5 thoughts heading into Kentucky’s first official visit weekend
The recruiting activities are off and running in Lexington. The Wildcats have already hosted two recruiting camps and some 2024 prospects are wrapping up mid-week official visits today before things get ramped up on Friday with the arrival of 12 prospects for official visits. Important roster-building work is being done while the 2023 team is back on campus and preparing for the season.
Kentucky currently has three commitments in the class of 2024, but that should be changing soon. We’ve got a massive weekend on deck, and the intel is already starting to roll in. Before reacting to what happens this weekend, I’ve decided now is a good time to take a step back and share where I think Kentucky’s recruiting operation stands at the moment.
There is some good, some not so good, and some time to close because that is what recruiting is all about at the end of the day.
Closing time
Kentucky needs players in the 2024 recruiting class. That is no secret. The coaching needs to start closing on some prospects, and I think you will see some of that over the weekend.
Covington (Ky.) Catholic tight end Willie Rodriguez will end a busy week in Lexington after taking official visits to Purdue and Virginia Tech. The low three-star recruit is a late bloomer and a name Cutter Boley directly mentioned after his commitment. UK will try to get the in-state prospect in the fold this week. KSR’s Nick Roush believes a commitment is coming.
Kentucky will have to play the waiting game with four-star tight end Damarion Witten with Ohio State lurking, but another Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville product could be placed on commitment watch. Fred Johnson Jr. is currently an unranked guard/tackle in the On3 Industry Ranking. Kentucky will host the prospect for an official visit this weekend while Louisville (June 16) and Pittsburgh (June 23) also have official visits scheduled. Vince Marrow could look to close right now.
Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake LB/EDGE Antwan Smith will also be on campus this weekend. The three-star recruit has no other official visits scheduled. Duke, North Carolina, and NC State are also involved. This might be another recruitment to pay close attention to.
Some commitments should be coming down the chimney soon.
The final pitch to Brian Robinson
Kentucky landed the top offensive target on their board when high four-star quarterback Cutter Boley committed to the Wildcats on May 18. When top-200 EDGE Brian Robinson returns to Lexington for his official visit this weekend, UK will look to close on the top defensive target on their board.
Kentucky has hosted the Austintown (Ohio) Fitch rising senior for 10-plus visits, and the blue-chipper just canceled his official visit to Penn State. Robinson’s recruitment is currently a two-horse race between Kentucky and Michigan. The two-time defending Big Ten champions are filling up their class quickly and could have some other EDGE prospects coming before Robinson. That gives Kentucky a great opportunity.
Robinson could become the fifth top-250 Ohio recruiting win for Kentucky in the Mark Stoops era. The Cats are in good shape entering this pivotal official visit and could possibly wrap up this recruitment after giving the prospect the red-carpet treatment this weekend.
Wide receiver targets are emerging
Kentucky has signed four top-300 wide receiver prospects in the last three high school recruiting hauls. The position has slowly become an offensive strength. Much of that can be credited to some big recruiting wins. Kentucky is currently not in on any top-300 prospects this cycle, but some names are emerging.
Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s Prep teammates Brandon Rehmann and David Washington Jr. both completed mid-week official visits to Kentucky this week. Both three-star prospects currently don’t have another official visit scheduled. Massachusetts native Cameron Monteiro is scheduled to visit Kentucky next weekend, but a surprise official visit to Pittsburgh (June 9) could change things in the three-star decides to commit.
High three-star prospect Emanuel Ross came off the board on Wednesday night when the New Jersey native committed to Stanford. However, unranked prospect Shamar Rigby emerged this week and will take an official visit to Kentucky. Names are emerging. Don’t be surprised if one of these players joins the UK recruiting class in the next month.
An Ohio State flip is likely happening
Perhaps the biggest recruiting surprise we’ll see all summer occurred this week. Three-star tailback Sam Williams-Dixon committed to Ohio State on April 15, but this is a recruitment that is far from over after the Pickerington (Ohio) North senior took an official visit to Kentucky.
The Buckeyes added four-star tailback Jordan Lyle to their No. 2 ranked recruiting class just two weeks after the Williams-Dixon commitment. That gave Ryan Day‘s program three tailbacks in the 2024 class. This smells like a situation where Williams-Dixon is getting recruited over. The Kentucky target is scheduled to take an official visit to Ohio State this weekend and is saying all of the right things. However, this is one to watch closely.
Kentucky is in a great spot and may even be able to pressure Williams-Dixon with top-500 recruits Johann Cardenas and Tovani Mizell making trips to campus.
Tackle board is shrinking
One of Kentucky’s most impressive targets scheduled for an official visit was unfortunately taken off the board this week. After taking one official visit, four-star tackle Kevin Heywood decided to end his recruitment with a commitment to Wisconsin. Shortly after that, three-star tackle Jordan Floyd canceled his Kentucky official visit and will make a second trip to Georgia Tech in a week on Friday.
The Wildcats seemingly lead for zero offensive tackle prospects at the moment and that is a concern. However, some big fish will be on campus over the next two weekends. Will Kentucky be able to make up some ground?
Top-100 prospect Jonathan Daniels has some length concerns but both Florida State and LSU are aggressively recruiting the blue-chip prospect. Kentucky getting him on campus for an official visit is a big deal.
Next weekend, four-star tackle Jac’Qawn McRoy will be taking yet another trip to Lexington to visit the program. Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Oregon are also contenders for the top-200 prospect. McRoy is a key target for Kentucky. Unranked tackle Jack Hines will join McRoy on campus next week. The Northeast native flashes good movement skills on tape and has legit Power Five interest.
The board appears to be getting thin. Kentucky will get some premium targets on campus over the next two weeks and must make some big moves to address this premium position.
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