Bluegrassrivals

OL Harmon is high on Cats, awaits UK offer

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic offensive lineman Zach Harmon doesn't have an offer from Kentucky but the Wildcats are at the top of his list.

That's a good sign for Kentucky, especially given that Harmon is a center, a position of need.

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound lineman visited Kentucky last week and came away from the Cats' practice impressed with the trajectory of the football program under Mark Stoops.

"It was great to just get a good feel for the team and how the new coaches are coaching the players," he said. "I got to talk to coach (John) Schlarman for a little bit and that was a good experience."

It wasn't Harmon's first trip to Lexington. He had attended one of UK's junior days earlier in the year. But this trip gave him an opportunity to speak with Schlarman more on a personal basis.

After talking to the Cats' offensive line coach, Harmon is optimistic about where he stands.

"(Schlarman) invited me down to their spring game Saturday and I think they're really, really close to offering," he said. "From what I understand before they found out about me they had already offered a center. They're only giving him a little more time and then they would probably offer me."

Harmon said he's not sure if he will attend Kentucky's spring game but he hopes to make the trip.

UK isn't the only school Harmon has visited recently. He was at Ohio State last Tuesday and after visiting Kentucky on Wednesday he stopped by Cincinnati. On Friday he was at Bowling Green.

"From the teams that have offered me my favorites would be Toledo and Bowling Green but I'm still really liking Kentucky. I know they haven't offered me but I really like them a lot," he said. "Each time I went down there I loved it. I loved it the first time and this last time. I can really see myself playing there. I have real high interest in Kentucky and I've really enjoyed the school."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1493905

WR Snodgrass makes UK commitment public

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Four-star Rivals250 wide receiver Thaddeus Snodgrass got the Blue/White spring game weekend off to a roaring start Friday with his commitment to Kentucky.

It was expected. In fact, it was already done. It just wasn't public yet.

Snodgrass, a 6-foot-1, 184-pound receiver from Springfield, Ohio, told Kentucky's coaches a long time ago of his plans to join the Wildcat program after his high school days are done.

"It was the junior day when they played Missouri," Snodgrass said, referencing the day when he told the staff of his decision.

So it has been about a month and a half. The timing of Snodgrass' public declaration was obvious. With more than 50 top Kentucky targets expected to descend on Lexington for the weekend's festivities, Snodgrass' decision gives the Wildcats much-needed recruiting momentum.

"It was just the family atmosphere and the coaching staff and all the background they have," Snodgrass said.

Vince Marrow was a key factor in his decision.

"We are pretty tight because he's an Ohio guy," he said. "The whole coaching staff treated me well. I got to watch spring practice and saw how they coach. The way they talk to you is the way they're going to coach you. They're not going to change just because they aren't recruiting you anymore."

Now the four-star prospect, ranked No. 198 on the Rivals250, turns to recruiting for UK.

"I'm going to talk to Drew Barker, Derek Kief, Marcelys Jones, Darius West, Darryl Long, Brady Taylor, Damien Harris and a couple of others," he said.

With many of those recruits expected in Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night, Snodgrass could well have a real influence on them.

Snodgrass told Cats Illustrated that his commitment is solid and he does not believe he will seriously entertain interest from other schools.

The nation's No. 24 receiver hauled in 36 passes for 457 yards last year in Springfield's run-heavy, triple-option offense.

He said his decision ultimately came down to Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisville and South Carolina before he locked in on the Wildcats in February.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1494583

Cats in the running for visit from Florida LB Yeargin

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University School linebacker Richard Yeargin III picked up an offer from Kentucky a couple of weeks ago and it's a school he will give serious consideration.

Yeargin, a 6-foot-3, 216-pound linebacker, is the kind of student-athlete that takes the first part of that term seriously. He's focused on academics and cites education as the most important factor that he's considering in the recruiting process.

"Education, early playing time and how I fit in with the scheme," he said, citing things he will consider in choosing a school. "Then football tradition and just the environment at the school."

He hasn't narrowed his list at all and it doesn't seem as though he's close to doing that in a significant way. There are still a lot of schools he's anxious to visit.

Kentucky is one school vying for a visit, especially since the offer the Wildcats extended, but it's too early to tell whether Yeargin will make his way to Lexington. If he does the coaching staff has obviously shown they know how to impress a recruit.

"The last time I spoke to Kentucky was around spring break," he said. "Basically what happened was we got in touch after my head coach told me to call them. I pretty much expected what was going to happen."

Since Yeargin has never visited Kentucky and is only now starting to learn about the school, his only experience with the program is the coaching staff.

Jimmy Brumbaugh is his primary recruiter from Kentucky and Yeargin likes what he has heard so far.

"The coaching staff seems as though they're very eager to have me," Yeargin said. "It seems like it's a very optimistic staff. It's a very promising situation as far as early playing time due to a lack of depth on the depth chart. I've noticed things of that nature. The coaches are pretty cool guys. Nobody promises you anything in this game but it looks like a good situation."

Arkansas, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee and UCLA are among the other schools that have offered Yeargin.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1494377

Video: Scouting new UK receiver commit Snodgrass

http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/recruiting...ky-1114738

UK spring game atmosphere stands out to Walker

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Kobie Walker hails from one of the nation's top prep football factors in Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel, but that's a school and a region the Wildcats have not successfully recruited. He could help change that.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound athlete is being recruited by most schools as either a strong safety or an outside linebacker, and Walker is okay with either option. Kentucky likes him as a Sam linebacker, a role he told Cats Illustrated that he would feel comfortable in.

Walker visited UK for the first time over the weekend and was blown away by the atmosphere at the spring game.

"They're higher (than they were), definitely," Walker said. "They're in the top three, I'd say. I have a top five right now. Boston College, Kentucky, Miami, Oklahoma State and West Virginia. I'd say Kentucky would be in the top three. They're very high."

The fans were a big reason for that.

"The fans, I mean, 50,000-plus at a spring game? I'm sure that's pretty big," he said. "I also enjoyed meeting with some of the other recruits and kids that had committed. I really enjoyed myself there a lot.

"It was a really nice trip overall. Man, I was really surprised at everything I saw. I had a great time. Kentucky shows you a lot of love. The whole time I was there they showed me a lot of love."

Erik Korem's sports science program and presentation were also highlights of the trip for Walker.

"I didn't know about half the stuff they were telling me about," he said.

Of Walker's other favorites he has visited only West Virginia but he's hoping to hit the road and check out more schools over the summer. He does not have a timetable for when he would like to make his decision.

Walker is another example of a safety prospect that Kentucky is recruiting to play linebacker, evidence that the Wildcats are looking for more speed and athleticism at the position.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1495630

Fresh off UK visit, OL Taylor says decision is looming

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Brady Taylor told Cats Illustrated shortly after the Kentucky spring game that he has a clear favorite and it will not be much longer before he makes his college decision.

Taylor, an offensive tackle from Columbus, Ohio, doesn't want to make any kind of announcement before the end of the spring evaluation period just so he knows what all of his options are likely to be. But he won't wait much longer than that.

"I'll probably [commit] by the end of the spring evaluation," Taylor said. "It won't be too much longer."

And that's very good news for Kentucky.

Taylor visited UK over the weekend and said the spring game was one of the highlights of the entire recruiting process to date.

"It was pretty awesome. It was special," Taylor said. "The whole atmosphere was impressive. When you're walking around in the stadium and people are calling out your name because they knew who we were, there was just a family feel. They all accepted me.

"The crowd was obviously crazy but even in the locker room where we went after the game coach (Mark) Stoops was very laid back and really related well with the kids. They prayed the Our Father after the game and that was a big thing for me because I'm Catholic.

"I'd say I'm probably very high on Kentucky," he said.

Taylor went on to say that UK has a solid lead over the rest of the field though he does have plenty of MAC offers and interest from Michigan State and Boston College to take into consideration.

Kentucky's current lead is significant because Taylor does not have any other college visits scheduled for the foreseeable future.

Vince Marrow and John Schlarman are both recruiting Taylor but the Cats' tight ends coach has taken the leading role.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1495632

UK target Hackett could play linebacker or safety

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Linebacker is a huge priority for Kentucky in this recruiting class and it's becoming evident that the Wildcats are looking for a significant boost in speed and athleticism at the position.

The evidence for that is the fact that Kentucky is telling some recruits that they could play linebacker in college while other schools are telling the same players they would be safeties.

Khalia Hackett is one such player.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior from Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding actually prefers the idea of playing safety, the position Georgia Tech and Troy have offered him to play.

But he favors Kentucky, a school that is recruiting him as a linebacker. And right now the school seems to be more important than the position or football specifics.

Hackett took his first trip to Kentucky over the weekend and it sent his interest in the school to another level.

"I really liked it. I was really excited because I liked the campus and I loved the coaching staff," he said. "I'm looking forward to coming for an official [visit].

"I really like the facilities and I want to go down for another visit so I can get another good look at the campus and see more about the university. They're probably at number one."

Hackett said he was shocked at the crowd for "just a spring game."

"Just imagine what a rivalry game would be like," Hackett said.

Derrick Ansley is Kentucky's lead recruiter for Hackett.

"He's a very cool guy. He talked to my parents and I got to talk to him the whole time I was up there," he said.

It's worth noting Hackett said his parents "really liked" Kentucky and said it was a "great trip for them."

The Peach State prospect visited Troy last Tuesday and the very next day he was at Georgia Tech. He has been to Georgia Tech several times and he made this most recent trip with his father.

Hackett is already looking way down the road at how he's going to tackle the process in the fall.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to take (all five official visits) but I know I'm going to go to Kentucky and Troy," he said.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1495906

QB Barker talks in depth about Kentucky, South Carolina

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Drew Barker can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The recruiting process is drawing to a close.

All that remains for the Rivals250 quarterback is the spring evaluation period. The Conner quarterback is sticking to his original timetable and plans to announce his college choice in early May after college coaches have stopped by his school and had an opportunity to make one final pitch.

Barker's focus has largely been on Kentucky lately. He attended a spring practice in Lexington on April 8 and he returned over the weekend for a trip that spanned Friday and Saturday, ending in Commonwealth Stadium with Kentucky's spring game.

"It was great," he said of the weekend. "It was a little different this time because they kinda just let me be on my own. They told me when I got there they were just going to let me do my own thing and find out what I like for myself. They weren't going to hound me so much. It was a different approach."

For the duration of the trip Barker was around the players currently on Kentucky's roster.

He spent time with long-time friend and acquaintance Patrick Towles and other players like Langston Newton, Jordan Swindle, Landon Foster, Zach West, Jon Toth and others.

Barker's relationship with Towles, and his respect for him, dates back to his earliest high school days.

"We go back a few years," Barker said. "I remember when I was a freshman and I think he was a junior, just wanting to be in the same position as him. He was Mr. Football and I always wanted to kinda be like that. He's a real cool guy."

Sure enough, Barker finds himself in a very similar position. In fact, he's ranked even higher than Towles was when he was in high school heading into his senior season.

Barker had a chance to watch Towles and the other quarterbacks closely. He watched the entire offense and he saw some good. However, questions remain.

"I watched the quarterbacks and basically everybody from the line to the wideouts. I kinda had some questions about the offensive line and skill players. I'm not really worried about the skill players. I know they're bringing in good skill players," he said.

"I thought (the quarterbacks) all did good at certain times but none of them were perfect. They all played pretty evenly."

The play of the offensive line left something to be desired at times, not only from Barker's perspective but most others that watched the game.

"That's one of the questions that I really had," he said. "You have to have an offensive line to block guys like Za'Darius (Smith), Jadeveon Clowney, the defensive tackles from Alabama and Auburn ... guys like that.

"They've played good at times but it's kinda a concern just because I know the competition. I've seen South Carolina's defensive line and all those SEC defensive lines. You've got to have a really good offensive line."

That's not Barker's only concern with Kentucky. He admitted that he has some concerns related to the coaching staff - not the quality of the staff, but whether coaches will be in Lexington for the long haul if they win at the level many expect.

Of course, there are concerns with South Carolina as well, notably related to head coach Steve Spurrier and how much longer he plans to coach.

"There (are) more (concerns) with UK than SC," Barker said, however.

That doesn't mean South Carolina has the edge, he insisted.

"No leans," he said.

There's a "jumble at the top," Barker said, and he's going back and forth from one school to the next on a daily basis. When asked whether he's starting to get a clear picture in his own mind of where he wants to be, Barker said he is not. No doubt he hopes that changes soon.

While questions about both schools remain, and while Barker said he is open to others, there was plenty of good to take away from his weekend at Kentucky.

"I was more surprised with the Cat Walk than anything because I had been to that before and there was like nobody there," he said. "There were only people on one side. This time it was wrapped around and so long. Everybody was chanting my name. It was a neat and fun experience. That's how it should be at an SEC school."

Barker has stayed in regular contact with many of the other recruits he saw on Saturday that Kentucky's coaches would love to surround Barker with.

He's also stayed in contact with several key South Carolina targets, including guys like Shaq Davidson, Braxton Berrios (who is also being recruited by UK), Chris Godwin and Da'Shawn Hand, the nation's top-ranked recruit.

This week the Gamecocks picked up a commitment from Bryson Allen-Williams and he's already trying to work Barker in the same way Kentucky's coaches and commits are.

"I'm good friends with him," he said of Allen-Williams. "I talked to him for a while."

With the spring evaluation period starting up, coaches from several schools will stop by Conner. Neal Brown will stop by twice and South Carolina will send an assistant on two occasions as well.

The next two weeks are inevitably going to be two of the most hectic, pressure-packed weeks of Barker's life. Regardless of the choice he makes he knows all the jubilation on one staff and in one fan base will go alongside disappointment in others.

But he's forging ahead and seems comfortable with where he's at in the process. Probably more comfortable than the coaches and fans waiting on his decision.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1496017

First things, first if you hadn't heard yet the two joint commitments to be this week were 4* Lakota West RB Mikel Horton & 3* Winton Woods DB Mike Edwards. However, there was a kink in the plans. Edwards returned to Winton Woods on Monday hyped from his trip to UK's spring game & informed his head coach. The head coach seems to not agree with his decision of school or would prefer him to wait. Recruiting guru Vince Marrow, is paying Winton Woods a visit for damage control. As of now, there is no timetable for Edwards decision, other than he may decide before his season.

In the meantime, UK has offered Edwards high school teammate 3* DT Daniel Cage. Cage has offers Akron, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Kent State, Miami(OH), Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Vandy, WVU, & Western Michigan. He also has interest from Bowling Green, UCONN, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, & Wisconsin.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/re...age-140506

As for Horton's plans, he is sticking to his plan of committing this weekend. He will make his announcement at the Rivals Camp this weekend.

There may also be a second commitment from Ohio on Saturday during the Rivals Camp, also. Right now there are no hints or info of who it would be so use your imagination or some detective work.

There is also another recruit who was thought to commit on Saturday but he has pushed back his decision until Tuesday.

3* TE Darryl Long will make his announcement next Saturday.

Today, there was some buzz surrounding Jarrett LaRubbio & linking him to Vandy. However, this evening it seems like we as UK fans shouldn't read too much into this. UK's staff spoke with LaRubbio this evening & they still remain very confident with him.

UK also feels very confident with 4* Ohio OL Nick Richardson & believe they still have the lead for him.

There has also been some rumblings about 4* DB Darius West today, & linking him with Louisville. In fact, he does like Louisville but all indications points to UK still having the lead on him. As well he could be eying an early decision, in fact earlier than anyone believed.

Interest has picked up for 4* Conner QB Drew Barker, from Notre Dame. He will host them for an in home visit before committing now. It is believed, this is a two horse race between UK & South Carolina but Barker seems excited about ND visiting.

3* Tampa, FL (Plant) OL Ray Raulerson will soon cut his list to 8 or 9 schools & all indications are UK will make the cut. He got along well this weekend while visiting, especially with RB coach Chad Scott & OL coach John Schlarman.

4* Carolina WR Blake Bone will be visiting UK this weekend.

Virginia decommit DT Chris Nelson, hearing he's one to keep an eye on as well.

ESPN followed suite with 247sports & dropped Thaddeus Snodgrass to a 3*. Most believe it's likely in an effort to downgrade UK's recruiting class. Snodgrass has seemed to take it personal, & will likely prove worthy of the 4* ranking. However he specifically called out Josh Edwards of 247sports & made it clear he was still a 4* on the only site that really matter, Rivals.

That's interesting but, I do have to agree with Snodgrass. IMO, Rivals is the only credible recruiting site and it's the only one that I go by.

Sophomore TE Brown takes second Kentucky visit

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

George Brown is one of the nation's top sophomore football players and he has now been to Kentucky on multiple occasions since Mark Stoops took over as the program's head coach.

Brown and his older teammate from Cincinnati (Ohio) Colerain, Tegray Scales, were both in Lexington for the Wildcats' spring game and they were surrounded by some of the other top prospects in Kentucky and Ohio the entire time.

"I hung out with a bunch of my friends," Brown said. "Matt Elam, Darryl Long, Mikel Horton, Mike Edwards, Dorian Hendrix, Darius West and some other guys."

That's almost a who's-who list of the top prospects on Kentucky's recruiting board, and Hendrix is already on board and recruiting for the Wildcats.

Most of the visitors this weekend commented on the size of the crowd at the spring game. Brown noticed that as well, but he didn't seem too shocked.

"The fans are always good," he said. "I got to talk to coach (Vince) Marrow and coach (John) Schlarman a little bit before the game. We all had a really good time.

"There were a lot more people than what I expected. There were a lot of people down there."

Brown said he will return to Kentucky for another visit this summer. His father is planning to bring many of Cincinnati's top prep football players down to UK for one of the Wildcats' summer camps.

Coaches like Vince Marrow and John Schlarman have made it clear that Brown is a top recruiting priority even though he's only a sophomore. Brown, in turn, has made it clear that he feels very comfortable with Mark Stoops' entire staff.

"They said I have a chance to come in and play early. It doesn't really matter to me though," he said. "If I redshirt it just gives me a chance to learn the system."

Florida and Syracuse are among the latest schools to offer Brown. He plans to visit Florida on May 30.

Brown told Cats Illustrated he still does not have any favorites.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1495907

Atlanta's Seward learns a lot on Kentucky football trip

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Atlanta (Ga.) Westminster athlete Cameron Seward just started talking to UK assistant coach Derrick Ansley a few weeks ago so the Wildcats have been playing catch-up.

Complicating the matter for Kentucky is the fact that the Wildcats' have not offered Seward a scholarship yet, while schools like Boston College, Cal, Cincinnati, Mississippi State, UCF and West Virginia have.

In spite of that Seward was impressed with what Ansley had told him about the school and wanted to see what Kentucky is all about. He had already visited schools like Boston College, Mississippi State and several in the Mid-Atlantic region, so Seward has shown a readiness to travel.

Even though he left Lexington still without an offer he has a better feel for the program.

"They talked about a lot of the new things they're bringing to the program and how they're trying to rebuild," Seward said. "They have a lot of things going on technologically and training-wise that really impressed me. They've got some things even a lot of NFL teams don't have going on. We got a pretty long speech on that and that was one of the things I was most impressed with."

But that wasn't the only thing that impressed Seward. It was his first experience with the Big Blue Nation, the Kentucky fan base, and he was thoroughly impressed with the optimism surrounding the start of the Mark Stoops era.

"I was definitely impressed by the atmosphere. Coming in all the recruits were getting a standing ovation and applause from the fans standing outside, saying things like, 'We need you here,'" he said.

"It was one of the highest football attendances they've had in a long time so it was definitely good to see they have a good following for their football team."

While Kentucky caught Seward's attention he currently lists two other schools at the top of his list. Both are prestigious academic institutions and both have offered but they happen to be about as far apart as two schools could be.

"I'd say Boston College and Cal are definitely up there. They're two of the top (schools) for me," he said.

"BC mostly just because they've been there since the beginning and they've been recruiting me the hardest from the get-go and they're still there now. I really liked my visit when I went up there.

"Cal is the same sort of school. It's the perfect school on paper and I could see myself there. It's just a matter of once I get there where I feel more comfortable at and which team is a better fit for me. I might have to hold up on more visits until once school ends but I'm definitely going to plan a visit out to Cal and hopefully see what's going on."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1496348

Alabama OL Hardin impressed with Kentucky trip

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Residents of Alabama are, by and large, some of the most passionate college football fans in the nation, if not the most. So when Cole Hardin says he was impressed with the fan showing at Kentucky's spring game it means something.

The Florence (Ala.) offensive guard doesn't have an offer from Kentucky yet but he does have offers from Cincinnati, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, USF, Southern Miss and Wake Forest.

Kentucky is heavily relying upon the Buckeye State for offensive linemen in this recruiting class but Hardin is one of the Wildcats' top line targets from the South.

Having lived around Alabama and Auburn fans and that rivalry his entire life Hardin knows something about big-time college football atmospheres. That's what he saw at Kentucky on Saturday, as more than 50,000 blue clad faithful filled Commonwealth Stadium for a glorified scrimmage.

"I was really impressed with everything from the coaches to the facilities," Hardin said. "What really surprised me was the fan base and how much they support the football team. That was really impressive about the spring game. I was glad to see that."

Derrick Ansley is Hardin's recruiter from the Kentucky staff and he has recruited the state of Alabama plenty over the years while in Tuscaloosa and Knoxville. Hardin also caught up with John Schlarman, his would-be position coach, while he was in town.

Hardin said he got along well with the coaches, but he was more impressed with something else.

"I think I could get along with them all really well but what's important is how they get along. For it to be a new staff it seems like they're coming together well and they get along very well," he said.

The trip to Lexington included a tour of many of the academic and tutoring facilities and resources as well as the facilities at the disposal of the football program.

"I think they're real top notch," Hardin said. "(The coaches) said they're a little outdated and they plan on building some new ones but I thought they were real nice.

"Overall I was real impressed with UK. They said they're real interested and they're going to come down to see me this spring."

Hardin has been busy and on the road a lot lately. Over spring break he took trips to Memphis, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee and South Alabama. This Friday he will visit Tennessee and then on Saturday he visits Wake Forest.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1496584

OL Harrell getting attention from Wildcats, Seminoles

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

One of the top under-the-radar offensive linemen from the state of Florida has quietly been in a lot of contact with Florida State and Kentucky recently. In fact, he visited Lexington over the weekend.

Andrew Harrell is still waiting for that avalanche of offers that he's hoping for and expecting, and it seems realistic to expect it on his part.

The 6-foot-4, 306-pound offensive guard from Tallahassee (Fla.) Florida is hearing from plenty of schools and Kentucky's coaches convinced him to take a trip north over the weekend.

"I liked it a lot," Harrell said. "I liked the facilities and they're really top notch. Coach (Mark) Stoops was telling us they're putting even more money into them. I liked the fan base. It was a huge fan base for the spring game.

"It was my first time up there. Coach (Bradley Dale) Peveto is my recruiting coordinator and he invited me up there. He's seen my film. Coach (John) Schlarman is my offensive line recruiting coach and he really liked my film, too. I really liked the coaches. It feels like they're all friends. I could definitely fit in well there with them. Plus they run the same offense we run at my school."

Peveto told Harrell that he plans to stop by his high school at some point during the spring to watch him in action and report back to the rest of the staff. That will be his next good opportunity to earn an offer from Kentucky.

After that there's always the possibility that he could camp in Lexington. Still beyond that he could remain on the Wildcats' radar into his senior year.

Harrell said Kentucky is "definitely top three" but when asked to list his three favorites he scaled it back to just two schools that are standing out.

"Florida State is still number one, then UK and then I don't know," Harrell said.

"I'm talking to (Florida State) a lot and they're actively recruiting me. I went to their junior day and coach (Rick) Trickett talks to me and has conversations with me probably once every two weeks. He's going to come out to spring practice."

This coming weekend Harrell plans to visit Middle Tennessee and the following week he will make the cross-town trip to Florida State to meet with the coaches.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1496867

Seneca TE/DE Lloyd Tubman committed to Vanderbilt today. Tubman received an offer from UK recently, making him only the 4th instate player to get such an offer. Tubman originally from the Philadelphia area, didn't really have ties to the area, school, or state to keep him instate. As a fellow Kentuckian, I wish him well with the Commodores.

4* DB Jamal Adams from Lewisville, TX (Hebron) has asked on twitter for the BBN to show him love. Adams is the son of former Wildcat RB George Adams & Godson of former Coach Joker Phillips. Buzz surrounding Adams, is his dad was turbulent over Joker's firing maybe the anger has subsided & UK will get a fair shake from the Adams family.

LB Scales visits Louisville, Kentucky spring games

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Tegray Scales figures to be a major recruiting priority for both Louisville and Kentucky in this recruiting class and he visited both schools on Saturday.

The timing of the spring games at Louisville and Kentucky made it possible for some of the region's top prospects to take in the Cardinals' game and then make the drive over to Lexington to catch Kentucky's game at night.

That's exactly what Scales did.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound linebacker from Colerain, the home of top 2015 UK target George Brown, has offers from Louisville, Indiana and Western Michigan.

He was only at Louisville for the second half of their spring game.

"I liked (Louisville)," he said. "They pretty much did great. The coaches were out there just having fun. I liked the fans. They had about 30,000."

But at Kentucky, he said, the atmosphere was even more impressive.

"The main difference was that UK fans were just crazy. Other than that it's two good football schools and good coaches," he said.

The fans made the trip more than Scales imagined it would be. Though his younger teammate has been to Kentucky on several occasions it was his first trip to Lexington so he didn't really know what to expect beyond what others had told him.

"I liked the team. They were looking good. And again, the fans were amazing," he said. "It's the SEC and I had never been to an SEC school before. There was a big difference surrounding it. It was definitely more than I expected.

"I talked to coach (John) Schlarman and coach (Vince) Marrow and the whole time I was with my boy George Brown and we loved it."

While Scales does not have an offer from UK, that could change soon.

"(The coaches) will be up to the school in a week and a half," he said.

Notably, Scales said he does not have a favorite "out of the schools that have offered."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1497286

Linebacker Frey sees dramatic change in UK football

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Upper Arlington (Ohio) linebacker Chris Frey visited Kentucky for a spring practice recently and told Cats Illustrated that his interest in the Wildcats had never been higher.

That interest in UK is still rising after the 6-foot-2, 210-pound three-star linebacker visited Lexington again for the program's spring game.

"It's crazy to see how everything's changed so much since I was there last summer," Frey said. "The fan base was just ridiculous (Saturday) night, like how everybody came together for the Cat Walk. Last year you could come right before the game and get a spot right on the fence just before they walked through. (Saturday) night there were hundreds of people just waiting there."

Not only was it impressive to Frey, he said it was easy to tell the current players were moved.

"You could tell by the players just the emotions they were going through them," he said. "You could tell how hyped everybody was for the game. The place is a lot different for the players."

Frey said he spoke with every single coach on the staff while he was on campus.

When he last spoke with Cats Illustrated he said the coaches are very close to offering him and just want to meet him and continue to learn more about him as a football player and a person.

That's still where they stand and Frey is okay with that.

"They're coming to see me on Wednesday at school," he said. "I just started talking to them a few weeks ago. I've only met them twice. For me it's just wait and see how I feel comfortable with them. From what they've told me I'm extremely close to getting a scholarship. It's just a matter of when."

When asked whether he would commit if he receives an offer from Kentucky, Frey responded, "I'm not really sure yet," apparently leaving the possibility open.

Syracuse and several MAC schools have already offered the Upper Arlington (Ohio) linebacker.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1497394

RB Mikel Horton has committed to Kentucky

^Not unexpected but HUGE commitment none the less.

I'm so excited that it looks like Stoops and company are really building a program.

Big commitment for us today! Would love for 4 Star recruits to become the norm around here instead of 3 Star recruits!

Mikel Horton, according to Rivals is ranked as the #209 overall player and the #22 running back in the country.

OL Benzey talks trips to Kentucky, Louisville

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Cincinnati (Ohio) Mariemont offensive tackle Jon Bezney was one of several Ohio natives that visited both Louisville and Kentucky over the weekend. How did the archrivals from the Commonwealth measure up?

Bezney said both trips went well. First he was at Louisville.

"We went to their spring scrimmage at 1," he said. "I really enjoyed it a lot and liked it a lot. I had a chance to talk to coach (Charlie) Strong for about 15 minutes. It was my parents, my brother and I.

"The Louisville game wasn't as high intensity as UK but there were a good amount of people there and the game was still fun to watch. We were able to talk to coach (Dave) Borbely for a little while."

Bezney said Louisville, Cornell and Yale are schools that he's listening to and taking seriously.

But his interest in Kentucky seems to be especially high. He did say, "I'm not sure if I could actually rank (the schools recruiting him), but there's no doubt the Wildcats have his attention.

"The spring game at Kentucky was amazing," he said. "It was very neat to go through the Nutter Center and talk to all the coaches. We saw everything we had seen for the junior day as well. I loved the spring game. You could feel the intensity and the emotion especially with the Big Blue Nation behind the team, the fireworks at the end, the team running out ... the whole place was excited.

"I talked to coach (John) Schlarman a lot. He's the offensive line coach and he's the coach I probably talked to the most.

"UK is definitely at the top of my list."

Bezney said he met several other recruits and he spent some time talking to four-star West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West running back Mikel Horton, a player that will be making his college decision on Saturday.

"He was very impressed as well," Bezney said. "He was really excited to be there."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1497600

Horton sees big things coming for Kentucky football

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Four-star Rivals250 running back Mikel Horton became the first recruit to commit to a school at the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour in Cincinnati on Saturday when he announced his pledge to Kentucky.

That's big enough news itself.

But Horton continued making big news even after putting the white cap with the blue interlocking UK logo on. He told Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt that other prospects have made their decision to commit to Kentucky and only have not gone public yet. That's not huge news for those that have been following the Wildcats' recruiting efforts closely, but what Horton told Cats Illustrated on Sunday was.

Cats Illustrated spoke with Horton and followed up on that conversation he had with Helmholdt in Cincinnati.

Just how many other prospects have decided they want to attend Kentucky?

"Between 10 and 15," a confident Horton responded.

And how many of those prospects have offers?

"A majority of them," he said. "Not all of them. Some of them haven't been offered yet. Probably seven or eight have offers."

In other words, the number of prospects that have decided on Kentucky already could be much bigger than anyone previously anticipated. That will play itself out and make itself public in time.

Horton was named the top offensive player at the Rivals event in Cincinnati so it's tough to imagine his four-star status being in jeopardy.

"I did well because a lot of the things I had been working on. I ran good routes, I feel good about the way I cut, and I ran track to help those things out," Horton said.

The future Wildcat said fellow commit Dorian Hendrix and UK targets Drew Barker, Darryl Long, Darius West and Chris Frey were some of the other campers that impressed him the most.

Horton will be part of a loaded offensive backfield when you figure most of Kentucky's current backs will still be on the roster when 2014 rolls around. Kentucky also adds incoming freshman Jojo Kemp and Nebraska transfer Braylon Heard.

But Horton probably brings his own style.

"I know people look at me as a big back because I am a big back," he said. "But I've also proved at these camps that I can move. I'm very shifty. I have great speed for my size and I can pull away from linebackers and the secondary. I know (Kentucky) runs that Air Raid and that's what we run now. It's the spread and downhill running."

As for that commitment Horton is just excited to finally go public with his desire to be on board.

Kentucky established itself as a major player in the four-star backs recruitment long ago when Vince Marrow built a strong relationship with him.

"I decided on Kentucky a while ago," Horton said. "My mom always said Kentucky was going to be a place for me. I based my decision on how I felt down there with my parents. We got a hotel and all just to get the city life. We saw how it would feel to live in Lexington and there were a lot of great, nice people. There's a lot to do at nighttime and it's just the perfect place for me. The fans are crazy.

"The spring game was very impressive. That was another reason I came. People put a lot of faith in coach (Mark) Stoops and I like to see they're taking a chance. Good things happen to good people and coach Stoops is a great guy."

Horton said he, Hendrix and Thaddeus Snodgrass are all planning to graduate from high school in December and enroll at Kentucky early.

And he's hoping there could be more early graduates that come on board soon.

"I'm very excited," he said. "Everybody feels the same. They just want to [announce their commitments] at separate times. It's all about trust. We trust those guys who have committed."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498241

WR Williams 'loved every minute' of UK visit

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

T.V. Williams has emerged as one of Kentucky's top wide receiver targets and the McKinney (Tex.) play maker was in Lexington for the UK spring game over the weekend.

Williams had never been to Kentucky prior to this weekend but his relationship with UK offensive coordinator Neal Brown dates back to when he was at Texas Tech. That relationship is one reason the 5-foot-10, 160-pound receiver was so anxious to visit Kentucky, and the Wildcats didn't let him down.

"It was awesome. I mean, I loved every minute of it. It was fantastic," Williams said. "Being away from home really didn't bother me that much. The fan base at Kentucky and the atmosphere was unbelievable, so I really didn't notice it."

As the lone prospect from the Lone Star State, Williams didn't know other recruits the way most of those in attendance did. But he got to know UK commit Thaddeus Snodgrass and Kentucky target Drew Barker.

"And me and coach (Tommy) Mainord talked the whole day," he said. "Me and coach Mainord really hit it off. Me and coach Brown were already good from when he was at Tech. I didn't really talk to coach Mainord much when he was at Tech but I did on Saturday. We got along really well."

Just as important as the atmosphere, Williams was impressed with the product on the field and believes it's a testament to the teaching ability of the coaching staff.

"I was impressed to see they came in with basically about four weeks to put in the Air Raid offense. The quarterbacks and receivers, none of them were used to taking reps like that as far as throwing the ball and catching it, but I was really impressed with what they were able to do in that amount of time," Williams said.

"I think my dad was impressed, too. Everywhere I go he likes it but I feel like he really liked Kentucky."

This Saturday Williams will visit Oklahoma State and he hopes to visit more schools shortly after that.

While Kentucky set the bar high Williams said he's still completely open and won't start thinking about favorites until early June. In the meantime, he will be thinking about that atmosphere at Kentucky.

"It was awesome. To know they went 2-10 last year and then to have 50,000 people there, that's the most in the SEC for a spring game so far. That was big. The fan base at Kentucky, everybody's all about the Big Blue Nation. Everybody's excited about coach (Mark) Stoops and the Air Raid coming back to Kentucky.

"The fans were awesome. When we were walking out of the stadium Thaddeus was over there signing autographs. He was actually signing autographs. It's like, 'Come on Thaddeus.' It's time to go. The fans are awesome."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498528

Fans show love to UK commit Snodgrass

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

It was Thaddeus Snodgrass' first trip to Kentucky as a public commitment for the Wildcats. Not the first as a commitment. That happened earlier and stayed off the radar.

But Snodgrass' trip to the Kentucky spring game last weekend was his first chance to rub shoulders with fans and interact with players and coaches as a publicly-avowed future Wildcat. And according to the four-star receiver, it felt good.

"I felt a lot of love," Snodgrass said. "There was a lot of love. It felt really good."

Three-star receiver T.V. Williams from Texas spent some time with Snodgrass on Saturday and told Cats Illustrated that the Ohio native was busy signing autographs for part of the trip. Even with the recruiting process starting earlier than ever nowadays, that's probably something new for Snodgrass.

The coaches were happy to see him, especially Vince Marrow, his recruiter, and Tommy Mainord, his position coach, but there wasn't the urgency there was on previous trips to Lexington. There wasn't the pressure. His decision had been made.

And Snodgrass, once a recruit, became a recruiter.

He did his best to help roll out the red carpet for Williams, the talented Texas receiver. He made the case to Drew Barker that he would have plenty of talent to throw to on the outside if he chooses Kentucky. And fellow Ohioans like Mike Edwards, Darius West and Darryl Long heard plenty about UK from Snodgrass as well.

As a program's recruiting class grows, so grows it's staff of recruiters. That's a role Snodgrass has embraced, especially now that he has gone public with his college choice.

He was thrilled to see more than 50,000 Kentucky fans show up for the spring game.

"I saw a picture from the game last year, and from that to this it's amazing," he said. "[The players] were really excited."

The game itself had some highlights and Snodgrass was impressed with how quickly the offensive players, especially the skill players, had picked up on things.

"I liked that they scored 47 points combined. I thought the quarterbacks and receivers were all doing a good job," he said.

Snodgrass said he's likely to return to Kentucky over the summer. Lots of other Ohio recruits will be traveling south to Lexington between now and then. You can bet they will be hearing from Snodgrass on a regular basis.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498533

I see that 2014 Center prospect Brian Allen has committed to Michigan State, and I hear that the coaches are visiting Zach Harmon tomorrow. Could an offer be forthcoming?

TE Long closing in on decision

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Westerville (Ohio) South tight end Darryl Long will be announcing his college destination in less than a week and he previewed that choice when Cats Illustrated caught up with him over the weekend.

The three-star tight end attended the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour in Cincinnati on Saturday and according to many in attendance he has continued to show big improvement in many respects.

Long said he knows he has come a long way especially since last year.

"I spent the whole off season in the weight room. I was trying to put on 15 pounds," Long said. "I think I was a lot better than the last time everyone saw me and that's always a good thing. I've been working with the people at D1, like Chuck Grisham, and trying to get my skills down.

"I did have that raw mark about me. But playing more and coming to this camp, trying to get my skills down, I'm trying to get rid of that raw name."

That doesn't mean Long was entirely satisfied with his performance in Cincinnati. He has improved from where he was a year ago but the 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end admit that he's not where he wants to be just yet.

"I thought I performed well," he said. "I went through the drills and they were good. I had a good showing (on Saturday) against good competition. There's always something you can do better."

On the recruiting front things are winding down. Cats Illustrated first reported that Long would make his decision on April 27 at a camp in Columbus, and Rivals.com will once again have a presence at that event.

While at one point Long was hinting that he might push his announcement date back he thinks he will stick to the plan.

"It will probably be next Saturday," he said. "If something comes up I will definitely talk it over with my family but it should be next Saturday."

Long has a good idea of what he wants to do but said his finalists were, in no particular order, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Purdue and, to a lesser extent, North Carolina.

While he believes his commitment will be solid he won't rule out the possibility that things could change.

"I still definitely want to take the five visits because this is a lifetime commitment. As of right now I feel like the school I commit to will be the school I go to."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498536

Hendrix expects plenty of talent to join him at UK

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Dorian Hendrix made his commitment to Kentucky in March, nearly an entire year before National Signing Day. He doesn't have anything to worry about.

But he's still following the recruiting scene closely because many of his closest friends have yet to announce their decisions.

In some cases Hendrix has a good idea of what to expect.

"I'm gonna be honest with you," Hendrix told Cats Illustrated. "I can't give you names. That's their situation. But I'd probably say there's around 12 guys that I know of that want to come to Kentucky. Probably around 13 or 14, really. About eight that have offers. You're just going to see as time goes on.

"There are some guys that are really good that are going to get offers soon and some guys are waiting for the right time to commit. We're building something special. Mikel (Horton) said it right. It's kinda like back then with Miami in the '80s when they weren't that good. Then they started getting all the best players from around that area."

Hendrix, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker from Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne, certainly qualifies as one of his region's best players. With a high three-star (5.7) ranking, he's the No. 21 inside linebacker in the nation according to Rivals.com.

He even has the potential to improve his ranking and only helped his cause with a solid performance in Cincinnati.

"I thought I did well," he said. "There was a lot of good competition there. I thought it was a good, productive day. As far as the individual drills I did well. When it came to the one-on-ones I usually keep a number scale on how many I won and how many I lost. I think I went like eight for ten yesterday. If (the offensive player) catches the ball I count it for one (in their favor).

"One of them was against my boy Mikel Horton. It's not as bad since we're teammates. I'll get him back in practice," he said with a laugh.

Hendrix told Cats Illustrated that Horton, Tyrell Gilbert, Tegray Scales, Airius Moore, Chris Frey and Tinashe Bere were some of the more impressive players he saw on Saturday.

Frey, Scales, Gilbert and Moore are being evaluated by Kentucky while Bere committed to Duke over the weekend.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1499040

DB Edwards moves back college announcement

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Mike Edwards thought he would be publicly committed with his decision behind him by now. But as it stands he's still waiting to announce the school he will attend.

Edwards announced on Twitter more than a week ago that he wanted to make his college decision but his coach at Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods did not want him to quite yet.

Cats Illustrated reached out to him to clarify the situation now that some time has past.

"Actually I was going to make my decision with Mikel (Horton) but my coach and my parents wanted me to wait," Edwards said. "My mom, she's wanted to visit the place I want to go first. They just want to visit. They just want to come down to see everything. Now I'm going to make my (decision) sometime in May or June."

Edwards opted not to go on the record with the school that he has in mind.

He did add that there is a chance he could visit other schools before making his choice; namely, Clemson and Michigan State.

"I'm going to visit more than one (school) but I have an idea of what school I'm going to," he said.

The 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back is a near four-star prospect and ranked the No. 28 safety in the nation by Rivals.com. Edwards has offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Vanderbilt in addition to several schools from the mid-major ranks.

Edwards attend the Rivals Camp held in Cincinnati on Saturday though he did not participate because of a minor hamstring injury.

"It's good now," he said of the injury. "I'm actually jogging. I'm not running yet, though."

As a bystander at the camp he was able to interact with several top UK commits or targets including Horton, Drew Barker, Derek Kief and Darius West, among others.

He told Cats Illustrated that Barker and West were two participants that stood out to him.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1499544

Georgia receiver Beal adds Kentucky offer

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Emanuel Beal has been universally regarded in the recruiting world as one of Georgia's top junior receivers for a while now.

But as more offers come in his stock continues to climb by the week and by the month.

Kentucky was one of the latest schools to offer the 6-foot, 203-pound receiver from Powder Springs (Ga.) Hillgrove, a physical wide out with a thick build who had previously received several other BCS offers.

"Kentucky offered me maybe Friday before last week," Beal said. "It was coach (Derrick) Ansley that was recruiting me and talking to me. Now coach (Tommy) Mainord has been helping out.

"I've been talking to them for probably two or three weeks and I've talked to them probably once or twice a week."

The coaches have made a good impression on Beal so far, or at least as good an impression as can be made without hosting a prospect for a visit yet.

"I like them. They seem like pretty cool guys," Beal said. "They're young coaches so they can relate to their players better (than some older coaches)."

He also likes the Wildcats' new-look offense that Neal Brown is bringing in from Texas Tech.

"Of course as a receiver I like that they'll be in the spread and throwing the ball almost every down. I liked what I saw on the spring game when it came across T.V. I just came across it one night," Beal said.

Beyond the few conversations Beal has had with Ansley and Mainord he said that he's not too familiar with UK. But that's likely to change soon, as Beal's parents have told the Kentucky coaching staff that he plans to visit Lexington in the near future.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1499948

Darryl Long commits to Kentucky. 3* TE....22 in his position