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2014 UK Football Recruiting
#31
Kentucky has officially extended a scholarship offer to Junior Saftey Mike Edwards out of Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati, OH.
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#32
So, after talking with Mike Edwards on twitter it seems as if he is already commited to Kentucky. He is already referring to cornerbacks coach Derrick Ansley as his coach!
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#33
J.Rowland @RowlandRIVALS #Kentucky is the first school to offer c/o 2015 OT George Brown.

J.Rowland @RowlandRIVALS Also, all three of the Godby visitors (Singleton, Pugh, Culver) now have #UK offers.
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#34
[Image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BV65wJ9Grgs/UR...r+Raid.jpg]
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#35
LeeCoUKFan Wrote:So, after talking with Mike Edwards on twitter it seems as if he is already commited to Kentucky. He is already referring to cornerbacks coach Derrick Ansley as his coach!

From what I'm hearing, he received offers from UK, Illinois, & Indiana just today. Kid seems to be a hot commodity.
#36
This weekend's visitors:
2013 4* Tevin Lawson DT Denham Springs, LA-LSU commit, who decommitted after being asked to greyshirt. Was going to make a decision after visiting to UK. He is going to visit Louisiana Tech, next weekend & then decide I suppose.
2013 4* Jason Hatcher DE Trinity-UK commit. Came with 2014 teammate Reggie Bonnafon.
2013 3* Kyle Meadows OT West Chester, OH-UK commit came with 2014 teammates Mikel Horton & Jack Cleary
2013 Cameron Fogel WR/CB Conner-Has preferred walk-on offer, deciding between UK & Cincinnati on Tuesday. Came with teammate 2014 Drew Barker
2014 4* Mikel Horton RB West Chester, OH-Has offer from UK & seems to be his favorite. Will be visiting Alabama next weekend
2014 4* Drew Barker QB Conner-Has offer from UK. Came with teammate Fogel. Visiting Tennessee next weekend. Has offers from South Carolina, UT & Vandy
2014 4* Nick Richardson OL[SIZE=2] Westerville, OH-Has offer from [SIZE=2]UK as well as Cin[SIZE=2]cin[SIZE=2]nati, Illinois, Indiana, & Michigan State. Also receiv[SIZE=2]ing interest from Georgia, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Vandy, WVU, & Wisconsin[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
2014 4*Deion Singleton DB Tallahassee, FL-Teammate of UK commit Khalid Thomas. Made the trip with teammates, 2014 targets Jacob Pugh & De'Eric Culver. Received offer from UK. Also holds offer from Arkansas, Louisville, Miami (FL), Ole Miss, South Carolina, & UT.
2014 Jacob Pugh LB Tallahassee, FL-Teammate of UK commit Khalid Thomas. Made the trip with teammates, 2014 targets Deion Singleton & De'Eric Culver. Received offer from UK (favorites). Also has offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina & Vandy.
2014 De'Eric Culver CB Tallahassee, FL-Teammate of UK commit Khalid Thomas. Made the trip with teammates, 2014 targets Deion Singleton & Jacob Pugh. Received offer from UK. Also has offers from Louisville, Ole Miss, & Mississippi State.
2014 Reggie Bonnafon ATH Trinity-UofL commit, visited with Hatcher. Claimed it wasn't football related but said he was open to being recruited by UK. Doesn't hold offer.
2014 Jack Cleary DL West Chester, OH-Came with teammates Meadows & Horton
2014 Derek Kief WR Cincinnati, OH-UK commit Jaleel Hytchye's teammate. Not aware of offer but has offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, & Northwestern
2014 Mike Edwards DB Cincinnati, OH-Friend of UK commit Jaleel Hytchye. Cousin of 2015 target George Brown. Received offers from UK, Indiana, & Illinois just today.
2014 Matt Elam DT Elizabethtown-Received offer from UK, also has another offer from an undisclosed school. Also drawing interest from Louisville, Mississippi State, & Vandy
2014 Nacarius Fant WR Bowling Green-Likely top KY WR in the class. Unaware of an offer from UK but does hold offers from Illinois & WKU.
2014 Elijah Bell RB Henry Clay-Unaware of any offer or interest from any school. Likely top rate RB in 2014 KY class.
2014 R.J. Taylor CB Tates Creek-Unaware of offer from any school but also pulling interest from Cincinnati, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ohio State, Tennessee, & WKU
2014 Seth Hope DE Highlands-Unaware of offer or interest from any other school
[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]2014 [SIZE=2]Scott Daniel ATH Scott [SIZE=2]Couty-Unaware of any offers or interest from other schools
[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]2014 Charles Wal[SIZE=2]ker A[SIZE=2]TH St. Xavier-
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2]Unaware of any offers or interest from other schools[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
2014 Zane Meiners OL St.Xavier[SIZE=2]-[/SIZE][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2]Unaware of any offers or interest from other schools[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
2014 Dorian Hendrix LB Huber Heights, OH-Has offer from UK along with Illinois, & Indiana. UK seems high on this kid, at 215 lbs+ & runs a sub 4.5 40 yard dash
2014 Paul Moses RB/LB Toledo, OH-Teammate of 2014 4* QB target DeShone Kizer at Central Catholic. Unaware of an offer but does have offer from Akron & Nebraska. Also getting interest from Illinois & Pitt.
2014 Patrick Porter CB-Tuscaloosa, AL-Mentioned not coming, but did visit despite visit being cut short due to his travel time. Unaware of offer. Heading to Georgia for visit next weekend.
2015 Damien Harris RB Madison Southern-State stud, likely 5*. Holds offers from UK, Michigan, Ohio State, & Tennessee among others. Heading to OSU for visit tomorrow.
2015 George Brown OT Cincinnati, OH-Cousin of 2014 target Mike Edwards. Currently plays TE but targeted as OT. Picked up first offer from UK. Also getting interest from Auburn, BYU, Michigan State, Ohio State, & Virginia Tech

#37
Best tweet I've ever seen.

jared lorenzen ‏@JaredLorenzen22 @D_Barker7 you won't like Tenn. trust me stay here in the Bluegrass. Lol

Learned that Paul Moses nor Nick Richardson made the trip to UK but will be here for the 23rd's junior day.
#38
LaFayette's RB/CB Kylan Nelson was on hand this past weekend.
#39
After latest visit , Barker's done "complete 180" on UK

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Drew Barker almost seems surprised himself that he's so interested in Kentucky these days. The long-time UK basketball fan is singing a much different tune than he was months ago.

Cats Illustrated has reported that Kentucky has made up a lot of ground with the four-star Conner signal-caller. South Carolina and Ohio State are schools many believe to be in strong positions with the 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback. Now you can consider Kentucky part of that group.

Barker attended Kentucky's junior day over the weekend and spent plenty of time with the coaches even though he had to leave early so he could return home for a basketball game with his high school team. He spent a lot of time with fellow recruits like Derek Kief, Nacarius Fant and Elijah Bell, but for a while he was with the coaches in a more personal setting.

"They took me off on my own for a while," Barker said. "It was me, Coach (Mark) Stoops, Coach (Neal) Brown and my dad. We were in Coach Stoops' office for the majority of the time because I had to cut out of there and they wanted to make sure I got to spend time with coach Stoops.

"Basically he was telling me how big a priority I am and how hard they're going to recruit me. He said how important I am to him and the rest of the staff. They said I'm their number one priority and they're not going to offer any other quarterbacks until I tell them no or give them a reason to. It was definitely encouraging to hear that."

It was Barker's second trip to Kentucky since Stoops assumed control of the program.

"It seems like every time I go down there I keep building a better relationship with them and I get to meet more of the coaches," he said. "This time I got to hang out more with Coach (Tommy) Mainord and Coach (Chad) Scott, the running backs coach. I was just building a relationship with all the coaches. I was hanging out with coach Stoops and coach Brown like always.

"It seems like all the coaches have a connection. Some of them started at Kentucky and some of them have coached at the same school. They all have ties together, which is pretty cool. They're all young and can definitely relate to us younger guys."

During the junior day the coaches split the recruits up into three groups.

The recruits toured the Center for Academic and Tutorial Services and while there Barker had a chance to meet Morgan Newton. Then they boarded the bus and went to check out the locker room and the weight training facilities.

"We just talked about some of the things they're doing and they showed us power points of their new strength and conditioning stuff," he said. "What they're doing is pretty remarkable. Then they had an academic rep talk to us. That was pretty much it besides just hanging out with everybody."

The one lingering question remains: Just how much ground has Kentucky made up?

"I was actually talking about this with Coach Stoops and Coach Brown," he said. "I was telling them how Kentucky has done a complete 180. I went from kind of a, 'I'm never going to go there,' almost the way Jason Hatcher was talking. I saw some of the comments from him like, 'Kentucky will never be good in the SEC.' But when coach Stoops came it was a complete 180. They really started coming at me, saying I was their number one guy and how big of a priority I was to them.

"You want to go where you're wanted. It would definitely be a good fit. I don't really have any leaders or anything yet. I'll probably figure that out in the spring soon after basketball season's over. But they've definitely come a long way and I could definitely see myself there."

At one point during the trip Barker tweeted a question, perhaps intended as a rhetorical: He asked his followers whether they preferred a picture of him wearing a white Kentucky jersey or a picture wearing a black jersey.

So which did he prefer?

"I don't know man," he said with a laugh. "I like their uniforms. They're sweet. I would probably say the black one."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1470805
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#40
*George Brown J.R.* ‏@George___Brown Love this pic @lancehart pic.twitter.com/LbhXMnQq


FEBRUARY 17TH ‏@FballIsLife69
Stoops Is Going To Turn Things Around. #BBN #WearUk #SEC Football


Mid West Recruiting ‏@MWRECRUITING1
@nacarius12 was very impressed by the coaching staff and how they really care about the athlete they are recruiting.


Mid West Recruiting ‏@MWRECRUITING1
@nacarius12 tells us he hung out with top 100 prospect and friend of his @D_Barker7 most of the time at the UK Jr. Day.


Mid West Recruiting ‏@MWRECRUITING1
@nacarius12 tells us he hung out with top 100 prospect and friend of his @D_Barker7 most of the time at the UK Jr. Day.


Derek Kief Dot Com ‏@DerekKiefDotCom
Another great shot of #1 KY QB Drew Barker @D_Barker7 & #1 OH WR Derek Kief @DKief10. #BBN #WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/ItLGgUh7


All-American #16 ‏@JakePughIII
Everyone stop what you doing and go follow and Congratulate my boy Duke @KLDream_catcher for his full scholarship offer from Univ Kentucky


Barker, Kief, Fant, & Horton seem to mesh well together. Would be a pretty good offensive core. Throw in the Matt Elam & the Godby guys on defense, it'd be a great start for a great class. All seem to be buzzing about the UK visit, except one:

Damien Harris ‏@Damien_D1Harris That Ohio State visit was definitely the best visit I've been on. #OSU #BuckeyeNation ������
#41
Dorian Hendrix ‏@BigmeatDh14 Had a good time today down in Lexington.


Seth Hope ‏@SHope82
Great day at Kentucky


Kylan Nelson ‏@THE_kynelson38
Successful junior day at UK today ��really enjoyed meeting the coaches and are coming on step closer to my decision.. Still #muchtocome


Apparently, Indiana, IN WR Dominique Booth was either on campus or wants to be in the future. He'd like to visit Tennessee too.

After visiting UK this past weekend & Alabama next, Mikel Horton will also visit Florida State & Oregon. Hopefully, we can get this kid back down for the 23rd.
#42
I hate all this twitter crap.
I cant understand half of it.
#######I hate twitter
#43
The Blue Blur Wrote:This weekend's visitors:
2013 4* Tevin Lawson DT Denham Springs, LA-LSU commit, who decommitted after being asked to greyshirt. Was going to make a decision after visiting to UK. He is going to visit Louisiana Tech, next weekend & then decide I suppose.
2013 4* Jason Hatcher DE Trinity-UK commit. Came with 2014 teammate Reggie Bonnafon.
2013 3* Kyle Meadows OT West Chester, OH-UK commit came with 2014 teammates Mikel Horton & Jack Cleary
2013 Cameron Fogel WR/CB Conner-Has preferred walk-on offer, deciding between UK & Cincinnati on Tuesday. Came with teammate 2014 Drew Barker
2014 4* Mikel Horton RB West Chester, OH-Has offer from UK & seems to be his favorite. Will be visiting Alabama next weekend
2014 4* Drew Barker QB Conner-Has offer from UK. Came with teammate Fogel. Visiting Tennessee next weekend. Has offers from South Carolina, UT & Vandy
2014 4* Nick Richardson OL[SIZE=2] Westerville, OH-Has offer from [SIZE=2]UK as well as Cin[SIZE=2]cin[SIZE=2]nati, Illinois, Indiana, & Michigan State. Also receiv[SIZE=2]ing interest from Georgia, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Vandy, WVU, & Wisconsin[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
2014 4*Deion Singleton DB Tallahassee, FL-Teammate of UK commit Khalid Thomas. Made the trip with teammates, 2014 targets Jacob Pugh & De'Eric Culver. Received offer from UK. Also holds offer from Arkansas, Louisville, Miami (FL), Ole Miss, South Carolina, & UT.
2014 Jacob Pugh LB Tallahassee, FL-Teammate of UK commit Khalid Thomas. Made the trip with teammates, 2014 targets Deion Singleton & De'Eric Culver. Received offer from UK (favorites). Also has offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina & Vandy.
2014 De'Eric Culver CB Tallahassee, FL-Teammate of UK commit Khalid Thomas. Made the trip with teammates, 2014 targets Deion Singleton & Jacob Pugh. Received offer from UK. Also has offers from Louisville, Ole Miss, & Mississippi State.
2014 Reggie Bonnafon ATH Trinity-UofL commit, visited with Hatcher. Claimed it wasn't football related but said he was open to being recruited by UK. Doesn't hold offer.
2014 Jack Cleary DL West Chester, OH-Came with teammates Meadows & Horton
2014 Derek Kief WR Cincinnati, OH-UK commit Jaleel Hytchye's teammate. Not aware of offer but has offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, & Northwestern
2014 Mike Edwards DB Cincinnati, OH-Friend of UK commit Jaleel Hytchye. Cousin of 2015 target George Brown. Received offers from UK, Indiana, & Illinois just today.
2014 Matt Elam DT Elizabethtown-Received offer from UK, also has another offer from an undisclosed school. Also drawing interest from Louisville, Mississippi State, & Vandy
2014 Nacarius Fant WR Bowling Green-Likely top KY WR in the class. Unaware of an offer from UK but does hold offers from Illinois & WKU.
2014 Elijah Bell RB Henry Clay-Unaware of any offer or interest from any school. Likely top rate RB in 2014 KY class.
2014 R.J. Taylor CB Tates Creek-Unaware of offer from any school but also pulling interest from Cincinnati, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ohio State, Tennessee, & WKU
2014 Seth Hope DE Highlands-Unaware of offer or interest from any other school
[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]2014 [SIZE=2]Scott Daniel ATH Scott [SIZE=2]Couty-Unaware of any offers or interest from other schools
[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]2014 Charles Wal[SIZE=2]ker A[SIZE=2]TH St. Xavier-
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2]Unaware of any offers or interest from other schools[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
2014 Zane Meiners OL St.Xavier[SIZE=2]-[/SIZE][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=2]Unaware of any offers or interest from other schools[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
2014 Dorian Hendrix LB Huber Heights, OH-Has offer from UK along with Illinois, & Indiana. UK seems high on this kid, at 215 lbs+ & runs a sub 4.5 40 yard dash
2014 Paul Moses RB/LB Toledo, OH-Teammate of 2014 4* QB target DeShone Kizer at Central Catholic. Unaware of an offer but does have offer from Akron & Nebraska. Also getting interest from Illinois & Pitt.
2014 Patrick Porter CB-Tuscaloosa, AL-Mentioned not coming, but did visit despite visit being cut short due to his travel time. Unaware of offer. Heading to Georgia for visit next weekend.
2015 Damien Harris RB Madison Southern-State stud, likely 5*. Holds offers from UK, Michigan, Ohio State, & Tennessee among others. Heading to OSU for visit tomorrow.
2015 George Brown OT Cincinnati, OH-Cousin of 2014 target Mike Edwards. Currently plays TE but targeted as OT. Picked up first offer from UK. Also getting interest from Auburn, BYU, Michigan State, Ohio State, & Virginia Tech


glad to see in coming recruits picking up the slack when Hytchye can't make it to Lexington.
#44
RunItUpTheGut Wrote:I hate all this twitter crap.
I cant understand half of it.
#######I hate twitter

Sorry brother, I'm not fond of twitter myself. I only put it up like that so some of the twitter guys on here can see the page & follow them. My help us get some insight, &/or encouragement.

Another Cincinnati area player was on campus this past weekend. Most of the Cincy guys looking to possibly visit WVU or Indiana this weekend.
Princeton High School ATH Tyrell Gilbert.

Tyrell Gilbert ‏@T_gilbert2 Once again, just another shoutout to #bbn they showed mass love
pic.twitter.com/BeTdZNK6

Elizabethtown's Matt Elam picked up an offer this weekend from UK, but will be heading to Alabama with Mikel Horton
#45
Horton was already in good standing with UK. He said he really enjoyed his visit this time around along with some of his friends & meeting new players. He said the basketball atmosphere, made him think about what it could be like in CWS. He also said he spent a lot of time with Stoops, Marrow, & Chad Scott. He said that Stoops had an obvious message, "Commit." That's what he wanted from Horton. He said he wanted to do that but is just focusing on keeping his head level & working on his academics. He said he no longer has a list but that UK just feels like home to him but he'd prefer to keep his options open at this time. He said UK will be a hat on the table when that time comes.

2014 biggest WR targets are Derek Kief, Josh Malone & Thaddeus Snodgrass. Which puts Nacarius Fant 4th or lower. UK didn't offer Fant but as an in state guy, I think he should be a higher priority.

Kief's favorite seems to be UK just ahead of Northwestern, despite him saying he has no favorites currently. He also mentioned trying to get together with Drew Barker during the off-season to toss the ball around a bit, work on routes & build some chemistry.

Snodgrass is scheduled to visit Penn State during UK's next scheduled junior day on February 23rd. Hearing he will be encouraged to visit UK instead.

Godby's trio enjoyed their trip but of the three Jacob Pugh seems the most vocal about the trip & has said UK still stands out as his favorite. Deion Singleton seems the most reserved & the highly touted of them. He'll be a tough one to draw. De'Eric Culver seems to like UK but Georgia a little more. They will visit Georgia before too long.

Their teammate CB Tony Fields will be on hand for a visit the 23rd.

As previously mentioned, highly touted Nick Richardson didn't make the trip but he will be here the 23rd. However he doesn't have an offer yet.

Seems Damien Harris' top 3 right now are Ohio State, Michigan, & UK. Apparently OSU, blew him away today.
#46
Jacob Pugh said UK still stands out despite the basketball game, which was boring because they didn't play anybody.

That's a first from a recruit I do believe.
#47
2015 target George Brown's father plans to bring 17 top underclassmen to one of UK's camps this summer.
#48
With the new 2014 Rivals100 out today, a new name emerges. 2014 4* ATH Marshon Lattimore from Cleveland, OH has mutual interest in UK. Vince Marrow is recruiting him & he already holds an offer from UK as well Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee & USC. He is rated 41st currently, in the Rivals100.
#49
Running back Horton likes what he sees at UK

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Mikel Horton recently said Kentucky was his favorite school. While he's not speaking in terms of favorites anymore it's still safe to say the Wildcats are in good shape.

The younger teammate of Kyle Meadows and a Rivals250 prospect from the Class of 2014, Horton made his way down to UK's junior day on Saturday.

It wasn't his first trip to Kentucky but every opportunity to interact with coaches, players and people on campus is important.

Horton already had plenty of interest in Kentucky before he ever arrived this weekend. His experience in Lexington this time around only helped UK's chances.

"It was a great experience," he said. "I met a lot of new players and coaches. It was just a wild atmosphere. It was a great experience for me and my friends."

Horton was accompanied by a couple of teammates from West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West. They and the other recruits thought the basketball game was a highlight of the visit.

"That was very exciting," Horton said. "That made me think about what could happen as far as football season. I'm looking forward to seeing the atmosphere when football season is here, especially with the new recruiting class they've got coming in. I'm very excited to see it."

Mark Stoops made it a point to spend some time talking to Horton, as did [db]Vince Marrow[/db] and running backs coach [db]Chad Scott[/db].

Stoops had a concise and unambiguous message for the big-time running back.

"Commit," Horton said. "That's what he said he wanted. I'm open to all schools right now because I'm only a junior. I'm going to take a lot more time to make my decision. My mind isn't really on committing early.

"I want to do that but right now I'm just working to get my grades up and keeping a level head. You can get caught up in a lot of things recruiters say to you but I'm just doing what I need to do."

That said, Horton admits Kentucky is very appealing.

"I feel like Kentucky's home to me. Kentucky's a great place for me. I wasn't thinking about committing but it's definitely one of my choices. I no longer have a list. I've got to keep my options open but Kentucky definitely will be a hat on the table," he said.

Horton visits Alabama on Feb. 22 and he will take trips to Florida State and Oregon after that.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1470889
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#50
Fant gets chance to see Kentucky up close

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

By now it's pretty clear that Nacarius Fant is one of Kentucky's top in-state targets. The Wildcats haven't offered but Fant is high on the recruiting board.

The Bowling Green wide receiver was at UK over the weekend for the program's junior day and he was around the coaches the entire time.

"I enjoyed meeting with the wide receivers coach (Tommy Mainord) and all of them. I had a great time," Fant said.

Fant, like the other recruits Cats Illustrated has spoken to, said the coaches are personable and easy to relate to. Most of the members of the staff are younger but have positive resumes to their credit.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound receiver noticed plenty of enthusiasm and confidence.

"Coach Mainord is the kind of coach that's cool with you. I got along with him real good," he said. "He's a person you can talk to without having to worry about anything. It was my first time talking to him in person.

"I met with coach (Mark) Stoops one-on-one and talked about things. Coach (Neal) Brown was around the whole time and we had conversations on and off. Coach Stoops was just talking about what they're going to be bringing into the program and what things they're doing to change it around. He basically wants me to get down whenever I can."

The coaches didn't tell Fant they expected him to camp this summer. How much interest does he have in UK?

"It's definitely high with (the coaching staff) coming in," he said. "Having that good junior day and visit, meeting the wide receivers coach and getting that good relationship early on, I like them a lot. I don't have a favorite, though."

Fant said he doesn't have any other college visits scheduled.

He added that he spent a lot of time with Drew Barker at the junior day as the two have become very good friends.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1470989
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#51
With 2013 class signed, Kentucky football looks to '14

Aaron Smith
CatsIllustrated.com Staff Writer

As Class of 2013 signees faxed in their papers to the Kentucky football offices last week, the staff was already preparing for the Class of 2014.

Watching film of potential prospects. Making phone calls.

Laying the groundwork for an even better event that was 365 days away.

"That's the goal, is to have a better class (next year)," offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. "When we're recruiting this kids, we're excited, but we're going to try and sign somebody better next year. That's always the goal."

That's not to overlook Kentucky's 2013 class. Rivals.com ranked it No. 28, the highest since the recruiting service started keeping team rankings in 2002.

The ranking matters, coach Mark Stoops said, because you'd always prefer to be higher than lower. It also sends a signal to potential future players: Kentucky is ready to make its mark.

"I think if anything (the ranking) says to the 2014 class that these guys are serious, they know that they're doing, and they're going to make a great commitment to recruiting," Stoops said.

The staff made a great commitment to recruiting for this class, compiled in a little more than 70 days.

"Now we have a year to recruit a class," Brown said. "In 2015, we'll have almost two years to recruit that class. I think you'll see improvement as we go along."

Stoops said the staff had been evaluating next year's recruits for about a week before signing day.

"Which puts us behind," Stoops said. "But we had to put so much time and energy and concentration into this class."

It could pay dividends as the start of something great. At least, that's the hope for the staff. It wants to build on the No. 28 ranking, which still put it second-to-last in the SEC.

To recruit those 2014 players, UK's staff will have a dual approach. It can point to both the coaches' own personal track records at previous stops - they're only one year removed from their old jobs - and to whatever success UK accomplishes on the field this season.

"I think it will be a bit of both," defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said of the added layer to the staff's recruiting pitch.

The Wildcats want to start winning more battles against top teams for top talent â€" starting with 2014.

And, conversely, the prospect of an even better 2014 class will help this year's class.

"In 2014 we'll sign a lot of good players, in 2015 we'll sign a lot of good players," Brown said. "This isn't a deal where you come in here and be a savior, this is the deal where you come to Kentucky, we'll build solid classes, we'll get better every year and we'll put people around you where you won't have to carry the weight of the world."

For those players, seeing a good group come in ahead of them could incentive them to join the building process with it already underway.

"They also want to know that there are other great players around them," Stoops said. "As you know, in football, it takes an army."

An army with a local flavor, perhaps. Kentucky signed top in-state talents Jason Hatcher and Ryan Timmons, two players that could serve as the basis for more players staying home.

"It legitimizes what we're doing," Brown said of appealing to Kentucky recruits. "There are really good players in the '14, '15 classes. It sends a message to those guys that you don't have to go anywhere else to achieve what you want to achieve.

"If you want to get a great degree, have the opportunity to play in front of big crowds on TV, if you want an opportunity to compete for championships, you don't have to go anywhere else. You can do it right here, and your family can see."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1470985
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#52
Cats in good shape early with 2014 LB Hendrix

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Dorian Hendrix is one of the Midwest's top linebackers and he's going to have schools from all over the Big Ten coming after him. They will have to fight off UK, because the Wildcats are in good shape early.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Ohio linebacker picked up an offer from Kentucky several weeks ago and he's been building a relationship with Kentucky and learning about the school ever since.

He spoke with Cats Illustrated just as he left campus and said the trip couldn't have gone any better. It was his third time on campus so he's starting to become pretty familiar with the campus scene.

"It was my first time for a basketball game though," he noted. "It was fun with the fans and everybody. They're real enthusiastic. I had a good time. Everybody showed love. You can tell they love their athletes there so that was fun to see."

Mark Stoops, Vince Marrow and D.J. Eliot were the coaches that spent the most time with Hendrix. That's a trend: Head coach, regional recruiter or position coach, and coordinator.

"The coaching staff is good. I've got a great relationship with the staff. Me and coach Marrow have got a good relationship. It was my second time talking to coach Stoops. It seems like that's pretty good. We've got a nice chemistry.

"Coach Stoops said he was excited for me to get down there. We talked a little bit about the class they just signed. I asked if he was excited and of course he said yes. I know they just signed some top guys so I was excited for them as well. We talked a little bit about all that."

Hendrix has other offers and knows even more are likely to come in. Because of that he doesn't want to say whether he has a favorite because he wants to let the process run its course so he doesn't limit his options.

So at least publicly Hendrix has no favorites.

"At this point I'm kinda neutral with all my schools," he said. "But I feel like me and UK do have a really good chemistry right now. As far as who's high and low, all that type of stuff, I'm real neutral. But I do like the staff and I do like UK and the BBN family."

Hendrix said he is considering visits to Purdue, West Virginia, Northwestern and maybe Michigan but nothing is set on the calendar yet.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1471080
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LOSERS QUIT WHEN THEY'RE TIRED, WINNERS QUIT WHEN THEY HAVE WON
#53
Tates Creek's Taylor draws Kentucky interest

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

R.J. Taylor is one of the most talented junior recruits in the state of Kentucky and the new UK staff is well aware of his ability on both sides of the ball.

Mark Stoops and his staff haven't decided whether they prefer the Tates Creek athlete as a wide receiver or a defensive back but based on what they've told Taylor and his father, Ross, he will be high on the board for the foreseeable future.

[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT...00X267.JPG]

Taylor and his father made the trip to Kentucky this weekend and they couldn't seem to say enough good things about the presentation and the personalities they encountered.

"It went great. I loved it," Taylor said. "Everything was smooth. The campus was nice and I enjoyed the basketball game, the facilities and the coaches. I had been before but I had never really seen what goes on behind the scenes.

"I love [the staff's] approach. I really like the way they're approaching things. They're investing $110 million into the stadium and the facilities."

Taylor spoke with Neal Brown and Derrick Ansley at length throughout the activities on Saturday. He was able to hang out with recruits like Drew Barker, Nacarius Fant, De'Eric Culver and Elijah Bell among others.

The 6-foot, 160-pound corner may return to UK in two weeks when the Cats take on Missouri on the hardwood.

According to Taylor's father the staff had a couple of big selling points.

"When you came in the coaches greeted you there and introduced you to everybody," the elder Taylor said. "We went into a theater-type of room and they did an overview. Coach Stoops introduced the entire staff. Most of it was selling the conference and what they did at Florida State. They tied that in with the academics at UK."

One aspect of the presentation in particular impressed the Taylor family, and apparently everyone else.

"They have a high performance coach (Erik Korem) that does sports science that nobody is doing," Taylor's father said. "It's like they're the only school that's doing it. It's charting a person's performance level throughout the day so they know exactly what to train on and what not to train on. They've got people with the 49ers and the Bills that are calling this guy and the school.

"He went over to Australia and said they're doing that with rugby, that kind of performance monitoring. They can plug intoa cell phone and a dash board will chart what their bodies need. It carries over to practice, like when a receiver's running a route. It shows what a receiver does. He runs 2.3 miles in game time but 70-percent of that is done walking. They're doing specific things to put him at peak performance for practice and the game.

"It was mind-blowing stuff. We sat right behind Drew Barker and his father and other folks and they were all impressed."

The duo had some great interaction with Brown, and D.J. Eliot made them feel right at home as well.

"Coach Eliot sat down specifically with us and Mike Edwards and we had a great conversation," Taylor's father said. "It was a real intimate conversation for 30-45 minutes, just us as a group. It was a phenomenal conversation.

"They're a young, energetic staff but they're also proven guys."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1471373
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LOSERS QUIT WHEN THEY'RE TIRED, WINNERS QUIT WHEN THEY HAVE WON
#54
Looks like UK reached out to two high profile WR prospects:

Thaddeus Snodgrass‏@ThadSnod1
Kentucky just offered

Braxton [email=Berrios‏@HNYNUT_BERRIOS]Berrios‏@HNYNUT_BERRIOS[/email]
Just got off the phone with coach Mainord #UK

Braxton Berrios‏@HNYNUT_BERRIOS
One question for #BBN, what do you think about me and @D_Barker7 leading the Air Raid? #UhOh
#55
Hearing UK may have received their first commitment from this class.
#56
Saw Matt Jones tweet the same thing, I wonder who it could be.
#57
Speak of the devil.....

@KySportsRadio 2014 4 star DE/LB former Florida St commit Denzel Ware has committed to Kentucky. He had offers from FSU, Florida and Alabama
#58
^^^Yeap, Denzel Ware of Crestview, FL is the commitment. I knew it was about to break. He's a FSU decommit & did so when Stoops & Elliot left due to his relationship with them. Has offers from FSU, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LA LaFayette, Ohio State, Texas, & USC. Welcome aboard Mr. Ware.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/kentucky/footbal...jCwf8vsZB4

Rivals 250 comes out today be interested to see where he's ranked. He's ranked in the Top 200 & #3 OLB by Scout. He's a hybrid DE/OLB, which is why I think Alabama was big on this kid. 24/7 Sports has him ranked as the 44th best overall player in the nation.
#59
Stoops making headlines with ESPN on Twitter...WOW, when was the last time ESPN said anything good about UK fball?
#60
Also seeing news we could get a 2nd commit. Don't have a name but this recruit has been tweeting with Ware.
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