Kentucky Football Recruiting: Ben Bradley the Latest Elite Recruit to Emerge

Dec 2, 2012; Lexington , KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops spoke to reporters during a press conference at the Nutter Field House. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

When Mark Stoops was interviewing for the vacant head-coaching position at Kentucky, he reportedly gave Mitch Barnhart a list of highly-touted recruits that he believed he could get to eventually commit to the Cats, despite only having 2 full moths to recruit between taking the job and National Signing Day. We’ve seen several big-names pop-up over the past few weeks, and the latest recruit to emerge with legitimate interest in UK is Ben Bradley, a 6’2″, 315 lb junior college defensive tackle, who is rated as a 4-star prospect by most major recruiting services. He notched 54 tackles with six quarterback sacks this past season for Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.

Last weekend, it looked as though Bradley was set to decide between Nebraska and Missouri, but Auburn entered the picture and caused him to delay his commitment. Apparently, UK also entered the picture, and is now a legitimate player in his recruitment  as he badly wants to play ni the SEC, and he would almost certainly get immediate playing time at UK.

This week he will have two official visits to check out Kentucky on Friday before visiting Auburn on Saturday. Bradley has said that he will have a decision very soon after his final two visits, and that he’ll be ready to sign next week and start classes at the college he chooses.

And here’s the latest on 4-star Texas wide receiver Ra’Shaad Samples, who has been reportedlu considering UK also:

And in celebration of New Year’s Eve, here is my favorite memory of 2012. Enjoy: