[Spirit100]

Hats off to SK, BLUR, and LEECO....thanks for your time and attention guys on bringing bgr the latest on the UK football recruiting trail.

:Thumbs:

[tomcatfan722000]

I have 2 words for you, Chip Kelly. Was Oregon a top 5 school before he arrived? Yes it took a few years but he made it happen.

Rich brooks and mike belloti had built Oregon into a pretty solid program before Kelley got there. Also Having nike's CEO as a main booster helped tremendously with funds and recruiting.

[PaintsvilleTigerfan]

Oregon would be middle of the pack SEC most years.

[Pulp Fiction]

Oregon, Notre Dame, Florida State, Oklahoma, Loserville would all be lucky to have winning records in the SEC.

Cause I don't see them beating Alabama, LSU, Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, South Carolina on a weekly basis.

[redhound93]

Rich brooks and mike belloti had built Oregon into a pretty solid program before Kelley got there. Also Having nike's CEO as a main booster helped tremendously with funds and recruiting.

Didn't Brooks coach at Oregon St.? Your missing my point, like people have said before Stoops can recruit, but can he coach? My point is this - I believe Stoops can coach, and getting a 28th ranked recruiting class in only 3 month tells me he can recruit. Brooks also built UK in a decent program but Joker ruined what Brooks built. Stoops will take UK beyond a decent program like Kelly did, and it also looks like the brass are finally willing to spend the money to be come a yearly powerhouse.

[The Blue Blur]

LOL It's funny all I started off with was I don't see what the hype was.... Go back and read my posts... Just because I don't agree with some of the things said you all attack someone.... I never said Stoop couldn't coach... I just said Ky has to move up in recruiting in the conference for us to be successful in conference.... I'm not trying to argue with no one but going by what Uk football has done in the past... Look at all the coaches in the past... There first years people said oh it's going to change.... Curry he was going to change it.. Mumme he was going to change it... Morris he was going to change it... Than Brooks hired everyone hated Brooks at first and he did change things to a point.... Than Joker he was going to continue to improve things... These boards lit up on how things will change with a new coach with all these coaches.....Hey I want UK football to step up... I expect the best from them.. nothing less... and nothing ment to anyone on the board.. just my opinion on how I see things.... Blurr I didn't mean anything about bottom I was talking about being ok with the bottom of the conference. Again I Like Stoop but he hasn't been a head coach... I will wait and see what he and his asst. can do.....

I apologize for misunderstanding your comment. As for your points on coaching, Curry was hyped but failed. Mumme wasn't hyped but surprised & done well. Morriss took a team on probation & expectations weren't high. Brooks took over expectations were high & he failed early but redeemed himself. No one wanted Joker but Brooks & Barnhart. All you had to do was look at Brooks' offense & know Joker was a joke.

[The Blue Blur]

Hats off to SK, BLUR, and LEECO....thanks for your time and attention guys on bringing bgr the latest on the UK football recruiting trail.

:Thumbs:

Thanks but no thanks needed. I can't really speech for the other two but I think they will echo what I'm about to say. It's been a pleasure to bring the latest to my BGR family. I enjoy following the latest news, & have no problem sharing it with you all. Therefore, you guys are very welcome.

We are back at 28 after Arkansas was able to sign Alex Collins today & jumped us again coming at 26.

[M'boroYellowJacket]

I hope we get Lawson, Hearn's, and that RB from Nebraska (forgot his name and don't wanna look back lol) to complete the class and have all of our allowed 25.

I saw earlier that stoops had said our class is not finished so expect us to pick up at least one more. Hopefully all 3.

[The Blue Blur]

I hope we get Lawson, Hearn's, and that RB from Nebraska (forgot his name and don't wanna look back lol) to complete the class and have all of our allowed 25.

I saw earlier that stoops had said our class is not finished so expect us to pick up at least one more. Hopefully all 3.

That would still leave us with 2 scholarships as we have 27, if you count the two guys that were dismissed from the team back in December.

[FBALL]

Didn't Brooks coach at Oregon St.? Your missing my point, like people have said before Stoops can recruit, but can he coach? My point is this - I believe Stoops can coach, and getting a 28th ranked recruiting class in only 3 month tells me he can recruit. Brooks also built UK in a decent program but Joker ruined what Brooks built. Stoops will take UK beyond a decent program like Kelly did, and it also looks like the brass are finally willing to spend the money to be come a yearly powerhouse.

Brooks built the foundation at Oregon. Taking the Ducks to their first Rosé Bowl in God knows how long.

[NothingTrivial]

I dont know if it was on this site I saw the link to an article, but I remember reading somewhere that Stoops has said he's okay with not taking a full class just to be filling the roster out and instead use the scholarships on early enrollees next year.

[The Blue Blur]

Conner WR/DB Cameron Fogle has accepted a preferred walk-on spot at UK.

Hearing 4* WR Taj Williams, & Lincoln High School teammate of James Hearns is still being targeted by UK. Grades appear to be an issue for him as well.

[LeeCoUKFan]

It took some time, but Hatcher falls for Kentucky

Brett Dawson
CatsIllustrated.com Publisher

LOUISVILLE - There was so much for Jason Hatcher to like about Kentucky, so many reasons why the Trinity High School football star might choose to go to college there.

There was the proximity to home, of course. The partnership with Auburn's veterinary school - and the plethora of nearby horse farms - would give Hatcher the opportunity to pursue a career working with animals.

Yet for the longest time, Hatcher gave the school almost literally no thought.

And that's why the four-star defensive end called it "mind-blowing" when he stood in front of reporters on Wednesday wearing a blue hat with a white UK logo, fresh off signing a National Letter of Intent to play for the Wildcats.

"What changed?" Hatcher said. "The coaching staff changed. The coaching staff and what I believed those guys are going to do and how they're going to turn that program around down there."

Hatcher wants to play a part.

But he needed some convincing.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound defensive end was committed to USC, one of college football's most tradition-rich programs. And just last summer, Hatcher told ESPN that he'd said to Tennessee coaches, "You lost to the University of Kentucky. You lose to UK, you lose to everybody, because UK finishes last in the SEC every year."

It was a shot across the bow from a top in-state talent, a player who admits he grew up watching Rick Pitino - and not as the coach at Kentucky, but as the man guiding the rival Louisville Cardinals. Hatcher's mother is a lifelong U of L fan.

Kentucky wasn't on Hatcher's list. It was hardly on the radar.

And then everything changed. The bottom fell out of the program. Joker Phillips was fired. And Kentucky hired Mark Stoops, the Florida State defensive coordinator, who quickly assembled a credible, SEC-caliber staff including defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot, who'd coached defensive ends under Stoops at FSU.

Hatcher's chances of committing to UK under Phillips were "not that great," he said.

But almost immediately, he sensed something different in these new guys.

For starters, they were bulldogs. Though Hatcher remained committed to USC, Eliot and other UK coaches were in constant contact.

"It's about relationships, it's about presenting a plan, how we (are) going to use him," Stoops said during his signing day news conference. "Things we have done in the past, the way our defense works, how he's going to fit into it and, again, we had to make up a lot of time in relationships and we spent a lot of time with Jason and his family, his mother, Donna, so, you know, we spent a lot of time and effort into that."

At one point, five Kentucky coaches arrived at Trinity for a visit with Hatcher.

"Coach Eliot was very persistent throughout the whole process," Hatcher said. "That's one word I'm going to use. But once I had a chance to really sit down and talk with him, I knew that really, that's who I wanted to play for."

Meanwhile, some of USC's top talent was opting out. The Trojans lost some high-profile commitments, and suddenly the distance from Louisville to Los Angeles looked more daunting.

"Not that I'm following behind anyone else, but the whole recruiting class just started to fall apart towards the end, the home stretch," Hatcher said. "Everything just started to fall apart."

As it did, Kentucky was putting something together.

Stoops got a commitment from Za'Darius Smith, the top junior-college defensive end in the country. That made Hatcher take notice. Kentucky started to reel in some talent from Florida. Ryan Timmons, a high-profile wide receiver from Frankfort, Ky., began to more seriously consider the Wildcats, along with Florida and Ohio State.

Timmons committed to the Cats on Tuesday. By then, Hatcher quietly had made up his mind. He settled on UK Monday night, but didn't tell Stoops or the staff until a day later.

The recruiting class Stoops was assembling - it's ranked a school-record 28th in Rivals.com's team rankings - mattered "a great deal," Hatcher said.

"I also had contacted some of the recruits to make sure they were solid on their commitment to UK," Hatcher said. "It takes more than one or two guys. Me and Timmons just can't do it."

But Hatcher became increasingly convinced that it could be done, that Kentucky could return to football relevance. The new coaching staff pointed to its recent history of developing defenses - and specifically defensive ends - at Florida State. And Hatcher was reminded that the Wildcats weren't so far removed from a string of five straight bowl games.

"Coaching plays a big part in this," Hatcher said. " I believe in what those coaches are doing, and their track record speaks for itself."

As rumors spread that he'd first decommitted from, then recommitted to, USC, Hatcher kept relatively quiet. He mostly talked to his mother, though he also took visits and phone calls from Trojans assistants.

Momentum, though, was squarely on the side of Kentucky.

Even his Cardinal-fan mother had bought in, though even as of Wednesday Hatcher wasn't sure if Donna Hatcher - who showed up to Monday's announcement in neutral tones of brown and orange - could opt for an all-blue wardrobe.

"Maybe," Hatcher said. "I think my mom will wear some purple or something."

There's no such trepidation for Hatcher, who sported a white button-down shirt Wednesday with blue stripes, a blue tie and that blue hat. He's all in.

Stoops and staff told Hatcher that Kentucky's going to win a bowl game next year and compete in the SEC in 2014, and Hatcher believes them. They've said he can win a starting defensive end spot if he comes to work in fall camp the way they expect him to, and he intends to make that happen.

And the kid who once hardly considered Kentucky figures that in the near future, it won't be such a hard decision for players at football powerhouse Trinity, which has rarely sent its stars to Lexington.

"I believe it's not only going to be just Trinity, it's going to be all over the state," Hatcher said. "When guys start to see how we turn this program around, they're going to want to be a part of it the same way I did."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1469574

[LeeCoUKFan]

Thanks but no thanks needed. I can't really speech for the other two but I think they will echo what I'm about to say. It's been a pleasure to bring the latest to my BGR family. I enjoy following the latest news, & have no problem sharing it with you all. Therefore, you guys are very welcome.

We are back at 28 after Arkansas was able to sign Alex Collins today & jumped us again coming at 26.

Could not have said it better myself Blue Blur! :Thumbs:

[LeeCoUKFan]

Kentucky finishes Signing Day with No. 28 class nationally
Ben Jones
CatsIllustrated.com Staff Writer


Speed was important. But Kentucky also had to finish strong.

Head coach Mark Stoops only had about two months to rebuild Kentucky's 2013 recruiting class. Some of his assistants had only a few weeks with the program to help out.

Despite that, Stoops and his staff signed Kentucky's highest ranked recruiting class ever on Wednesday. UK finished the day ranked No. 28 nationally, adding 19 players to three early enrollees. Not even a 2-10 season and a coaching staff that was still under construction for much of the recruiting process could hold Kentucky back.

"A lot of people asked me about why here, and why did you jump on this opportunity, and why did you seek this opportunity?" Stoops said. "I just felt there was great potential here. I felt there was a sleeping giant here that we can do great things and we will do great things."

UK finished with three four-star players after signing a combined three in the previous three years. Safety Marcus McWilson flipped from Nebraska to Kentucky. Defensive end Jason Hatcher reneged on a commitment to USC to play for the Wildcats. Receiver Ryan Timmons spurned Florida to stay at home, saying he wanted to build something.

They'll all get their opportunity. With so little time to assemble a recruiting class, Kentucky's staff shifted its priorities. They spent little time on evaluation, honing in on players they were already familiar with.

"It was a sprint," defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said. "There was no long-distance about it. We came in and we tried to build these relationships and convince these young men to come to Kentucky as hard and as fast as we could."

After deciding which players to prioritize, it didn't take long for the coaches to make their pitch. Stoops sold players on a plan to rebuild Kentucky, starting with fresh blood and a fresh start.

There was also previous success to sell. While Kentucky stumbled last year and recruiting lagged, its new staff was torching opponents. Stoops' defense ranked No. 2 nationally at Florida State last year, and offensive coordinator Neal Brown led Texas Tech to the No. 13 offense in the country in 2012.

"I feel like the things we have to sell, we're selling that this is new and it's a good sell, a vision where you can build the program," Brown said. "We've had a lot of success on our side of the ball, and with Coach Stoops they've had a lot of success on their side of the ball."

Those rankings mattered to recruits. Similarly, Stoops didn't downplay the importance of signing such a highly-ranked class.

"Let's not kid ourselves," he said. "You want to be higher than not be higher, right?"

Kentucky still faces a steep climb. UK's class ranked 13th in the Southeastern Conference, ahead of only Missouri. Stoops called it "daunting" to look at the competition, though the Wildcats may not be done. Stoops and Brown both said UK would continue to look to add more prospects to the class, which has room for three more players.

UK added five players on the defensive line, four on the offensive line, and signed four wide receivers. Stoops and his staff built buzz on signing day, but they also began to build a roster that fits their needs and system.

"This isn't a deal where you come in here and be a savior," Brown said. "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."

There's speed in the class, in players like Timmons and tailback JoJo Kemp. There's strength in players like defensive tackle Jacob Hyde and offensive lineman Justin Day. It took both attributes for UK's staff to build the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history.

"I said that in the first press conference when we introduced the guys at mid year, that we would go toe to toe with the best schools in the country and with the best schools in the SEC," Stoops said. "We're not going to take a backseat to anybody; we're going to recruit hard. We will win our fair share. We don't win 'em all, but we're going to work hard."

[YOUTUBE="Mark Stoops -- National Signing Day 2013"]ZChal6Zj1Go[/YOUTUBE]

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1469644

[LeeCoUKFan]

Timmons, Floridians upgrade UK receiver corps

T.J. Walker
CatsIllustrated.com Staff Writer

Kentucky is bringing back the Air Raid offense, and on Wednesday the Wildcats signed some guys to make the sirens ring.

Finding wide receivers was a huge part of UK's 2013 recruiting class. The Cats are returning six scholarship receivers and realized they needed more.

When head coach Mark Stoops took over, UK had three receiver commitments, but the staff determined they weren't what they were looking for and started anew. In just over two months, Stoops and company signed four receivers, two that are nationally ranked at their position.

And in building this new and young wide receiving core, offensive coordinator Neal Brown was looking for speed.

"I think any position, you have to have speed," Brown said. "That's one thing we have to upgrade. I don't think we have to hide that. We have to upgrade our speed on the offensive side of the ball.

"I think we signed some guys today who can really run, if you look at Javess Blue, Jeff Badet[/db], Jojo Kemp, Ryan Timmons - those guys are elite-type fast guys."

Kemp will play primarily running back, but another Floridian will be the deep-ball threat.

"We'll have Alex Montgomery come in, who's the long body that's real physical that can go head-to-head with a corner and win those battles that we're wanting to win," wide receivers coach Tommy Mainord said.

Stoops said he had his eye on Montgomery when he was an assistant at Florida State, but after Montgomery recorded nine catches for 199 yards and three touchdowns in Florida's highest-level state football championship game, Stoops knew he had to have him at UK.

Montgomery is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound receiver from Weston, Fla. Three of UK's four wide receiver commits hail from the Sunshine State.

The lone non-Florida receiver was Timmons, one of three UK commits from the Commonwealth. Though he's from a different state, Timmons has plenty in common with his Florida classmates, including the elusiveness that the coaching staff looks for in its wide receivers.

"You have to have some guys that can make some guys miss," Brown said. "If you look at guys like Badet, you know, nationally ranked long-jumping guy. Great explosion, kind of an underrated kid that blew up the last six weeks of recruiting."

And it's no coincidence that Badet "blew up" once UK's staff targeted him. Stoops said he was one of the first guys UK went after once the new staff was assembled.

"Jeff has tremendous speed, again, a guy we targeted right away," Stoops said.

The speed doesn't stop with Badet. Mainord compared Badet to junior-college receiver Blue, ranked the No.78 JUCO player in the country.

He led his Butler Community College team in receptions (65), receiving yards (1,064) and receiving touchdowns (12).

You can also expect him to return some punts and kicks for the Cats next season.

"Javess Blue is an all-purpose guy, very strong, mature body that can fly and change direction well and has great ball skills," Mainord said. "You'll see him on our special teams catching balls and we'll do some returning, just a great player we're proud to have."

But UK's last wide receiver commit might have been its biggest.

Timmons was significant not only from an on-field talent standpoint, but in terms of keeping state talent in the Bluegrass. That's why the staff was ecstatic when Timmons picked UK over Florida and Ohio State Tuesday.

"(Timmons) really shows other in-state recruits, you know, in classes to come to have faith in us," Brown said. "He's a guy that's been running this offense since seventh grade. He knew the offense, he knew that he could come in here and compete early. It's big.

"He's a guy that's versatile; we're going to move him around. We'll play him some in the slot, some at outside receiver and we'll hand him the ball from the backfield also, and (have him) kick returning too. He's a guy that will bring a lot to the program early."

Besides putting UK back on the map in-state, he will compete for playing time instantly for the Cats. He averaged more than 30 yards per reception last season and scored 16 touchdowns.

And while it seems like the Cats might have a logjam at wide receiver next year, Mainord said that won't be the case. At Texas Tech, he said, they played about 10 wide receivers, subbing in two players at a time.

In order to make those sirens sound, you have to play fast, and with four new receivers, the Cats expect to put up points.

"I became a better coach; there's no doubt I became a better football coach," Mainord said. "The four guys we brought in all bring something different, that's the great thing about it. They're not the same thing four ways, they're not cloned."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1469702

[LeeCoUKFan]

UK looks to Florida, Ohio to building recruiting class

Aaron Smith
CatsIllustrated.com Staff Writer

The Kentucky football staff's inroads to Florida and Ohio have been years in the making.

They paid off this year with Mark Stoops' first recruiting class as head coach.

Nine of UK's 22 incomers are from Florida. Three are from Ohio. Most came because of the staff's ties to those two football havens.

It starts with Stoops, who is from Ohio and who spent the last three years as defensive coordinator at Florida State.

But it continues with the staff he selected, from defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot (another former Florida State assistant coach) to tight ends coach Vince Marrow (an Ohio native), both of whom have extensive connections within those areas.

"Between those two (states), we got a great plan for how we want to recruit nationally," Marrow said.

That's because Florida and Ohio not only produce elite talent, but lots of excellent second-tier talent. That's why those two states were areas of heavy concentration for the staff.

The Wildcats may not be at a level - yet - where they can chase down the top tier, but that still leaves them with plenty of good players to pick up elsewhere.

Florida has 219 recruits given three or more stars in the Rivals.com ranking. UK got eight of them (and a two-star), including wide receiver Alex Montgomery (ranked No. 51 at his position), athlete Khalid Thomas (No. 35) and running back Jojo Kemp (No. 10 all-purpose back).

"There are a lot of great players that come out of Florida," Stoops said. "It's probably the way it fell because of our relationships with some of them. So I don't know if it would be the exact percentage in the future, but I'm not going to put any limitations on it. There is a lot of talent down there."

Kemp is a perfect example of the staff's ties paying dividends in this class. He was "a little under-recruited," offensive coordinator Neal Brown said, one of those players who was right in Kentucky's spectrum for recruiting, passed up - perhaps mistakenly - by some of the in-state powerhouse schools.

And it was running backs coach Chad Scott, a Tampa, Fla., native who played at UK, who took the reigns on getting Kemp to Lexington.

"Biggest thing I was able to relate (was) that I was from the Florida area, right off the highway from each other," Scott said. "The opportunity I had to come here from the state of Florida was the same opportunity I was giving him to come here. We both had the same number in high school, same number in college, and I was able to relate to him on that level."

While Kemp was a new player the staff targeted, there was some crossover, Eliot said, between the players he was recruiting while at Florida State and the players he targeted after taking the job at UK.

For the most part, however, the staff "wanted to start fresh." To do that, the assistant coaches mined their deep-rooted ties in those two talent-rich states.

"Initially, the ties were very important," Eliot said. "Because when we gathered and started evaluating players, I called five or six people I knew in the state of Florida and said, 'Hey, tell me where some good players are that maybe I didn't know about at Florida State.' We were able to gather a list pretty quickly of great players that we could get on, could fit our needs, and start recruiting them right away. But it was because of those relationships we had that we could get that information."

Eliot said "quite a bit" of the 2013 signing class emerged from those conversations.

It was the same story in Ohio, which has 93 players ranked a three-star or better by Rivals.com.

Marrow's philosophy is that Ohio State will get its pick of the elites from the state (the Buckeyes signed 11 players from their home state, all given three or more stars). But why can't Kentucky be in the mix for the rest? Why can't it compete with Michigan State, with Wisconsin, with Nebraska?

In a little more two months, the staff did, bringing in three Ohio products: Four-star safety Marcus McWilson (ranked No. 18 at his position), three-star defensive back Jaleel Hytchye (No. 48) and three-star offensive lineman Kyle Meadows (No. 47).

"Vince does a fantastic job, and relationships are his specialty," Stoops said. "Just having a chance to spend time with Coach Marrow and traveling throughout the state and visiting prospects, to see him in his element, just spending time, building relationships with families is big."

Stoops had connections of his own to forge. He went to the same high school McWilson attends, a fact that served as a foundation for their relationship.

"I told Marcus the whole time," Stoops said, "'What's it feel like to be the second best player to play at Cardinal Mooney High School?'"

Stoops was joking, but it underscored the themes of this 2013 class: Build relationships. And those were easier to establish - and quicker to grow - with the local ties of the staff.

Bring in players from Florida and Ohio, Marrow said, and "you can't go wrong in recruiting."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1469711

[LeeCoUKFan]

Coaches discuss Kentucky's 2013 signing class

CatsIllustrated.com



Wide receiver Jeff Badet
Head coach Mark Stoops: "Tremendous speed, again, a guy we targeted right away. The nice thing is, I want to say we signed 70% of the guys we brought on campus, we signed. Some of them we didn't have a "push" on for commitment, but Jeff was a guy that right away we targeted and loved. He's got that home run speed so it was important to us."

Wide receiver Javess Blue
Stoops: "Coach Scott has known him for three, four years, has watched him so he had a great relationship with him. Again, another guy that was right away, as soon as we had our staff together, started watching film, that's a guy we must have."

Offensive tackle Justin Day
Offensive line coach John Schlarman: "Justin is a big, tall offensive lineman from South Carolina. He's got a big upside. He was moved from defensive line to offensive line from his junior to senior year, so he's played tackle about nine months. He has a lot of growth potential and a really high ceiling. Great feet for a big, tall guy."

Stoops: "Just a great size, tremendous athlete, great size. We list him here at 6 8, 305 and that was somebody we watched right away and watching the film we were encouraged with what we saw, that he was committed and excited about keeping Justin."

Offensive lineman Nick Haynes
Schlarman: "Nick is a guy who has also only played o-line for about a year. He was a tight end last year, running down the seam and catching touchdown passes. That tells you about his athleticism. He plays basketball, is the leading scorer, rebounder and assist guy on the team. Very athletic. Nick can play multiple spots on the line, but we project him as a guard or possibly a center. He hasn't spent a lot of time snapping the ball, but I think he's a natural athlete who could probably pick up a ball, snap it and learn how to play that center position. He's very smart and in our offense, the center has to be smart and get everybody on the same page and direct the offensive line."

Stoops: "Nick Haynes is a guy we just started working a couple of weeks ago and just had a chance to watch him and get caught up with him on film, and again, we brought him in here just this past week, and extremely impressed with his athletic ability, again, great size, a guy that's very versatile. We feel that he could play some center as well as guard. Excited about him."

Defensive end Jason Hatcher
Defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh: "He's going to be a great player for us. He has to work, has to do the things necessary to develop, because all the guys in the SEC are athletic. So now, he has to take that development and I know he will, because I know he's a good person."

Stoops: "What makes him so dynamic is how explosive he is. He's very good on his feet, he's very good off the edge, he can do a lot of things but it's his first step, he's dynamic with his quickness and speed and athletic ability. We're excited about that."

Defensive tackle Jacob Hyde
Stoops: "Very important to keep Jacob (Hyde), big, strong guy, I love his accent. Just a great person to be around. Big, strong guy and very excited to have him in our program.

Cornerback Jaleel Hytchye
Cornerbacks coach Derrick Ansley: "Jaleel is a very, very raw kid. Very explosive, very fast. He can play man-to-man, can play the ball in the deep part of the field. We're looking forward to bringing both of those kids in here and seeing what they can do."

Running back JoJo Kemp
Stoops: "He's tremendous, a home run hitter. As we assembled our staff and got together, he was a guy that we targeted right away and felt he was a "high priority" for us. So Jojo is a home run guy, can make some big plays for us."

Offensive coordinator Neal Brown: "He's a really good player. Thought he was a kid who was a little under-recruited. He's a kid who, when we came here, we knew we needed to sign another running back, and he was our No. 1 target from the get-go. For Chad to pull that off, identify who we wanted in mid-December, then go out and get him locked in, that was huge for our program."

Running backs coach Chad Scott: "Truth of the matter is, if you're a great football player it doesn't what offense you play in. Pitt was a pro-style offense, JoJo was a spread offense running back, but they didn't go get a pro-style guy, they went and tried to get the spread guy."

Kicker Austin MacGinnis
Stoops: "Strong leg, great person, fun to be around. He's a tough kid, a guy that wants to be in the mix. He doesn't want to be treated off by himself, he wants to be right in there with the rest of his team lifting and running and training so very excited about Austin."

Offensive tackle Kyle Meadows
Schlarman: "Kyle is really athletic. He can move. Big thing we do is pass the football. We're going to establish the run, too, but we throw the ball a lot so it's important to have those tackles who can pass protect against guys they're going to see in this conference. Kyle has great change of direction, really good feet. He's probably going to put a few pounds on when he gets down here, but he'll do that. He's a hard-working young man and I really look forward to what he can bring to the table."

Stoops: "Tremendous all around player, extremely athletic. He's the guy you're looking for at tackle, very long, he will get stronger. He needs to put on weight and get stronger between now and the fall but tremendous upside with him."

Offensive guard Ramsey Meyers
Schlarman: "A physical player. Kind of an old school offensive lineman who gets after guys, he'll put his hat on them. You know I like those types of guys that do that and play physical, that's what he brings to the table. Probably going to play guard for us. Really, I think he can bring some great things to the table as far as that physicality inside."

Wide receiver Alex Montgomery
Stoops: "He comes from a tremendous program, big time wide receiver that I knew about while I was at Florida State and had my eye on him for a good bit. Anybody that goes into the state champship game and has what did he have 9 catches for 190 yards or something like that, you know he's a heck of a football player. I've known Alex (Montgomery) for a while. It was a great "get" for us, a guy that's a strong receiver who can make plays."

Quarterback Reese Phillips
Stoops: "We're not allowed to work with them with a football right now, so I haven't seen him throw yet. But everybody that has been associated with Reese Phillips has been extremely impressed with what he does, and he's in the weight room doing a great job."

Defensive end Za'Darius Smith
Brumbaugh: "Za'Darius is a good person. He spent a lot of time working with me last year and developing. He only played one year of high school football and he played two years of junior college. He has a big upside."

Wide receiver Ryan Timmons
Stoops: "Dynamic player, and, again, high priority in state. The key point there is "dynamic player" and Ryan is fantastic. He's a home run threat every time he touches the ball. He's very versatile, and, again, tremendous family, great person, great student, joy to be around and, you know, was very high priority for us."

Scott: "He's so dynamic in space and so dynamic with the ball in his hands. Our biggest deal in this offense is find ways to the get the ball to guys in space. Obviously he'll play receiver but he's a guy you'll try to find different ways to get one-on-one in space and use his ability and make big plays for us."

Athlete Khalid Thomas
Scott: "You never know but right now he's going to play offense, he's a great athlete. Our biggest deal right now is trying to find ways to put guys in the best position to help the football team. But he will start out on offense, he'll be an offensive guys and we'll find ways to use him, in the run game and the passing game."

Cornerback Nate Willis
Ansley: "He's a very skilled guy, comes from a talent-rich part of Florida, a lot of SEC-caliber players and NFL players. He's very skilled, competed at Arizona Western at a high level against a lot of wideouts that are playing in the Pac-12, playing in the SEC. He's been there, done that. He's going to bring some maturity to our group, some age."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1470106

[LeeCoUKFan]

J.Rowland @RowlandRIVALS Not exaggerating; not only will this junior day be biggest in #UK history. One of the biggest in all college football, anywhere, this year.

[The Blue Blur]

4* DT Tevin Lawson is now a no go. He will be visiting Louisiana Tech this weekend. His mom seemed to be concerned with the distance to UK from their Louisiana home. Looks like momma won out here Bobby. LOL.

[Demarcus ware]

4* DT Tevin Lawson is now a no go. He will be visiting Louisiana Tech this weekend. His mom seemed to be concerned with the distance to UK from their Louisiana home. Looks like momma won out here Bobby. LOL.

Wow, Louisiana tech over an SEC school. No offense but wow

[cougarpride08]

She could threaten to steal his papers also.

[The Blue Blur]

Wow, Louisiana tech over an SEC school. No offense but wow

She could threaten to steal his papers also.

I don't think it's a matter of that school or what conference he's in, I think it's a more of a matter of distance. I thought the same thing, it's a good thing that the weekend starts tomorrow. I'd imagine a lot of other big conference schools would've been on this kid. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, or Texas A&M just to name a few. Like cougarpride said, his mom could've stolen his papers. I knew that the similarities to this kid & Elliot Porter were astonishing. I think he's better off to take the greyshirt at LSU if possible. You don't want distance being an issue for the family, it could be a poison to the team & cause many distractions.

[Demarcus ware]

I don't think it's a matter of that school or what conference he's in, I think it's a more of a matter of distance. I thought the same thing, it's a good thing that the weekend starts tomorrow. I'd imagine a lot of other big conference schools would've been on this kid. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, or Texas A&M just to name a few. Like cougarpride said, his mom could've stolen his papers. I knew that the similarities to this kid & Elliot Porter were astonishing. I think he's better off to take the greyshirt at LSU if possible. You don't want distance being an issue for the family, it could be a poison to the team & cause many distractions.

I understand what you're saying blur, but these parents and their ways when it comes to these kids going to college i just dont understand. I mean I would want my son to be happy and play where he wants to play, nobody wants to see their kids move far away but at the same time need to let them decide for themselves, but that's just my opinion and everyone is different and entitled to do what they want with their kid..Let me say this though, that woman that embarrassed the crap out of that kid by taking his LOI, and running away with it, thats just going a little too far, now i bet that kid doesn't end up at the razorbacks at all.

[The Blue Blur]

I understand what you're saying blur, but these parents and their ways when it comes to these kids going to college i just dont understand. I mean I would want my son to be happy and play where he wants to play, nobody wants to see their kids move far away but at the same time need to let them decide for themselves, but that's just my opinion and everyone is different and entitled to do what they want with their kid..Let me say this though, that woman that embarrassed the crap out of that kid by taking his LOI, and running away with it, thats just going a little too far, now i bet that kid doesn't end up at the razorbacks at all.

He signed yesterday.

[Demarcus ware]

He signed yesterday.

Ah ok. that's good then. glad to see he got the school he wanted.

[The Blue Blur]

Jason Hatcher is on campus today along with preferred walk-on, Conner's Cameron Fogle. Also expected to be on campus this weekend, signee Kyle Meadows & wouldn't be surprised to see Jaleel Hytchye make an appearance. All of whom, are expected to bring along some friends.

[The Blue Blur]

Ah ok. that's good then. glad to see he got the school he wanted.

As I just seen on Fox News that his mom is now in the process of hiring a high profile law firm & plans to block him from using the LOI as a legal binding document. She hired the Cochran law firm because his father signed the LOI, & she's now suing. Yes the Cochran Law Firm as in the late Johnnie Cochran. His parents are divorced, so he may actually not be the legal guardian. Like I mentioned earlier, it can become a poison &/or a distraction for the entire team. This could get messy.

[I Rule The World]

this could also have far reaching implications that could put more power in the parents hands as to where their son goes..

[Demarcus ware]

As I just seen on Fox News that his mom is now in the process of hiring a high profile law firm & plans to block him from using the LOI as a legal binding document. She hired the Cochran law firm because his father signed the LOI, & she's now suing. Yes the Cochran Law Firm as in the late Johnnie Cochran. His parents are divorced, so he may actually not be the legal guardian. Like I mentioned earlier, it can become a poison &/or a distraction for the entire team. This could get messy.

This is exactly what i was talking about, although i can see the parents having input, i also think the parents should support their kids with their decisions, this has to be embarrassing to the kid and now this lawsuit will drive a wedge between kid and mom. At what point does arkansas back off and say sorry kid but we didn't sign up for all this drama, and we don't want to look bad for coming between a kid and his mom. Nothing good can come of this from the way i see it. I hope i'm wrong but just don't see any good here.