Kentucky Wildcats Football: Recapping the running back recruits

Recruiting is still in full swing and lots of changes are still sure to happen between now and national signing day. Kentucky has been “in” on several prospects at running back, but with mixed results. The top targets throughout the year seem to have been Anthony Wales, I’Tavius Mathers, Shadrach Thorton, Dami Ayoola, and Dy’Shawn Mobley. While Mobley is still committed to Kentucky at this time, the Cats found out this season that you can never have enough running backs with four different players in their five-deep depth chart being dinged up at one point in time or another. Raymond Sanders, Josh Clemons, CoShik Williams, Jonathan George, Brandon Gainer, and Marcus Caffey all return for the Wildcats at running back, but all indications are that the staff plans to add another back to this class. Here’s a recap of the top five contenders.

Anthony Wales – 5’9 / 170 – Louisville, KY
Wales remains a top target for the Cats and could help solidify the recruiting pipeline that has been established to Central High School. Wales isn’t that big, but he is deceptively strong for a player his size and put up some monster numbers in his time as a prep player. Kentucky still has a great shot at signing Wales, but it won’t be a walk in the park. Louisville is still in the picture and the hometown school always seems to have a fighting chance. Illinois, Western Kentucky and Indiana have all offered as well, and Illinois and Western Kentucky could be darkhorses in his recruitment. Topping everything off, a recent shoulder surgery could complicate things for schools needing Wales to make an instant impact.

I’Tavius Mathers – 6’0 / 195 – Murfreesboro, TN
The relationship Mathers had built with Kentucky looked very promising this past summer. The Wildcats were considered the leader for his services at one point and he was supposedly the top option on Kentucky’s board at running back. As soon as things started heating up though, a trip to Oxford changed everything and Mathers has remained committed to Ole Miss ever since. Now that head coach Houston Nutt has been replaced, Kentucky may be able to make a second attempt at Mathers.

Dami Ayoola – 5’10 / 200 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
It always seemed like other running back prospects demanded all of the headlines, but Ayoola was always one of the most exciting backs on the radar for the Cats. He isn’t huge, but Ayoola has the type of skill-set that could help him develop into a major contributor for any team he plays for. Unfortunately he cast his lot with Illinois in late November and has remained committed ever since. Ron Zook’s firing may allow Kentucky to get back in the picture, but convincing Ayoola to flip looks like a long shot now.

Dy’Shawn Mobley – 6’0 / 205 – Powell, TN
Mobley had a stellar senior season that paved the way to a scholarship offer from Kentucky. The Cats had actually been recruiting Mobley for a while, but previous issues had prevented the staff from extending an offer until they were actually able to watch him play. After a scholarship became available, the staff pulled the trigger and Mobley accepted shortly thereafter. The general consensus is that he is not interested in Tennessee, but Mississippi State is still making a run at Kentucky’s lone running back commitment. Holding onto him may be tough for the Cats as he continues to blow up after a great year.

Shadrach Thorton – 6’1 / 207 – Hinesville, GA
Thorton actually committed to Kentucky early in the season before reneging shortly thereafter and pledging to North Carolina State. He is the type of player that fits well into the pro-style offense and he could eventually develop into the type of workhorse back Kentucky hasn’t had since Artose Pinner Graduates. All that considered though, Thorton is a big bruising back that is similar in size and skill to Mobley, so it’s not exactly clear if Kentucky would be interested in taking both players now.