Kentucky Wildcats Football: Appreciating 2014 recruiting
By Kyle
June 30, 2013; Beaverton, OR, USA; Drew Barker, of Hebron, Kentucky, passes the ball during the morning session of the Elite 11 at Nike World Headquarters. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
The Army All-American game came and went without Kentucky adding another member to the 2014 class. A lot happened at the event, but there has been an undertone of disappointment surrounding Kentucky recruiting after striking out on the Glenville Trio (for now) and having Matt Elam push his announcement back to National Signing Day instead of announcing at the event. Prior to the lack of news at the Army All-American game, the biggest recruiting nuggets to come out for a couple of weeks were actually the de-commitment of tackle Derrick Kelly and the news that multiple junior college players wouldn’t be able to enroll in January, as they had originally planned.
Despite the string of bad luck, things are still going well for the Wildcats. Record-setting well actually. The flurry of early commitments to the program has allowed us to momentarily forget how good this class actually is. The most recent 2014 addition, A.J. Stamps, didn’t set the world on fire in the rankings either, but there’s always more to things than meet the eye. Here are five reasons to be seriously excited about this class moving towards national signing day.
1. CLEANING UP
Kentucky’s current commitments are really good. Consider that 12 of the 24 commitments are rated as four-star prospects by at least one of the four major recruiting databases (Rivals, Scout, 247, and ESPN) and it’s impressive. Here’s the list in case you aren’t sure.
Dorian Baker (Rivals)
Drew Barker (Consensus)
Blake Bone (Rivals)
Mike Edwards (Rivals, Scout)
Nico Firios (ESPN)
Mikel Horton (Rivals)
Corey Johnson (Rivals)
Nick Richardson (Rivals)
Thaddeus Snodgrass (Scout/247/ESPN)
Denzel Ware (Scout, 247, ESPN)
Darius West (Consensus)
Stanley Williams (Rivals, 247, ESPN)
Now realize that every member of the class is ranked within the top fifty players in the country at their position by at least one service, and it’s really impressive. Again, we are only talking about the players that are currently committed. All four recruiting services currently have Kentucky ranked within the top-25 in the country, with Rivals rating the Wildcats’ class at #12 (as of this writing).
2. CONQUERING NEW LANDS
Wildcat fans have grown accustomed to loading up on whatever talent is available in Kentucky, and then picking up the remaining players from Tennessee, some from Florida, and then capping things off by poaching as much talent from Georgia as possible. Coach Stoops and his staff have decided to change the landscape and now the states of Ohio and Florida are two of the top targeted areas for the team. While Kentucky and Georgia will still be represented in the class come signing day, a whopping 10 of the teams 24 current commitments are from the Buckeye state and that number could actually climb with the final few additions. Some how, some way, Ohio has gone from a forbidden place where Kentucky football was almost completely unable to recruit any of the top talent, to now being the staff’s primary recruiting grounds.
3. FIGHTING OFF THE BEST
It appears that the days of fighting off Middle Tennessee State and Wake Forrest for recruits are gone. Every single member of the 2014 signing class chose Kentucky over at least one other BCS program. The Wildcats beat out teams such as Auburn, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan State, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, USC, and Texas A&M for their players.
4. HEAD STARTS
It is rare that Kentucky has had freshmen that enroll in classes in the spring semester, but the team actually had multiple additions this season. Quarterback Drew Barker, linebacker Dorian Hendrix, running back Mikel Horton, and receivers T.V. Williams and Thaddeus Snodgrass are all five set to enroll in less than a week and will begin preparing for their freshmen seasons. Adding to that, junior college transfers Corey Johnson and A.J. Stamps will also get a jump-start on the 2014 season, giving Kentucky seven total early enrollees, or what should ultimately be one quarter of the entire class.
5.FINISHING STRONG
National Signing Day is less than a month away and the staff has official and unofficial visits set up for every single weekend in the meantime. There are some big fish out there with Kentucky interest including in-state targets Matt Elam and (Vanderbilt commitment) Lloyd Tubman. Additionally, coaching changes have opened up some previously closed doors and allowed the staff to reignite flames that had been put out. Multiple teams are targeting the Louisville and Vanderbilt commitment lists after (or anticipating) coaching changes at each school, and Kentucky is no exception. With 24 of an expected 28 spots filled, the next month should be a wild one for Wildcat fans.
For more information on the rankings of Kentucky’s 2014 class: