By far the biggest question for me about UK’s 2015 recruiting is how the Cats are going to fill their offensive line spots. They have a ton of offers out right now and they may not be done as they could identify more talent in the coming months. It is widely thought that the coaching staff will take five offensive linemen again this year.
To date, Rivals.com has Kentucky as having offered 29 OLinemen so far for the 2015 recruiting class and most all of these guys are extremely talented regardless of their ranking. So, what will the coaching staff do? With all of the offers so far, who is a take right now and who isn’t?
First, you have to believe the coaching staff will push hard and ultimately take Mason Wolfe, as he’s one of the state’s top recruits. It is said that the staff likes him a lot so if he decides to commit, that would be one spot taken. I feel really good about him and I can see him committing before the summer is over or possibly sooner.
Second, you’ve got to get a center. Luke Hiers and James Daniels are the only two that have been offered to date and both have a lot of interest in Kentucky.
Luke is the higher rated of the two as he is rated as the 2nd best center in the country and the 224th best over-all prospect. Luke’s teammate, Marcus Walker has already verbally committed to Kentucky.
James Daniels is rated as the 3rd best center in the country and hails from Warren, Ohio.
I believe Kentucky will land at least one of these guys so that would be two positions filled in the offensive line. I would love to see them land both and possibly transition one over the guard position.
I feel that Offensive tackle George Brown is not only a take but a must get. George is rated as the 13th best OT in his class and the 127th best over-all prospect nationally. He is also a cousin of 2014 commit, Mike Edwards. George has been around the program quite a bit and he does have a lot of interest in Kentucky. I feel like the coaching staff will likely get him.
Another OT to watch is 6’ 7” 293 lb. Noah Listermann. Noah is just up the road in Cincinnati, Ohio and is rated as the 46th best OT in the country. It is said that the staff really wants Listermann badly.
Keep an eye out for Larry Wells, a 6’ 6” 310 lb. OT from Kenton, Ohio and Rob Dowdy a 6’ 5” 277 lb. OT from Westerville, Ohio.
Others of note are OT’s (and currently unrated) Nathan Gilliam and Zack Giella.
At offensive guard there are several guys here that I like. My number one guy would be George Asafo-Adjei. He is rated as the 35th best OG in the country and is a teammate of 2014 running back commit, Mikel Horton.
Another that I like is Simon Stepaniak a guy that hasn’t been ranked yet but has a lot of up-side. The staff likes him a lot and he already has good size as he is 6’ 4” 287 lb.
I also like David Robbins, a 6’ 4” 295 lb. OG. Rated as the 30th best offensive guard in the country.
Matthew Burrell, Jr. would be a great pick up as he is rated as the 7th best OG in the country and 135th over-al best prospect standing a 6’ 4” and 286 lbs. He has a ton of offers and I think he would be a long shot but we can dream can’t we?
So, as you can see, this staff has gotten off to a great start when it comes to the OLine. If I had to pick five right now I would go with, George Brown, George Asafo-Adjei, Mason Wolfe, Luke Hiers and Simon Stepaniak.
Stay tuned to Wildcat Blue Nation as we bring you up-to-date recruiting info about our beloved Cats.