would expect some more names to emerge throughout the process.
EDGE
PlayerRankingHigh SchoolRecruit StatusJustin HillHigh 4-star (No. 92 overall)Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton WoodsTargetCedric Works4-star (No. 183 overall)Clayton (Ohio) NorthmontTargetChristian Gass4-star (No. 264 overall)Covington (Ga.) EastsideTargetTriston AbramUnrankedSt. Louis (Mo.) Christian BrothersTarget
Skinny: EDGE remains a big recruiting need for Kentucky in 2025.
Kentucky added multiple high school prospects at EDGE in 2024, but this is a position that will need to be addressed again with multiple additions in 2025. The Wildcats currently have six scholarship EDGE players on campus with Caleb Redd, Jacob Smith, and Steven Soles all in year one. J.J. Weaver is entering his last season of eligibility.
Cedric Works has emerged as a big target for Kentucky. The top 200 recruit will be on campus for an official visit in June. Christian Gass also has an official visit with Kentucky locked in. EDGE is once again a premium position that Kentucky needs to address via high school recruiting.
Linebacker
PlayerRankingHigh SchoolRecruit StatusTavion WallaceHigh 4-star (No. 43 overall)Jesup (Ga.) Wayne CountyTargetDante McClellan4-star (No. 342 overall)Canton (Ohio) McKinleyTargetGrant BeermanUnrankedWest Chester (Ohio) Lakota WestTarget
Skinny: Expect Kentucky to be selective at off-ball linebacker.
Kentucky signed a handful of off-ball linebackers in the 2024 cycle. Quintavion Norman, Devin Smith, and Jaden Smith will each join fellow 2024 signee Antwan Smith on campus this summer. We should expect the Wildcats to be selective at linebacker.
D’Eryk Jackson, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, and Daveren Rayner could each be in their final season. Kentucky will likely want to get older through the portal after the season to buoy some of the young talent in the room.
Tavion Wallace is the big fish in this group, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Kentucky signed zero high school prospects at the position after loading up in 2024.
Cornerback
PlayerRankingHigh SchoolRecruit StatusDawayne Galloway4-star (No. 127 overall)Columbus (Ohio) FranklinTargetDalen Penson4-star (No. 134 overall)Tyrone (Ga.) Sandy CreekTargetGraceson Littleton4-star (No. 216 overall)Tampa (Fla.) Wiregrass RanchTargetCortez Thomas4-star (No. 278 overall)Lexington (Miss.) Holmes County CentralTarget
Skinny: High-priority position for Kentucky this cycle.
Secondary play was a weakness for Kentucky last season. The Wildcats are looking to upgrade in the secondary. Throughout the 2024 cycle, the program has gotten multiple cornerback prospects on campus.
Dawayne Galloway is a huge target in Ohio while Chris Collins has Kentucky in terrific position with four-star Dalen Penson. After using the transfer portal to load up this position recently, the Wildcats are now looking to add some young talent. Expect the program to add multiple cornerback commits to this class.
Safety
PlayerRankingHigh SchoolRecruit StatusMartels Carter4-star (No. 174 overall)Paducah (Ky.) TilghmanTargetKeon Young4-star (No. 230 overall)Lakeland (Fla.) HighTarget
Skinny: Martels Carter is getting the red carpet treatment.
Martels Carter has quickly emerged as one of the most important recruiting targets for Kentucky in the class of 2025. The in-state prospect has received a ton of attention from the coaching staff in Lexington. The Wildcats are all-in on the blue-chip recruit.
Kentucky had addressed safety with two additions in each of the last two classes. The top goal right now is to get Carter in the class. We could see some more targets emerge later in the process.
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