Kentucky Wildcats Football: Recruiting Update

Football season is in full swing and that means

previews, in-game updates and post game analysis. It also means predictions and combing through statistics. But worry not recruitniks, I haven’t forgotten about you, today we are going to look at an update focusing solely on the 2015 class:

• In case you’ve been under a rock all week, the Cats picked up a commitment from Florida DB Jeremiah Dinson this weekend. A tally, rangy athlete, Dinson chose UK over Arkansas. There appears to be just one more ride available for a secondary player in this class going forward.
• Damien Harris was in attendance to watch Ohio State lose to Virginia Tech Saturday. All reports say that the visit didn’t really swing Harris one way or the other but OSU’s offensive struggles certainly couldn’t have helped. People around the program still seem optimistic on getting Harris on board in December.
• One of Kentucky’s top linebacker targets, Amonte Caban, committed to Louisville yesterday. He had recently named South Carolina his leader, with Mississippi State, Tennessee, UK and Louisville rounding out the top schools. It looks like SC and MSU didn’t have room for him. UK Still lacks a true middle linebacker in this class.
• Speaking of linebackers, Kentucky is still in hot pursuit of Ohio State commit Nick Conner. A flip seems pretty unlikely given Conner’s love for the Buckeyes but where there is smoke… You have to also believe that they are in the ear of Vanderbilt commit Josh Smith in case Vandy’s tumble reaches full free fall this year.
• It’s looking like it’s Kentucky versus Alabama for Kengera Daniel, which worked out well for the Cats in the Matt Elam saga. Daniel is a different kind of guy, sitting in on heart surgery while on his UK visit, and the underdog seems to appeal to him quite a bit.
• It looks like Kentucky will take one more wide receiver and that will be Tavin Richardson.
• The staff feels good about Ohio DT Javon Provitt if they can get him to campus on an official visit. Right now Cincinnati leads but that is because it’s the only school he has been able to see.
• With Vanderbilt struggling, the feel is that Kentucky leads for the Dowell Twins, David and Andrew, but there is no timetable for a decision. The twins and their father were pleasantly surprised by a visit to Lexington and both are takes for the staff right now. They are teammates of current commit Alex Stump.
• Kentucky is recruiting Florida LB Joe Riggins (is there a more linebacker name? NO) but has not offered yet. The thing that makes this worth watching is that DJ Eliot himself is handling Riggins’s recruitment.
• 4* linebacker Eli Brown will play quarterback this season instead of defense. Some have expressed concern over this but it’s just an example of a young man doing whatever it takes to help his team win. Brown isn’t going to forget how to tackle and intended to redshirt his first year anyway.
• Kentucky is still recruiting former commit and current Alabama pledge Montrell CUstis very hard.
• The 2016 class in the state of Kentucky continues to grow and it’s looking like a banner year for in-state recruiting. If Kentucky can win a few games that they weren’t supposed to and somehow make a bowl or impress in some other fashion (such as a fancy multi=million dollar stadium upgrade) then the Cats could clean up in-state next year. There will be around ten offer-worthy prospects in next years crop that could form a home-grown “Dream Team” of sorts if they joined forces. If it happens, it will likely be led by Woodford County OL Drake Jackson. UK already has commitments from two of the states top players in Lafayettes Landon Young and McCracken County’s Zyaire Hughes.