[LeeCoUKFan]

Elam to Kentucky: What it means

Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst

Regardless of what a given recruiting service has Matt Elam ranked, his decision to commit to Kentucky is a huge win for the Wildcats.

Nick Saban wins his fair share of recruiting battles. The already-legendary Alabama head coach has a statue in Tuscaloosa and why not? Since returning the Crimson Tide to national prominence Saban has rattled off three national championships in the last five years.

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Alabama has put together what is widely considered to be one of the best recruiting classes of the modern era. The Tide has the clout to go as far as California to pick top talent from other schools' backyards.

Meanwhile, Kentucky has wallowed in mediocrity since the height of Rich Brooks' success. But Mark Stoops and his staff haven't backed down from a recruiting challenge since they arrived in Lexington.

Elam has always been attracted to the idea of attending Kentucky. He's close to his mother and the opportunity to be close to her was appealing. He also knows that a majority of his 10,000-plus Twitter followers are Kentucky fans. While football players are worshipped in Tuscaloosa, Elam will be, along with Drew Barker, the face of a new UK program as Stoops tries to get the program off the ground.

And as the process wore on it became apparent that Elam was just like another one of the guys when he spent time with players already committed to Kentucky. He visited UK more than any other school and those that saw him interact with Barker and the Cats' other commitments couldn't help but notice the camaraderie.

At 6-foot-6 and probably around 370-pounds, Elam fits the mold of exactly what Saban wants in a nose tackle in that now-famous 3-4 Crimson Tide defense. That was surely a big draw. But Kentucky has also played with three down linemen and Elam's addition will give the Wildcats great flexibility to show multiple looks in the years ahead with D.J. Eliot dialing up the defensive schemes.

Kentucky is losing some big bodies in the middle of the defense so even though Elam will need to work on transforming his body the opportunity to play right away is certainly there. At the very least he should be counted upon to be an immediate space-eater that frees up defensive ends and linebackers to disrupt in the backfield and make plays in space. There just aren't many recruits with his size and ability to swallow up blockers.

The potential is certainly there. NFL potential. If Elam brings his best work ethic, turns bad weight to good, and matches the expectation the staff has for him there's no reason he won't be playing on Sundays.

But beyond the immediate impact on the field Elam is another strong statement from Stoops' staff, which wants to build a fence around the state of Kentucky.

There's no doubt that the nation's premier program wanted Elam and they wanted him badly. He's been a top priority for Alabama ever since he reportedly turned in a dominant performance at one of their summer camps. Perhaps the top priority.

There were moments of drama. From postponing his planned announcement at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl to an eleventh hour official visit to T-Town, as it's affectionately called by "Bammers," at the very least Elam did a good job of keeping his hand concealed.

But the Kentucky staff "trusted the process," as sources have been inclined to say. Slow and steady won this race and in the process the Wildcats sent a clear signal to the nation that they're serious about turning the program around. Games are won and lost in the trenches in the SEC more than in any other conference. If you don't have the horses you simply can't compete over four quarters of physical, grueling trench warfare.

The fact that Elam is likely the final piece to the puzzle added to the drama and the intrigue. He's the most sought-after recruit for UK since Drew Barker made his choice last spring, and those are really the two recruitments that brought national attention to what the Wildcats have done.

Kentucky's team ranking won't change but as was the case with Jervontius Stallings, Kentucky won a battle that they wanted to win badly. The momentum should carry over to the next recruiting cycle and is more evidence that times are indeed changing.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1603975