A look back at football recruiting and current effects.

With this being Kentucky’s bye week, I thought I’d take a look back at past recruiting classes and see how they panned out. I decided to start out with the 2006 class because most of these guys are either gone already or redshirt seniors for the team now. I used the three main recruiting sites to see where each guy was rated, then gave each player a grade based on their contributions as a Wildcat. Players that did contribute were graded based on how they stacked up to their ranking. Keep in mind that ESPN used number grades back in ’06 and ’07, so I used their current star rating system to convert them. Also, ESPN did not evaluate large portions of both classes.

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Name	Position	Scout	Rivals	ESPN	Grade	Notes
Moncell Allen	RB	3*	3*	2*	A-	Small impact at RB, but has been great at FB as a SR
M. Boswell	WR	2*	2*	3*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Chris Cessna	LB	2*	2*	2*	D	Backup duties only
Ashton Cobb	DB	3*	3*	2*	B-	Started as an upperclassman, not an impact player
J.D. Craigman	DE	3*	2*	0*	D	Backup duties only
T.C. Drake	TE	3*	3*	0*	C+	Eventual starter. Had a disappointing career, but contributed
Chris Drayton	DB	2*	3*	2*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Will Fidler	QB	2*	3*	2*	C	Career backup, helped cover for injured Hartline
LaRay Foote	RB	2*	2*	0*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Chris Goode	TE	3*	2*	2*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
D. Goode	RB	2*	4*	3*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Corey Goodson	RB	3*	3*	0*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
A.J. Grigsby	DB	2*	2*	0*	D	Not much of an impact, JUCO player
Calvin Harrison	DB	2*	2*	2*	B-	Started as an upperclassman, not an impact player
Mike Hartline	QB	2*	3*	3*	A	Outplayed ranking. Blossomed as a SR
Justin Jefferies	OL	2*	2*	0*	B+	Contributed heavily throughout career
Micah Johnson	LB	4*	4*	5*	B	Injuries kept him from having the impact he could have had.
Steve Johnson	WR	4*	2*	0*	A	Outplayed ranking. Blossomed as a SR, JUCO player
Terrence Jones	WR	2*	2*	0*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Ricky Lumpkin	DL	2*	2*	0*	B	Injuries plagued him early, but he started final two years.
Josh Minton	DL	4*	3*	2*	C	Injuries forced him to give up football early
Jamil Paris	DL	2*	3*	0*	C	Injuries forced him to give up football early
Corey Peters	DL	3*	4*	2*	A+	Big-time ompact player. Really outplayed ranking
A. Salahudin	DB	2*	2*	3*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Lones Seiber	K	2*	2*	0*	B+	While often maligned, was a dependable kicker despite low rank
Darrell Stevens	WR	2*	2*	2*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
M. Strickland	WR	3*	2*	3*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
B. Thurmond	LB	3*	2*	0*	C-	Injuries plagues his career, never made an impact
Paul Warford	RB	3*	2*	3*	B-	Played well at CB, but academics cost him two seasons
LaShun Watson	WR	2*	3*	3*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier

The biggest thing you should notice is how many of these guys never made it to campus, or were gone shortly after arriving. While a couple of guys had stellar careers with UK (Stevie Johnson, Corey Peters, Mike Hartline, Micah Johnson) there were far too many busts in this class and the Cats struggles with depth and consistency can be directly attributed to this. Only 12 of the 31 recruits from this season actually played out their entire careers at UK.

Next we can take evaluate the impact the 2007 class has had as well. While most of these players will have graduated by the end of this season, 12 of the guys on this list are currently slated to be back. While it’s likely that not all of them will, the ones returning will have an opportunity to burst out as redshirt seniors and their current grades are based solely on performances thus far.

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Name	Position	Scout	Rivals	ESPN	Grade	Notes
Moncell Allen	RB	3*	3*	2*	A-	Has been great at FB as a SR, enrolled in ’07 after prep school
Mychal Bailey	DB	2*	2*	0*	B	Finally arrived in ’10 after JUCO. Starter in 1st season.
Jess Beets	OL	3*	3*	0*	B	Started 7 games as a SR, JUCO transfer.
Randall Burden	DB	2*	2*	0*	A	Current two year starter at CB, with SR to come. Outplayed rank
Jacob Dufrene	LB	2*	2*	2*	B	Outplayed rank and started in few games. Lost job this year.
Brad Durham	OL	3*	3*	0*	B+	Contributor and top backup all 4 yrs. Started this year.
Antwane Glenn	DL	2*	3*	0*	C-	Has seen the field sparingly. No starts
Phillip Hibbard	OL	2*	2*	0*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Stuart Hines	OL	3*	3*	2*	A	Current two year starter. One of the SEC premier OG
Brandon Jackson	RB	3*	3*	3*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Duran Jefferson	DB	2*	2*	0*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier
Jake Lanefski	OL	2*	2*	0*	B	Career backup. Injuries have limited him thus far
Kyrus Lanxter	WR	2*	3*	3*	C+	Backup for first three years before leaving team. Good blocker
Matt Lentz	QB	2*	2*	3*	B	Moved to S where he was excelling before career ending injury
Derrick Locke	RB	0*	0*	0*	A+	One of the top RB in UK history. Not rated by any service as prep
Shane McCord	DL	3*	2*	2*	C+	Career backup. Has seen some time in rotation with little impact
Greg Meisner	DL	2*	2*	2*	C	Moved to FB after SO yr. Decided to graduate early.
Anthony Mosley	WR	2*	2*	0*	B	Moved to CB where he is currently playing well. Could improve.
B.J. Murphy	OL	3*	3*	0*	B	Has seen time in rotation with some starts. Could improve
C. Mustafaa	DL	0*	2*	0*	D	Backup, left team early with no real impact
Taiedo Smith	DB	2*	2*	0*	B	Backup S, special teams player. Could challenge for PT next yr.
Ronnie Sneed	LB	2*	2*	3*	B	First year starter taking lumps. Could improve.
D.J. Stafford	DL	3*	4*	4*	F	No impact / Non-qualifier. Could have been a big help this yr.
Antonio Thomas	DB	2*	0*	0*	C-	Career backup/special teams player.
Ryan Tydlacka	K	2*	0*	0*	A+	One of the SEC top punters for last two years. Could improve.
Greg Wilson	DB	2*	0*	0*	C-	Career backup/special teams player.
Josh Winchell	OL	2*	0*	0*	D	Backup OL first year before leaving team. JUCO transfer

It’s pretty clear that the 2007 class ended up panning out better than the 2006 version. There are still some misses, but far more of these guys are/were contributors in one way or another. Guys like Randall Burden, Ryan Tydlacka, Derrick Locke and Stuart Hines have all vastly outplayed their ratings, with Hines the only player of the four to get at least one 3-star rating.

The overall conclusion this leads me to is that this year’s Kentucky football team is about where they should be. The upperclassmen are scarce on this year’s roster and several of the players heading into their redshirt-senior year aren’t expected to challenge for starting positions. The Wildcats have been forced to rely on young players to contribute and provide depth, with only 7 players from the 2007 class starting on offense or defense at this point. It’s easy to be disappointed with the close losses the team has had this season, but the fact that Kentucky was in every game this season except for the Florida contest is actually surprising based on the number of upperclassmen on this team. Considering how many busts and misses the Wildcats had in recruiting between 2006 and 2007, the Cats are doing well just to be where they are.

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