Kentucky Wildcats Football: Predicting signing day

Signing day is less than a week away and the Kentucky coaching staff has moved into overdrive as they round the bend and head into Wednesday. The additions of Alex Montgomery and Marcus McWilson earlier this week have given the program some momentum and this is sure to be the most exciting signing day in recent history for UK fans. At this time, Kentucky has 17 players that have committed or signed, and could add up to 8 more players. Assuming that the staff plans to sign a full class, here are the remaining targets That could solidify the best recruiting class ever by the Wildcats.

1. Jojo Kemp – RB – FL
Rated as highly as a 4-star player, Kemp is an all-purpose back that is custom made for the new Kentucky offense. He is without question the best fit at RB left on the board and could be an immediate contributor. Kemp will announce his college decision on Friday.

2. Jeff Badet – WR – FL
The commitments of Javess Blue and Alex Montgomery ease the need for receivers some, but getting 2-3 more is almost necessary. Badet is probably a slot receiver in college and could contribute very early in his career as well. He also will announce his college decision on Friday.

3. Ryan Timmons – ATH – KY
Does it really matter if Timmons is brought in as a running back or as a receiver? The answer is no. The two positions are relatively interchangeable in Brown’s offense and Timmons could excel at either. The bottom line is that Timmons is a touchdown machine that lives 20 minutes from campus and you can never have enough of those.

4. Asiantii Woulard – QB – FL
Does Kentucky REALLY need another quarterback in this class? Probably not. But then again, Woulard is a rare talent that could blossom into a Kaepernick/R. Wilson/RG3 type if talent. He is absolutely worth taking and as Kentucky fans know all to well, you never know when you might be down to playing a wide receiver at quarterback.

5. James Hearns – LB – FL
Reports constantly seem to refute whether Hearns has already committed to Kentucky or not, but he should be a top target if he is not already on board. The Wildcats need a LB in this class and Hearns is a good one. If it looks like he may come even remotely close to qualifying academically, Kentucky should take him and never look back.

6. Jason Hatcher – DE – KY
There’s no player who has the attention if the Big Blue Nation more than Hatcher. He has supposedly de-committed, re-committed, de-committed, and re-committed to USC in the past two weeks, but has visited Kentucky twice in that time. What all this tells me is that, worst case scenario, Kentucky has a glimmer of hope. That’s enough for me.

7. Nick Haynes – OL – FL
The recent decision by Lovell Peterson to pursue track in college over football and the mutual parting of ways by Kentucky and Ander Botkins and Jake Boynton means that The Wildcats probably need to add another lineman. Haynes will be visiting Kentucky this weekend and plans to announce his decision on Sunday, so if The UK staff can make a good impression, Haynes could be the guy that rounds out the class of big guys.

8. RaShaad Samples – WR – TX
It may look bleak at this point, but I still have faith in Samples picking UK. He is the best known receiver on Kentucky’s board and would fill a dire need for the Wildcats. He was born to play in Neal Brown’s offense and would undoubtedly play (and play a lot) as a true freshman in the SEC as well. There are just too many reasons for Samples to be a Wildcat, and he seems like a pretty bright guy.

Now, this may not be exactly what Kentucky’s signing class looks like on Wednesday. There could be new names added, de-commitments from current prospects, and UK could choose not to fill all 25 spots as well. However, my bet is that this is a close to what the Wildcats’ class will look like on signing day.