Kentucky Football Recruiting

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Kentucky Football 2024 Early National Signing Day Headquarters

By Nick Roush

When the clock struck midnight, Kentucky had 20 verbal commits in the 2024 recruiting class, which ranks No. 25 in the nation. That number grew to 21 when former Missouri DB commit Cam Dooley pledged

The school already announced four additions last night.

Brock Vandagriff, Quarterback, Georgia
Ja'Mori Maclin, Wide Receiver, North Texas & Missouri
Chip Trayanum, Running Back, Ohio State & Arizona State
Raymond Cottrell, Wide Receiver, Texas A&M

Georgia linebacker Jamon-Dumas Johnson just announced he is transferring to Kentucky. Former All-American.

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Jordan Dingle plans to withdraw from transfer portal plans return to Kentucky

By Alex Weber

$toop$: There was a lot of money involved.

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UAB wide receiver transfer Fred Farrier II commits to Kentucky

by: Thomas Goldkamp
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UAB wide receiver Fred Farrier II has committed to Kentucky out of the NCAA transfer portal he announced

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Tennessee transfer OL Gerald Mincey commits to Kentucky

by:
Grant Grubbs
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Former Tennessee offensive lineman Gerald Mincey has committed to Kentucky, via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Mincey spent the past two seasons at Tennessee, making 21 appearances and 13 starts. He played in 12 games for Tennessee in the 2023 campaign, seeing 457 total snaps. Prior to his time with the Vols, Mincey spent two years at Florida.

Mincey's minutes were limited this season due to an off-field incident. The 6-foot-6, 337-pound offensive tackle was cited on a simple possession charge and was arrested after being found in possession of a controlled substance. He was put on a snap count.

This isn't the first time Mincey has committed to Kentucky. A product of Cardinal Gibbons, the same school that sent Nik Scalzo and Nik Ognenovic to UK, Mincey pledged his allegiance to the Wildcats early in the 2020 recruiting cycle. However, he eventually revoked his commitment and went to Florida.

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Georgia LB Quintavion Norman Commits to Kentucky
by:
Nick Roush
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Withrow '25 WR Quintin Simmons Jr. gave a verbal to Vince Marrow, Mark Stoops and UK.

#30 WR and #10 overall in Ohio is a top 247 player in our nation.

Simmons Jr.'s the 2nd hard commit in Kentucky's Class o' '25 ranked a way-too-early 36^th.

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West Charlotte '24 Safety Jaden Smith gave a verbal to Vince Marrow, Stoops and Kentucky.

A .91 4-star and #11 ATH in the '24 Class, he's the third ranked J. Smith in the UK class.

Mark Stoops now has 12 enrollees, 9 other signed NLIs and two hard commits (including Smith) in a Class o' '24 now ranked 24^th.

UK has ten transfers including Brock Vandagriff and the returning Beau Allen.

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2025 RB Isaiah West commits to Kentucky

by:
Hunter Shelton
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Philadelphia St. Joseph's three-star running back Isaiah West has committed to Kentucky.

He chose the Wildcats over Wisconsin, Nebraska, and North Carolina.

West is now set to follow wide receiver David Washington Jr., his former St. Joseph's teammate who signed with UK in December. The tailback is now the third addition to Stoops' 2025 pledge list, which also features Cincinnati Withrow four-star WR Quintin Simmons and Harrisburg (Pa.) Bishop McDevitt three-star quarterback Stone Saunders.

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2025 QB Brennen Ward commits to Kentucky Wildcats

by:
Collin Ginnan
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Gahanna (Ohio) Lincoln three-star quarterback Brennen Ward has committed to the Kentucky Wildcats:


I'm Home 🔵⚪️...100% Committed

Ward took an unofficial visit to Lexington on Wednesday, one of numerous times he has visited Kentucky. Last month, Ward spoke with KSR about the relationships he has been developing with the staff at UK.

"I got to meet more of the coaches and just get a more overview of the program. I found that really interesting, just being able to learn more about them," Ward told KSR. "The stuff outside of football. How they're really involved in the community, take academics really seriously, I think those are two big things that I learned."

Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow has been key in this recruitment.

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2025 IOL Tucker Kattus commits to Kentucky

by:
Hunter Shelton
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Cincinnati St. Xavier three-star interior offensive lineman Tucker Kattus has committed to Kentucky, he announced on Wednesday.

He chose the Wildcats over Michigan, Penn State, Cincinnati and others.

Kattus name will sound familiar to Big Blue Nation, as Tucker is now set to join his brothers, tight ends Josh and Justin Kattus, in Lexington. Thanks to some in-home help and a strong push from UK recruiting coordinator and TEs coach Vince Marrow, Kattus is the latest to join the Wildcats' 2025 class.

Kentucky adds third pledge this month
Kentucky is once again trying to find a groove on the recruiting trail after finishing with the No. 25 class

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Vince Marrow details pitch to John Legend for NIL concert

by:
Tyler Thompson
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The 15 Club announced the formation of 500 Strong, a membership club for Kentucky Football's top boosters. The first perk? A private concert by Grammy-winning artist John Legend. The concert will take place May 10 at Central Bank Center in Lexington, the first of three exclusive events for 500 Strong members throughout the year. When you're looking for ways to reward your program's biggest NIL donors, that's a pretty good place to start.

How did the plan to bring John Legend to Lexington come about? As you might expect, Vince Marrow, Kentucky Football's top recruiter, played a big part.

As you might expect, Vince Marrow, Kentucky Football's top recruiter, played a big part. Marrow called into Kentucky Sports Radio this morning to share the details — and excitement over meeting Legend, who is the uncle of current Kentucky wide receiver Anthony Brown-Stephens. Marrow said he and Mark Stoops had been trying to figure out how to get Legend involved with the program for months. A concert of a different sort provided Marrow the perfect opportunity to make his pitch.

Marrow and his wife attended Legend's mother's 70th birthday party earlier this month. Marrow recruited Brown-Stephens to Kentucky. ...

When Marrow got to speak to Legend, they discovered they had even more in common. Legend and the man who taught him about music growing up knew Marrow's parents, who were in a gospel group in Youngstown. Marrow and Stoops had already reached out to Legend about an NIL concert before and he said no; however, after some face time with the Big Dog, the artist had a change of heart.

"When he met me in person, the whole thing changed and it was more like, hey, we put a face [to a name] and we got to talk. So, you know, when I get a chance to talk to somebody and recruit them, I was like, hey, I sold my pitch and so he agreed to do it."

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Kentucky Football Spring 2024 Transfer Portal Tracker

by: Nick Roush

Thirteen players from last year's Kentucky football team left the team in December. Two players, Shamar Porter and Jordan Dingle, submitted their name, then withdrew from the transfer portal. Kentucky added 10 players from the transfer portal during the December signing period.

Targets Emerge
It was unclear which positions Kentucky would target during this cycle. After a rash of injuries to the defensive line, the Cats are searching for more depth with Rene Konga, a versatile Rutgers transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.

They're also swinging for the fences with the best player currently available. Former Oregon State running back Damien Martinez is an All-American candidate who will have his pick of the litter. Kentucky has him scheduled for a visit next week. It may be a long shot.

Ray Cottrell is the answer to a Kentucky football trivia question. He's the first player to transfer into the program in December, then leave following spring practice. The wide receiver from Texas A&M is not the only one making similar moves this offseason. Kadyn Proctor's back-and-forth between Alabama and Iowa is the most noteworthy.

Cottrell was one of three pass-catchers recruited during the first transfer portal window. He was competing with Fred Farrier to be the fifth wide receiver for the Cats and to be frank, he was nowhere close. Best of luck to Cottrell.

Kentucky is in the Defensive Line Market
Mark Stoops was forced to alter the format for the spring game after suffering multiple injuries on the defensive line. While the Kentucky head coach believes most will be good to go this fall, he's not confident enough to remain content. The Cats are kicking the tires on a big body from the Big Ten.

According to On3's Steve Wiltfong, Kentucky is a team to watch in the pursuit of Rene Konga.

Early Kentucky Football Departures
A few players got ahead of the news by announcing their intent to go portaling before it officially opened. Running back La'Vell Wright will enter the portal as a grad transfer. The North Hardin product received 39 of his 48 career carries in 2022, primarily during Chris Rodriguez's four-game suspension at the start of the season. He missed the entire 2023 season due to injury.

Another in-state product is also on the move. Wide receiver Cole Lanter shared on social media that he will be transferring after spending two seasons in Lexington.

Familiar Name in the Portal
One of the first big names to hit the transfer portal is one Kentucky fans know well. Karmello English was a four-star talent, ranked as the No. 28 wide receiver in the 2023 recruiting class. English officially visited Kentucky and Scott Woodward kept the Cats in the mix until the end, but the wide receiver ultimately chose Michigan over UK and Auburn. English is now back on the market, but don't expect Kentucky to be in the mix