[LeeCoUKFan]

Elite 2017 football recruit checks out Kentucky

Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst

Maleik Gray is only a high school freshman but he's got a future playing big-time college football. It's rare when you are able to say that about a player so early in the process.

It's a safe statement when it comes to Gray, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete from La Vergne (Tenn.).

With early verbal offers from Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt there's little doubt that Gray is going to be playing football for a long time. He's got three years of high school football remaining after this one and it's tough to imagine how out of control the hype machine will be.

Gray is already starting on his varsity team as a running back and this weekend he will be moving to safety. Over the summer he camped at Tennessee and over the weekend he was in Lexington with a contingent of prospects from the Volunteer State that wanted to watch the Kentucky-Alabama game.

"I actually liked it a lot," Gray told Cats Illustrated. "(Kentucky was) playing against Alabama. Alabama's a great team but they put up a fight. If they would have played the way they did in the first for three more quarters I think they would have possibly had a chance. But Alabama's a great team."

Cornerbacks coach Derrick Ansley has been the assistant responsible for recruiting Gray, though contact is greatly restricted so early in the process.

"I got to talk to coach Ansley, the head coach (Mark Stoops) and a couple of staff members," he said. "Coach Ansley has shown a lot of interest in me. He told me to keep in contact with him."

And that's something Gray plans to do. He's still learning about Kentucky but getting to Commonwealth Stadium so early in the process was a big help for the Wildcats' chances if they are to remain in the hunt. Now Stoops and staff have to hope they can show Gray and other recruits some progress in the years ahead.

"The atmosphere was good. I think (the fans) could have been a little more supportive or whatever but it was good," he said.

Gray did say that Florida State is a school that has impressed him very much early since quarterback Jameis Winston is only a freshman. And on top of that he added that Florida State is his favorite program.

The 2017 prospect has already been clocked at 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?C...&PT=4&PR=2