Kentucky Wildcats Football Recruiting: Recapping the Commitments

Yesterday Zach did a quick update on the additions of Daron and Zack Blaylock to the 2012 recruiting class, and today I’m here to recap the class so far. There has been a flurry of commitments in the last few weeks, so here’s what Kentucky is working with at this point…

Josh Harris – ATH – 6’2 / 200 – Maysville, KY
Harris was the first player to pledge to join Kentucky’s 2012 recruiting class and he is a big time addition. He is one of the most versatile players in the state, and while he could probably play running back at some schools, he is most likely to end up on the defensive side of the ball for Kentucky. Harris is sort of a tweener at this point and could play safety now, or could possibly add some weight and play linebacker as well. Oh yeah, and there’s also the safety/linebacker hybrid position in Minter’s defense. So basically, Harris was a guy that Kentucky needed to get because he has the type of skill that will allow Rick Minter to get creative. Most folks are probably going to assume that he’ll play the hybrid position that Winston Guy is currently slated to man, but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that he’ll add about 20 pounds between now and when he arrives in August of 2012 and will play the weak-side linebacker spot Danny Trevathan is in. Harris has amassed 251 tackles over the past two years at Mason County High School while also playing on offense, and is a great addition this class regardless of where he lines up.

Thomas Chapman – DT – 6’4 / 290 – Louisville, KY
I think a lot of people said “Who?” when Thomas Chapman committed to UK, and in all honesty, that was probably a fair question. Kentucky fans were told about Pulaski Southwestern’s Rob Lewis, Louisville Seneca’s Tyrone Pearson, and Boyle County’s Keith Thielemann since last year, but Chapman has been an afterthought due to him missing significant playing time after being injured. That being said, people who’ve kept up with Louisville high school sports knew Chapman was a huge ‘get’ for Kentucky and that he had as much talent as anyone in the state. He’ll bring the type of size you can’t teach, and the type of natural strength that a good SEC defensive tackle has to have. Whether he plays as a true freshman or not will likely depend on how well he’s healed up by the time he arrives on campus, but I would expect to see Chapman in the defensive line rotation (if not starting) no later than 2013 if he can stay healthy. If coach minter does eventually adopt a true 3-4 defense, Chapman would be a great candidate to play the all important Nose Guard position.

Patrick Towles – QB – 6’5 / 230 – Ft. Thomas, KY
While the rest of the country was marveling at how impressive Zeke Pike is on his youtube videos, I’ve been telling the readers of this site how another northern Kentucky prospect was a better player and a better fit for the Kentucky offense since last year. Do I have a man-crush on Patrick Towles? Maybe, but I’m not the only one. Towles has NFL size and has the type of arm that will allow him to make every necessary throw in UK’s pro-style offense (ask his coach Jared Lorenzen), but that’s not even the most impressive thing about him. He is a proven winner, and I cannot describe how important I think that is in a quarterback. Towles plays for Highlands High School and anyone in Kentucky can tell you what a powerhouse of a program the Bluebirds have up there. He’s got the moxie, competitiveness, and talent a quarterback has to have to be successful and there’s no doubt in my mind that he is the best quarterback to commit to UK since Tim Couch. While that might be a little over the top to some, Morgan Newton and Maxwell Smith better be prepared for a battle next year, because I can’t see Towles not putting up a hell of a fight.

DeMarcus Sweat – WR – 6’2 / 185 – Stone Mountain, GA
Sometimes it’s tough to gauge where a receiver is at developmentally in high school. A lot of high schools throughout the country utilize the spread offense or variations of the old Delaware wing-t to capitalize on their talent and while these formations allow running backs and quarterbacks to put up some pretty impressive rushing totals, they do not really feature the team’s talent at receiver. Sweat for example, had only seven catches in nine games last year. However, he did take those seven receptions for 185 yards and that’s a ridiculous average of 26 yards per catch. Kentucky already has size at the receiver position with guys like King, Adams, Boyd, and Roark all standing 6’4 or taller, and there’s plenty of speed on the roster and in the incoming freshman class. Sweat will give the receiving corps a little bit of both and has the potential to be a huge part of Kentucky’s offense in the future.

Shawn Blaylock – DB – 5’11 / 180 – Stone Mountain, GA
Right after news broke of Sweat’s commitment to Kentucky, hit teammate Shawn Blaylock committed to the Cats as well. Blaylock is a little smaller than his teammate, but not by a lot. While he’s an athlete that has played on both sides of the ball and excelled at receiver, all early indications are that he’s most likely going to be a cornerback in college. Blaylock is the ideal type of defensive back that has enough size and athleticism to battle some of the bigger receivers in the league for the ball and the wheels to keep up with the burners. With one of Kentucky’s biggest need positions being cornerback, getting a commitment from Blaylock was huge.

Daron Blaylock – LB – 6’1 / 210 – Marietta, GA
The bigger of the two twins, Daron is an ‘athlete’ type of player that could play safety in college, but is probably best suited as a linebacker. He’s been consistently timed in the 4.6 and under range in the forty-yard dash and is an athletic linebacker more in the mold of a Danny Trevathan or a Wesley Woodyard than a big bruiser like Ridge Wilson or Micah Johnson. Daron is the type of guy that will allow Kentucky defensive coordinator Rick Minter to throw multiple looks at the offense, as he can realistically play in the 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5, or a 3-3-5 alignment. Actually, he even has the sideline-to-sideline speed to play in a 46 defense. After striking out on all but one of their linebacker prospects from last year, getting Daron early is big for UK.

Zack Blaylock – DB – 6’1 / 190 – Marietta, GA
While Zack may be a little lighter than Daron, he’s every bit of the athlete his twin brother is. He’s probably going to be more of a safety than a linebacker when he gets to college, but he does have the speed to play cornerback if necessary. In what is becoming a serious theme with this recruiting class, Zack’s calling card is probably going to be his versatility. He can come up and blitz from the edge, play a receiver or a tight end man-to-man, or drop back in a deep zone. If all else fails, he can just line up in the back of the field goal block formation and use his reported 38-inch vertical leap to bat down kicks.

So what’s next…
Kentucky now has seven known football commitments for the 2012 class with five being expected to play on the defensive side of the ball and two ‘skill-position’ (I hate that term) players on offense. Kentucky’s biggest needs for this class were pretty clearly at defensive back and along the offensive line and it appears the defensive backfield is filling out nicely at this point. I would exp
ect the cats to really ramp up their recruitment of some of the offensive linemen on their board and I would not even be the slightest bit surprised if the next two or three commitments come from tackles and guards up front. With Kentucky’s camps in full swing, this should be an exciting summer to follow.

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