[The Blue Blur]

Not so fast my friend, says Nate Willis. Apparently it is grades, but it's not grades. Apparently, Willis has 2 classes he has to complete to be eligible at UK in the fall. Problem is the 2 classes aren't offered at Western Arizona, & he nor his family can afford the classes. Willis called Ainsley to let him know about the situation today, Ainsley said he would talk to Stoops about the situation in the morning. Willis has became a strong student & despite his large class load this semester his grades are good. So I'd imagine this will get straightened out & fast.

[Strikeout King]

Kentucky has dropped to #29 in the rival rankings.

[The Blue Blur]

Lawson just finished up his visit to TCU, which his mother wasn't involved in. His mother wants him to visit Louisiana Tech next weekend before making his decision.

[The Blue Blur]

Lawson seems to be leaning to stay closer to home & will likely decide between TCU & LA Tech.

His high school head coach, Dru Nettles said "UK isn't completely out of it" but they seem to be fading fast.

[M'boroYellowJacket]

What about hearns?

And what about that RB from Nebraska who was gonna transfer? (Not the senior one)

[The Blue Blur]

What about hearns?

And what about that RB from Nebraska who was gonna transfer? (Not the senior one)

I've heard nothing on Hearns. His last twitter activity was over a week ago, which was a complete meltdown as it seemed before his last tweet was does anyone have a verizon phone they're not using. I'd say his grades aren't good just as his teammate Taj Williams situation. If they can get eligible, I'd imagine UK will be on top of it.

I'd posted previously about Heard & what UK's odds are looking like. As I mentioned, he's still enrolled at Nebraska & taking courses. Don't expect to hear any news about his transfer until after the semester.

[LeeCoUKFan]

I am sure that most already know about this but, one of the few remaining recruits for the class of 2013 that Kentucky was heavily recruiting, Tevin Lawson, has officially committed to TCU.

[The Blue Blur]

Ryan Timmons was present for Junior Day to help with recruiting & talk with the 2014 recruits. He was joined by signees Alex Montgomery & Marcus McWilson.

[The Blue Blur]

UK is hot on the trail of a new name, JUCO DT Melvin Lewis from Fullerton Community College. I don't much on him, has interest from a lot of big name schools but no offers from what I've seen.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/re...ge_choices

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/590248/highlights/21990375

[LeeCoUKFan]

Junior college lineman could join Cats late

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Fullerton Community College is home to defensive tackle Melvin Lewis, a late-blooming lineman that could be making a big decision soon.

Until recently it wasn't clear that Lewis would have the opportunity to be a student-athlete at the BCS level.

The 6-foot-4, 320-pound tackle told Cats Illustrated over the weekend that his grades have improved significantly and he appears good to go.

Given the fact that the Wildcats did not sign a full class earlier this month UK has room to add more players.

"I got the Kentucky offer on Thursday of last week," Lewis said. "I got it from coach Jimmy Brumbaugh. It was sort of out of the blue. My grades are up to par and I've got that together. We talked and everything worked out pretty good.

"He's told me they're making a big change there. Worse comes to worse I'd redshirt this year and come back as a starter for the following year. Actually, right now I am thinking about committing to Kentucky."

Lewis' birthday is March 11 and his goal is to sign a letter of intent on that date or sometime around it.

He claims offers from Washington, Miami and Hawaii in addition to Kentucky.

After registering 41 tackles (26 solo) and 3.5 sacks at Fullerton C.C. last fall schools started taking notice. Coming out of high school in Compton (Calif.), Lewis was hearing from schools like Hawaii, UNLV and San Diego State.

"Since high school I improved a lot on my hands and getting better at concepts of the game. In high school I only played three years. My first year I barely played and then my 10th grade year my grades were horrible and I thought of myself as a basketball player," he said with a laugh.

"I stopped playing but I came back in my 11th and 12th grade years. I've learned a lot but I still think I'm a little bit raw."

Lewis said he has spoken with Brumbaugh "four or five" times. He has not spoken with other members of the coaching staff yet but Brumbaugh.

The junior college defensive lineman said he and his coach are supposed to set up an official visit to UK sometime this week.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1476634

[The Blue Blur]

Interesting look at UK's new High Performance Strength & Conditioning program.

[McCameraMan]

I dig it

[The Blue Blur]

Since you liked that one, here's another:

[The Blue Blur]

Apparently, 2013 signee ATH Ryan Timmons from Franklin County has had surgery on a torn rotator cuff.

[LeeCoUKFan]

Apparently, 2013 signee ATH Ryan Timmons from Franklin County has had surgery on a torn rotator cuff.

Ouch! Has there been a timeframe set on when he will be ready to play?

[The Blue Blur]

Ouch! Has there been a timeframe set on when he will be ready to play?

I've not heard anything, the only thing I've heard was he was sitting on Franklin Co.'s basketball bench in a sling. The only thing I've heard was it was due to rotator cuff surgery. From my knowledge rotator cuff surgery is 6-8 weeks. There should be no problem of him being ready in time for summer camp.

[LeeCoUKFan]

I've not heard anything, the only thing I've heard was he was sitting on Franklin Co.'s basketball bench in a sling. The only thing I've heard was it was due to rotator cuff surgery. From my knowledge rotator cuff surgery is 6-8 weeks. There should be no problem of him being ready in time for summer camp.

Well that's great news! Can't wait to see him this fall!

[The Blue Blur]

Add another to this class, JUCO DT Melvin Lewis signed his LOI today. However, he's likely to redshirt along with Regie Meant to make a bigger impact in the future. Lewis said he has no problem redshirting so that he can have an impact at UK the following two seasons.

[redhound93]

Melvin Lewis signed earlier today. Thinking of redshirting this coming year. He stated he didn't think he would play much this fall.

[LeeCoUKFan]

Lewis talks about decision to sign with Kentucky

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Kentucky didn't fill all of their allotted scholarships on National Signing Day and that gave the Wildcats some flexibility with potential late signees.

That strategy paid off this week in the form of a commitment and letter of intent from Melvin Lewis, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive tackle from Fullerton Community College in California, who came out of Compton High School.

"I actually signed a couple of days ago and I just put it out today," Lewis said on Thursday. "Really it was Kentucky just because of the coaches. I really enjoyed talking with the coaches. I sat down with my coaches and we decided Kentucky was the best place for me to go. I'll be playing against the best competition every week."

Just not right away.

Lewis is under the impression that he will likely redshirt his first season in Lexington.

"There's a possibility that I could play this year but I'm more so a redshirt [candidate] and then coming back as a starter for the next two years," he said.

Defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh handled Lewis' recruitment exclusively. The junior college prospect will speak with head coach Mark Stoops in the coming days.

Brumbaugh was also responsible for bringing Za'Darius Smith, another junior college lineman, on board.

"I was seriously considering Washington and Miami," he said. "I knew that I was going to commit since probably Monday."

The actual offer from UK arrived in the mail two days ago, on February 26. He signed it and sent it in quickly.

Last fall at Fullerton, Lewis accounted for 41 tackles (26 solo) and 3.5 sacks, as he told Cats Illustrated earlier in the week.

He noted that he played football as a freshman, junior and senior in high school. During his sophomore year at Compton his grades suffered and he started to lean more towards an athletic career in basketball, before returning to the gridiron as a junior. He has played five years of organized football altogether.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1477853

[The Blue Blur]

Stoops mic'd up for conditioning drills. Wildcat Pride?? Not going to settle with being average??

What happend to Rise Up & we're worse than average?? Glad Joker took that with him.

This man makes me giddy about UK football.

[PaintsvilleTigerfan]

We're never going to accept being average.

I'm putting that on a T-shirt GO CATS

[McCameraMan]

So awesome!

[Demarcus ware]

The video with Coach Stoops literally gave me goose bumps, love the motivational speech there. I don't want to get my hopes up too high for his first season, i know its going to be a tough first season for him, but wow love the motivational speech there at the end. With his work ethic so far, failure won't be an option.

[The Blue Blur]

Watch Neal Brown bear crawl & do seated rows. LOL.

[cougarpride08]

I've not heard anything, the only thing I've heard was he was sitting on Franklin Co.'s basketball bench in a sling. The only thing I've heard was it was due to rotator cuff surgery. From my knowledge rotator cuff surgery is 6-8 weeks. There should be no problem of him being ready in time for summer camp.

That will be a major blow for track season
will it.

[The Blue Blur]

That will be a major blow for track season
will it.

Yeah seems like it would be & I hate that for him. I wish him well & a speedy recovery. Not to sound cruel, but I'm not really worried about his track career & I'd say it's the least of his concerns now that he's signed to play another sport in the SEC.

[The Blue Blur]

Tallahassee, FL (Lincoln) 4* WR Taj Williams, apparently got the grades as he signed with the Indiana University today. Still no word on his teammate 4* LB James Hearns.

[The Blue Blur]

Some news on RB Braylon Heard, Nebraska transfer to be has now cleared the UK roadblock. It was originally reported that Nebraska had granted him a conditional release to any school but UK. That has now been deemed unconditional, I say in all likelihood that Heard didn't pitch a fit right away.

Heard is to take visits to UK, Louisville, Pitt & maybe Tennessee. However, his likely destination is Lexington.

This is huge news as many believed Heard was Nebraska's top RB last year, as he averaged 7 yards per carry & not just in mop up work. It doesn't seem clear as of right now how quickly he will announce a decision as he will continue to finish up his classwork at Nebraska this semester.

[LeeCoUKFan]

Wasn't sure which recruiting thread to post this in but, just the way Justin Rowland stated it, seems as if he is referring to this years class.

J.Rowland @RowlandRIVALS One of the biggest #UK recruiting updates since Signing Day coming soon at #CatsIllustrated.