[LeeCoUKFan]

Kentucky's offer piques Holcombe's interest

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

The last seven national champions have come from the Southeastern Conference and three of those crystal balls belong to the Crimson Tide. One of the best prospects from Alabama's backyard likes the idea of playing in the conference that's at the top of the college football world.

Keith Holcombe wasn't expecting to hear from Kentucky and when he learned the Wildcats were interested it caught him off guard. Things moved in a hurry.

"I didn't know they were really recruiting me until my high school head coach said they were probably going to call last Saturday. That's the day they offered," Holcombe said of UK.

Derrick Ansley is the coach that talked to Holcombe and he made a positive impression right off the bat.

"He pretty much said that they really liked my film and they like how I play hard," he said. "They talked to my head coach and they liked what he said. They could see me coming in and playing extremely early. He gave me some background on coach (Mark) Stoops and what's going to be changing at Kentucky in the next couple of years."

One thing immediately caught Holcombe's attention and created a special interest in UK.

"It's the SEC," he said. "That was my first SEC offer. I would love to go there but right now I'm just trying to keep an open mind to everything. I'm not trying to lean a certain way just yet, but Kentucky would be a great place to be. Lexington's a great place."

The 6-foot-4, 209-pound outside linebacker from Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Hillcrest registered more than 100 tackles, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery last year.

He also claims offers from Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Northern Illinois and Tulane.

Don't be surprised if Holcombe visits Kentucky in the weeks ahead. In fact, that should be expected.

"I think I already have a visit scheduled with my parents," he said. "We're going to try and go up there sometime this summer but I'm not completely sure yet."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1507283