The Kentucky coaching staff will host their first Junior Day of the year this Saturday. This will be a huge day for the staff as they are doing a kind of meet and greet with some of the nations top prospective athletes from the classes of 2015 and 2016. This will give the current Juniors/Sophomores a chance to get to know the coaches, see the current facilities and the plans for the new facilities, and get a chance to meet Eric Korem and learn about his High Performance program. The highlight of their visit will be going to the UK-Florida basketball game. Here is where they will see the Big Blue Nation at their finest.
There have been many reports of who will be coming, but as always, things can change. There will be athletes saying that they are coming and then not and then there will be guys that we were previously unaware of that will show up.
Right now, lets concentrate on the one’s that I am most confident will be coming to the Junior day.
First and foremost, I believe 5-star running back and Kentucky native, Damien Harris will be on hand. Harris is the current #5 player in the nation and the overall #1 runningback. It is a must that the coaching staff stay on him all through the recruiting year. He is definitely a game changer and would be the jewel of the 2015 class. Damien was at one time committed to Michigan but has since de-committed. He was at Ohio State this past weekend and went to the basketball game with Urban Meyer. We all know that Urban is a great recruiter and rarely misses on the guys he goes hard after and Ohio State in itself is a big draw for a D-1 prospect. Lets hope we get Damien on campus as much as possible and let the coaching staff work their magic.
One thing for sure, Harris is noticing Kentucky more and more. He had said on Twitter that Kentucky’s Super Bowl commercial had him hyped up. Check out Damien’s 2013 Hudl highlight video below.
Sticking with the offensive side of the ball, 3-star Offensive linemen Rob Dowdy, George Asafo-AdJei and Noah Listermann will try to make it down from Ohio. Both Asafo-Adjei and Dowdy have Kentucky at or near the top of their list. Nathan Gilliam (6′ 5″ 270 lb.) from Knoxville, Tennessee will make the trip as will Zack Giella (6′ 7″ 300 lb.) from Augusta, Georgia. Zack is listed as having high interest in Kentucky and already holds offers from Cal, Miss. St., South Carolina and Kentucky. As of right now Kentucky is Gilliam’s only offer but it is early and I’m sure more offers will come. The biggest name on the OLinemen list would be none other the “Big” George Brown, also from Ohio. George is listed as a high 4-star guy and the 12th best offensive tackle in the nation. George is high on Kentucky and is a cousin of Mike Edwards a 4-star safety who signed with Kentucky in the 2014 class. I expect Mike will do a lot of recruiting between now and National Signing Day 2015 to get his cousin here. Check out George’s highlights below.
Rivals top 40 receivers Tavin Richardson (6′ 2″ 206 lb.) and Jabari Greenwood (6 4″ 190 lb.) are expected to make it. Jabari is listed by rivals as being the 36th best receiver in his class and holds offers from Indiana, Iowa, Mich. St., Rutgers, Vanderbilt and others. Tavin is listed as the 38th best receiver and also holds a lot of offers to include Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (Fl.), Mississippi, Miss. St., Virginia Tech and others.
From the 2016 class we may see Tyler Pritchett an offensive lineman from Calera, Alabama and Gabe Angel a tight end from Lebanon, Tenn. Gabe already holds offers from in-state schools, Tennessee and Vanderbilt as well as Kentucky, Mississippi and Miss. St.
Also from the 2016 class Quarterback, Messiah DeWeaver from Trotwood, Ohio will try to make it. Messiah currently holds offers from Kentucky and Louisville.
In addition to Damien Harris, expect offensive local products Reese Ryan, Mason Wolfe and Marcus Floyd to attend. Reese is a 6′ 2″ 180 lb. quarterback who hails from Lexington Catholic. Reese currently holds offers from Louisville and Illinois. Mason is a 6′ 5″ 270 lb. offensive tackle from Henderson County. So far, Kentucky is his only offer. Marcus is a 6′ 1″ 185 lb. receiver from Bryan Station who currently has no offers.