Kentucky Early Signing Day 2021: Wildcats start really early and already find a gem

Kentucky football signing day has arrived for the class of 2021 and we’re ready for those signatures.

Excitement is in the air in Lexington as Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops and company anxiously await to see how their recruitment pays dividends on Early Signing Day.

Stoops got an early signing on Tuesday by way of Liam Coen accepting the job as the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach bringing a breath of fresh air and life into the Wildcat offense.

Just how that transcends to any player today possibly flipping is a wait and see. But any offensive player should be excited about the future on that side of the ball.

It’s safe to say that coaches last night got very little sleep and were up before the crack of dawn waiting for the first letters to come in.

Follow along with Wildcat Blue Nation today and upcoming stories breaking the class down.

The first signature came before the clock and the calendar flipped to Dec. 16 and that’s because it was from Australia where punter Wilson Berry is ready to pack his backs from the Land Down Under and head to the Blue Grass.

Berry will have big shoes to fill following fellow Aussi Max Duffy, but its safe to say Lexington and BBN will adopt them with open arms.

Berry is a former Rugby player trained at the same club in Australia with Duffy: Prokick Australia of Melbourne.  His older brother is Jordan Berry who punts for the Pittsburgh Steelers and played at Eastern Kentucky.

As the sun came up in Lexington the letters began coming in, but the best news of the day were the final two letters from a pair of 4-star recruits the Wildcats banked on inked their names on the dotted line – both teammates from their home state of Kentucky.

The teammates from Frederick Douglas in Lexington are wide receiver Dekel Crowdus and offensive guard Jager Burton. The pair made it into the ESPN 300 from across the country with Crowdus at 227 and Burton at 233.

Kentucky who in the past seemed to lose all the homegrown talent to programs in other states signed seven for this class of 18.

Dekel Crowdus

In eight games this season Crowdus pulled down 25 passes for 331 yards and nine touchdowns for a team that averaged 38.7 points per game.  He can flat out burn defenders and will be a force to be reconded with right away in the SEC and this is a postion that is in serious need up an immediate upgrade.

He had offers from teams in all of the Power 5 conferences but has stuck by his early on committment to the Wildcats and was insturmenal in persuading other players to come on board with Kentucky.

Jager Burton

Burton is a consensus top 150 player, an All-American and a Top 10 offensive guard in everyones book. He chose UK over Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Clemson just to name a few.

The 6′-4″ 275-pounder can play all across the offensive line and is already a beast in the weight room and true protecter of his quarterback. He was the captian of the Brocons and led with his play on the field never slowing down or letting his team get down even after a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to Owensboro in the Class 5A state semifinals last Friday.

Jordan Dingle

Dingle must have been ecstatic to learn that Coen was coming to Kentucky and how he likes to utilize double tight ends at times. The departure of Justin Rigg opens the door immediately for Dingle to get playing time

The 6’4″ 235-pounder from Bowling Green this year caught 36 passes for 473 yards and two touchdowns for the Purples. They will compete for the 5A state title this Saturday at Kroger Field so he will get a little early practice.

https://twitter.com/jordandingle21/status/1327298898046676994

Justice Dingle

Yes that is Jordan’s older brother who suprised everyone by anouching he had signed and was transfering from Georgia Tech.

The 6′-3″ 250-pound defensive end/linebacker was a 4-star athlete also out of Bowling Green High School but was one of those that slipped out of the Bluegrass. It will be good to see him in Kentucky Blue

Martez Thrower 

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound outside linebacker from Rochelle (Ga.) Wilcox County will bring some great lateral quickness that the Cats need to keep up their impressive defense and also likes to blitz.

Adrian Huey

The 6′-0″, 175-pound three-star athlete from Hillsboro High School in Nashville comes in at the defensive back position. He had offers from Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina and Charlotte.

Maxwell Hairston

Another Defensive back addition at 6′-1″ 175-pounds the three-star commit out of West Bloomfield, MI who is known for his length, speed, and ability to get to the ball when it’s in the air.

https://twitter.com/MHairston22/status/1339193502891200513

La’Vell Wright

Kentucky continues to grow the stable of running backs with the addition of 5′-11″ 200-pound Wright out of Kentucky’s North Hardin High School thanks to coach Vince Marrow recruiting him.

The highly sought after back had offers from 17 schools including Tennessee, Louisville, Indiana.

127 carries for 884 yards and 11 touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in just eight games for the Trojans.

Chauncey Magwood

Another potential diamond that will shine at Kentucky especially under new schemes of Coen is Magwood out of Leesburg, GA.  At 6’1″ 190-pounds he is a dual-threat that most likely will be used as a slot receiver at Kentucky. Man do we need one.

He is a receiver but was forced to play quarterback out of necessity for his team this year and excelled both never questioning what his team needed him to do.

Sound like anyone we know?

A certain athlete now playing for the Miami Dolphins – Lynn Bowden.

Only time will tell.

Kaiya Sheron

With the departure of former quarterback coach Darrin Hinshaw could the Wildcats keep the in-state star? The answer was yes and he too should flourish as a pro-style quarterback out of Sommerset High School.

At 6′-5″ his size helped lead the Briar Jumpers to the Kentucky Class 2A state title last year and this year through eight games has completed 111 of 178 passes for 2,016 yards, 15 touchdowns with 5 interceptions for an average of 252 yards per game.

Former Kentucky quarterback Dusty Bonner breaks down Sheron courtesy of the UK Sports Network.

David Wohlabaugh 

Football is in the genes for Wohlabaugh with his brother playing at Duke and his dad David at Kentucky were at the center position he snapped the ball to one of the Wildcat’s most beloved QB’s in Tim Couch.

But the Ohio pipeline to Kentucky continues to flow with the Akron signee playing offensive tackle at Walsh Jesuit and standing 6′-6″ 280-pounds. Marrow and former coach John Schlarmann who passed away this season were instrumental in bringing him to Lexington.

Looking forward to seeing him on the Big Blue Wall.

Paul Rodriguez

Another future Big Blue Wall possibly as Rodriguez is a big man out of Mason, Ohio at 6’6″-305-pounds who drew lots of offers from MAC schools in Ohio but picked the Wildcats.

It appears in his signing that family is huge for him and now he can bring in the Big Blue as family.

Schlarmann was pivotal in his recruiting and he runs a 5.6 in the 40-yard dash and benches 275 pounds. He can do 13 reps at 185 pounds and can squat 505 pounds.

https://twitter.com/PaulRod11582451/status/1339294901050220545

Jamarius Dinkins

Signed out of Walnut Ridge High School in Columbus, Ohio he may not be high on radars, but when Marrow sees something he likes in Ohio that must mean something.

Dinkins comes in at 6’6, 255-pounds and with additional time in the weight room could find his way onto the defensive line.

Christian Lewis

This was what this Kentucky teams. Lightning speed, a playmaker who can catch the ball and make things happen.

The 6’6″ 190-pound 4-star stud from Mount Pleasant, AL had high school stats that included over 2,000 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns. With nearly 40 college offers he turned down the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Louisville, Flordia, and Oregon.

Can’t wait to see what he can do fighting for balls and making things happen in the Red Zone in Lexington a piece we have been sorely missing.

https://twitter.com/ChrisLew__/status/1277995709124546562

Jodan Lovett

The 6’2″ Lovett played for one of the top Class 6A teams in Kentucky at North Hardin and at Kentucky, his speed and eye for the ball could see him find at home at the defensive back or maybe a safety. The Cats don’t have a shortage of folks in front of him so there is no rush for coaches to get him on the field.

He picked Kentucky over Louisville, Missouri, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, and Boston College.