Will Stein, Kentucky crossing fingers for a miracle commitment on Rivals' signing day

Long gone are the glory days of college football in which oodles and oodles of players would commit on National Signing Day; in the age of NIL contracts and brand deals in the fine print, simply committing to a school is, well not at all simple. It's business more than anything else.

Still, Will Stein and Kentucky Football will be hoping for a miracle on Rivals' Summer Signing Day, in which a batch of team-changing prospects will announce their allegiances in a string on the Rivals YouTube channel. Every big blue eye is currently on defensive lineman Jaden Bayonne.

Set to make his call at 1:20 PM CT (2:20 ET), Bayonne is the only name on the list with Kentucky in contention. Coach Stein's current 2027 class sits at No. 21 in the nation, according to 247Sports, foreshadowing a potential preseason ranking in just his second year behind the wheel.

Still, while our guy has been on a recruiting tear this summer - especially when it comes to shaming the rival down the road - Kentucky is facing an uphill battle for Bayonne.

Kentucky is Facing an Uphill Battle for Jaden Bayonne

Among the four teams listed in contention, it's a different SEC school entirely that currently has the perceived lead.

Along with TCU, Oklahoma State, and Syracuse, the Wildcats are underdogs at the hands of a Mississippi State Bulldogs program that appears to have this one all but wrapped up.

Again via 247Sports, Bayonne has been predicted to the Bulldogs with 9/10 confidence. Crystal ball guesses such as those tend to be relatively surefire, especially at such a high vote of confidence. Still, Bayonne is the sort of prospect you keep tabs on regardless.

If Kentucky is involved, this one is more than worth crossing fingers for.

Crossing Fingers for a Miracle

At 6-foot-4, 280 lbs, it isn't hard to see on paper why Bayonne has garnered his esteemed reputation on the recruiting trail. Having helped Alexandria (Louisiana) reach the Louisiana Division I Select state championship game on the back of a 13-1 record in 2024, the lineman has more than enough winning experience on the high school level already.

Having already landed one commitment on the defensive line in the 2027 class (Justyn Hartley), Kentucky has the makings of a unit already hanging out at Kroger Field that Bayonne would join. Mississippi State, on the other hand, are inviting Bayonne to be the building block of their own group; he'd be the first Bulldog to commit to that group in his year.

Who knows what sorts of promises of playing time and priority are flying around behind the scenes, in addition to the inevitable financial benefit that comes from being a defensive dog.

Although we've seen plenty of dogs become Cats as a result of Stein's pitch. With a few days to go until a decision is made, Big Blue Nation can only hope our head coach has another trick up his sleeve here.

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