After recent recruiting losses, what does Brooks do?
By Staff
I am sure that after the recent recruiting losses of Isiah Lewis to Michigan State and Brandon Wilkinson to USF, Coach Brooks may be about ready to hit the bottle. As Andrew Hardison wrote the other day, Brooks and company are holding off on early signings as they think they are in the running for bigger faster, and stronger players. Lewis was supposed to be a big payday. But undaunted, Brooks must go on and keep recruiting. Andrew Hardison is back and takes a look at a few players to keep an eye on as the football recruiting season continues.
Brooks and UK continue their new recruiting “strategy”
by Andrew Hardison
A total of seven SEC teams have already been grouped into the top-25 in regards of recruiting classes for the 2010 season. With SEC teams receiving commitments left and right, we as UK fans are left wondering, “Where does UK stand?”
Well, not so great so far, as Wildcats head coach Rich Brooks and staff have only secured two commitments. SEC teams like Alabama, Florida, LSU and Georgia all have 15+ commitments, with 1-2 five-star players and 8-9 four-star players already signed.
Coach Brooks recently commented on the desire to make UK football recruiting better and would now wait for commitments, rather than taking the quick way out. This idea seems to be insignificant as UK still can’t seem to reel in the top talent throughout the nation. A must for Brooks and the UK staff, something that can be easier said than done, is getting/keeping commitments from the best players in the state of Kentucky.
There are some extremely talented players in Kentucky and I’ll give a rundown of two of the best and a look at a couple of other prospects:
Tim Patterson**** (Louisville, Kentucky: OLB, DE)
A talented athlete in his own right (also plays basketball) the UK staff is hot on the heels of Central H.S. standout Tim Patterson. Patterson plays both outside linebacker and defensive end, something UK will desperately need as current linebacker Micah Johnson will graduate after this year. With a total of 91 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and four sacks in his junior season; pressuring and getting to the quarterback is his forte, Patterson would be a perfect fit for the defensive schemes used at UK. As a Louisville native, the Cards are also high on the list of the two-sport athlete. He says he’s a hometown guy, but Brooks has recently been able to put several UK players into the NFL. This is a good sign as Patterson has also said he wants to play for a coach who can prepare him for the NFL. If Jeremy Jarmon is any indication, Patterson could likely wind up with the Cats.
Stephan Robinson*** (Louisville, Kentucky: WR)
Although not offered yet by UK, Central H.S. wide receiver standout could wind up playing for Kentucky next season. At 5’9” and 165 pounds, Robinson doesn’t have exceptional size to be a great college wide receiver. He does however have exceptional speed, which creates problems when he gets past defenders into the secondary. Bigger defensive backs would create problems at the line of scrimmage with bump-and-run coverage, but Robinson has the quickness to match.
Derrick Bryant*** (Columbus, Ohio: DE)
One of the top targets for UK, Bryant would fill a key void in the defensive line left by Jeremy Jarmon. He already carries a college ready frame (6’4”, 230 lbs.) but once he hits the weight room he’ll most likely put on extra weight. Bryant has a tendency to miss out on some easy tackles, a tendency he’ll have to fix if he’s to play for Rich Brooks. Michigan, Illinois, and West Virginia are also pursuing Bryant for his services. As said before, Brooks has put some pretty good talent into the NFL in recent seasons, a good enough reason for Bryant to play at UK.
Billy Cosh*** (Gambrills, Maryland: QB)
You can never have enough good quarterbacks as a college program, one reason why UK is pushing hard for Cosh to commit to the Wildcats. Even though Brooks and his staff were able to snag both Ryan Massokowski and Morgan Newtown, Brooks knows for his team to be successful he needs to have good QB play. Most fans would think quarterback wouldn’t be a necessity in the 2010 recruiting class, but Brooks clearly doesn’t think like the average fan. Cosh has already set countless records while in high-school and his senior season won’t be any different. Having set state records for passing yards in a season and touchdowns in a season, he also threw five touchdowns in five straight games. A Cosh commitment would heat up any competition in quarterback play, something UK fans would be extremely happy with.
Andrew Hardison is a recent UK graduate contributing to the WildcatBlueBlog
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