Kentucky football: Josh Kattus commitment keeps Big Blue Train rolling

Of late it seems that whomever Kentucky football wants the Wildcats get, and the Big Blue commitment train kept rolling on Tuesday with Cincinnati tight end Josh Kattus the ninth 2022 player to climb aboard.

Kattus, a three-star player out of Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School,  is ranked as Ohio’s No. 30 player overall in the 2022 class by the 247 Sports Composite. He is also ranked the nation’s No. 51 tight end.

This past season he caught 23 passes for 238 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior.

There must be something in the water as Mark Stoops and his coaches keep reaping the verbal commitments. Of course, Vince Marrow was the lead recruiter, and what the Big Dawg wants he usually gets.

Josh Kattus the latest to sign with Kentucky out of Ohio

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Kattus is now one of three Ohio tight ends that will be on the Kentucky roster.

That also includes former Crusader Brenden Bates; Keaton Upshaw from Lima and Justin Rigg from Springboro. The fourth tight end on the Kentucky roster is Jai Williams from Lake Forest, Illinois.

Kentucky’s roster also includes another player from Moeller in Carrington Valentine who is projected as a defensive back starter.

Kattus and Bates have been in contact during the recruiting process and he is eager to get to campus in 2022 and learn he told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"“I’ve been able to build a relationship with him (Bates) since they’ve offered me. He’s always kept in touch. I can’t wait to get down there and hang out with him. He told me how much he enjoyed it and how much he liked the coaches. I’d like to say my freshman year he’ll be able to take me under his arm.”"

While Kentucky is happy to have him in the fold Kattus showed the allure the Wildcat program has as he turned down offers from 22 schools including hometown school Cincinnati, along with Louisville, Kansas, Arkansas, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Maryland, Illinois, and his father’s alma-mater Michigan.

His father, Eric, was a standout tight end at Cincinnati Colerain and went to Michigan where he played under Bo Schembechler . He was selected in the fourth round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Bengals and from 1986 to1992 he pulled in 66 passes for 698 yards and five touchdowns as a tight end for both the Bengals and New York Jets.

New Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen loves throwing to the tight ends and appears to be loading up at the position while Marrow and Stoops continue to pillage Ohio players and bring them to the Bluegrass State.

The Kattus family will now just have to drive a mere 80 miles to watch Josh play on Saturdays in Lexington, and they are excited about that. Even dad didn’t mind he won’t be playing in The Big House.

"“He thought this was the best decision for me as well. He was as fired up about it as I was. So were my mom and my two younger brothers. I was thankful to have him with me along the way. Having him with me this whole time has helped me a lot.”"

The addition of Kattus brings the 2022 class to a total of 9 commits including three this past weekend vaulting Kentucky into No. 9 overall in the Rivals rankings thus far even ahead of No. 12 Alabama.