[LeeCoUKFan]

Linebacker Pugh says Cats still among leaders

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Tallahassee (Fla.) Godby linebacker Jacob Pugh announced that Kentucky was his favorite last week. That was probably received with some skepticism.

After all, Pugh had never visited Kentucky and by the time he makes his decision he's likely to have offers from most of the schools in the SEC.

But over the weekend Pugh visited UK with teammates Deion Singleton and De'Eric Culver, and he hasn't changed his tune.

"They're still standing out, most definitely," Pugh told Cats Illustrated while he was on his way back to the Sunshine State.

Kentucky's coaches told Pugh they see him as a hybrid defensive end and linebacker that can stand up on the edge or put his hand in the dirt and give bigger, slower offensive tackles problems. Much of that will be determined by how much he grows over the next year.

Pugh didn't really know what to expect heading into the trip but he said it was a good one.

"I enjoyed it. I actually liked Kentucky," he said. "I enjoyed seeing the campus and mingling with the coaches a little bit."

Believe it or not Pugh liked Kentucky in spite of the basketball game, not because of it.

"I liked how the crowd supported them. The game was just boring," he said with a laugh. "It wasn't interesting, probably because they weren't playing anybody. Other than that it was all good."

UK assistant coach Derrick Ansley has a good relationship with Godby and is likely to heavily recruit the school so long as he is in Lexington. Ansley spent plenty of time with all three of the Godby athletes and their coach while they were in town.

Pugh also interacted with D.J. Eliot and Mark Stoops throughout the trip.

"I had a good conversation with the coaches," Pugh said. "I talked to them about my academics first and then I talked to them about football. They talked about the defense they're bringing into the program and they told me how they see me helping them."

Florida State's next junior day appears to be the next event on the calendar for Pugh.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound prospect has offers from Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, North Carolina, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1472463