[LeeCoUKFan]

USF commit Bayes still open to UK, other schools

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Kentucky is one of the schools staying in contact with USF linebacker commitment Jimmy Bayes. Are they making up any ground?

The short answer is it's too early to tell.

With three linebacker commitments on board the position isn't quite the urgent priority it was a couple of months ago. But it's still an area the coaching staff wants to continue to address.

Bayes is the kind of talent they're looking for. At 6-foot-3 and 197-pounds he's a fast, athletic presence at the linebacker spot, and to date he has been one of Willie Taggart's top pledge's since he arrived from Western Kentucky.

The Bulls and Wildcats have gone head to head a number of times, and while it appears USF may win this one, it's not over yet.

"I'm still hearing a lot from Miami, West Virginia, Louisville and Kentucky," Bayes said this week.

Bayes said on a scale of 1-10 he would rate the strength of his commitment to USF at "about a 7.5," indicating that he's still fairly open to other schools.

One of the schools he's very open to is Kentucky.

"Coach (Jimmy) Brumbaugh and coach (D.J.) Eliot both came down to school in the spring and it was really good to see them showing interest," he said. "Coach Brumbaugh is my main recruiter and he seems like a real cool guy. It seems like he knows what he's doing.

"They would know how to use a guy like me. They didn't sign any linebackers in their last class and they're looking for guys that could help. They could really use me."

Bayes said he's not sure if he will take an official visit to Kentucky because "there are a couple of schools that haven't offered" that he's waiting to hear more from.

"I will definitely take an unofficial visit sometime in July, though," he said.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1514902