A look back at football recruiting and current effects.
By Paul Jordan
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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