I was told that Rogers had been wanting to declare for the draft but has been convinced it would not be a good decision. Hopefully he “remains convinced “.
State of 2023 Recruiting
- Thread starter Canned Heat
- Start date
I am with you there. Both have lots of eligibility left, but neither Anaele nor Henry-Young has played enough yet for us to have those answers. A clue there is that both have been moved around. Anaele got moved to DT, which suggests he may have gained weight. Good weight or bad? Who knows? If it was good weight, he might have made a move for more playing time, but IDK.
Henry-Young began as a DE and moved to Jack LB. IDK what to make of that either, but there was more competition numbers-wise at DE.
Both of these guys were 4 star recruits coming out of hs. Henry-Young was considered one of the apex prospects in OH. Hoping they contribute.
Baylor safety Devin Neal has entered the transfer portal. Lexington native and Frederick Douglass hs grad. I am not suggesting UK is recruiting him because IDK.
Do you know who convinced him? If what you say turns out to be accurate, I would say Rogers received sound guidance and his best interests have been protected.
Desperately a position of need. If UK can fill at least one tackle spot from the portal, it allows the other to be developed IMO.
I don’t but I assumed it was the UK coaches. I was told this on the night of the day Rogers made his tweet, so it must not have taken much convincing . Hopefully he doesn’t change his mind again.He also said he heard Valentine would not be back , TIFWIW.
I agree, based on what we know now. There are no indications that UK and Herron are talking. And he totally blew us off when he graduated from hs.
I think the “huge blow” description can fit even if we never had the kid in the first place. Losing a high level recruit at a position of need can be just that.
Example: How would the 2021 season have turned out if Wan’dale Robinson had chosen to go elsewhere or stay at Nebraska?
He’s not even the best kicker in the state. That’s for damn sure. Just shaking my head at that one. I guess time will tell, and I’m sure he’s decent, but the best kicker in the state and one who is at or near the top of some state records in made field goals resides just up the road in Middletown and attends Trinity and will be unwrapping a Christmas present from me next weekend when we do family Christmas at my moms. He was second team all-state behind Jackson Smith last year (despite having better stats) and should by all accounts be 1st team all-state this year. Purdue wanted him, but obviously that’s now changed and he has no desire to go to Louisville. Would have crawled to UK if they had shown any measurable amount of interest.
Edit: The number 65 ranking for Degraff was from a Kohl’s kicking camp ranking event. Kellan was supposed to attend that this year but got Covid and couldn’t. He tried to reschedule for another but ended up going to several college camps. He went to a few of their camps in 2021. Kellan did win the Kohl’s Kicking Camps National Player of the week Twice. Had he attended the rankings camp in 2022 he would have ranked higher than 65.
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I hope he has a great career. Too bad it isn't gonna be at UK. Maybe it will work out and he can transfer here in a couple years.
Head scratcher for sure..... but I believe Degraff is a walk on.... I guys we are happy with the PK we have... I think Degraff is for "just in case" since he both punts and is a place kicker. only thing I can guess.
As of right now Miami, OH wants him the most. But both Cincinnati and Louisville was also showing interest before the coaching changes. Cincinnati’s kicker entered the portal. So there may be an opportunity there. They’re taking their time to find the best fit. Wherever he goes they are getting a top notch young man. I’m not just saying that because I’m his uncle either. The kid puts his heart and soul into everything. He’s strong in his faith, his work ethic is unmatched, he’s confident and when he shows up to a family gathering he makes sure to greet and give everyone in the room a hug.
Has Chance Poore stated whether or not he’ll use his Covid year? Otherwise Jackson Smith would have been the only PK on the roster That I’m aware of. Kellan would have been open to a PWO. Carter Schwartz is a punter only and ironically he was Kellan’s holder. The fact they took Schwartz and didn’t recruit his teammate harder is a head scratcher as well. Seems like a natural connection.
Not sure on Chance ... but I am with ya .... tell Joey that goober says hey!..lol
Ifs and buts...
The sky is falling...
We must .... or this .... will mean the down fall of .......
I don't understand how people NEVER GET TIRED of endlessly living and breathing so much doom, distrust, and negativity
Best fit for the moment, I think, to shore up depth and get them reps wherever possible. It will really benefit their development to be getting reps at multiple positions. I hope we can watch some open practices and get to see how some of these guys are developing
Get over it bro!
I defend Stoops a ton and think he’s a fine coach. Not elite but not awful
But this recruiting class is not a step in the right direction as it now stands. It can still be handled next year and portal but these kind of classes will put us back
Many stated the need for much better WR recruiting years past when Allen Dailey Bryce Oliver etc were the gets and all the misses…that was 100% fair criticism. Same went on the edge pass rushers, etc
If we miss on all of our Dline recruits it will be a problem in two years save some portal miracle.
But go ahead and clamor it’s all good and in a few years when USC, Tn way pass us ….then don’t say a peep. You have to keep updating your resume in this league
So many times people expect players (from KY) that wouldn't give us the time of day in HS (except to get publicity) to suddenly come running to UK when they transfer. I dont get it and don't see why it has to be explained.
It's much more likely they will go somewhere else, and the staff can tell that a lot better than we can. If theyre not even listing us as a top school, and we're not even talking to them, we shouldn't expect them to be here.
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This can go both ways and for the most part you'd be correct but not always. Kelvin Joseph wasn't interested in UK out of high school. Others that UK finished in the top 2-3 for out of HS haven't even talked yo UK the 2nd time around.
On this forum though every player that hits the portal someone thinks UK should be after them. Guys that have stunk it up at Bama type school should come here and immediately start. It can be hilarious
We're not talking about players outside of KY, though. The OP that were talking about is a kid from KY that gave no thought to UK in his HS recruitment
I didn't think so either. Some on here act like marrow recruited him hard and almost landed him. I don't remember it that way but I wasn't on this forum much then. I hated Rupp rafters and hadn't found this forum yet. I maybe read 247 etc. Lacey is another one when he hit the portal I didn't expect here but it was blown up like a done deal. I remembered out of HS he wasn't interested. I know a guy played on the KY state team with him and said he was a great kid but didn't like UK
Sorry it didn’t work out for Kellan. He is a very good kicker. Stoops is hard to figure out at times.
Stoops is not that hard to figure out. He is doing what he thinks is best for his football program. He has placed a priority on recruiting the Lexington schools. It is not a slight to trublujr's relative, although I wish he could kick for UK like he evidently wants.
I have a friend whose stepson was an excellent hs football player (big all state DT) in a contiguous state. I emailed Coach Marrow about him. Coach Marrow did not reply. I get that, because Coach Marrow is not allowed to discuss a hs player with me under the rules. No problem. The player in question got a scholarship to a PAC 12 school and is doing well there as a freshman. Each program does the best they can.
Really big recruiting week for us. Major prospects visiting Lexington this weekend and next, including Rico Walker, Asa Newsom, and Khamari Anderson.
Also a bunch of uncommitted players in the transfer portal appear interested in UK. If they are seeking to relocate over the summer and enroll in August, they may not be in a hurry. But if they would like to enroll at their new school for the spring semester, which is preferable from the coaches' point of view, they are under the gun to make decisions this month.
Just got another look at our roster. Given the 10 outbound transfers so far, Stoops is committed to 55 returning players if either Horsey or Jefferson comes back, 54 if neither does. We currently have 14 committed prospects in our 2023 recruiting class, plus Tanner Bowles transferring in. The implication is that about 69-70 scholarships are already committed for the 2023 season. If that is the case, then Stoops is still looking for about 15-16 more new players.
Using these numbers as a guide, if Stoops takes a full 25 man recruiting class, then he could add about 4-5 more transfers besides Bowles. I still think Stoops will take (needs) at least one QB, a RB, a WR, an OT, and a couple of LBs through the portal. These numbers work, more or less. If Valentine decides to go to the draft, that would open another scholarship that Stoops would need to use on a transfer CB at an impact level of what Keidron Smith and Kelvin Joseph brought to our team.
Also a bunch of uncommitted players in the transfer portal appear interested in UK. If they are seeking to relocate over the summer and enroll in August, they may not be in a hurry. But if they would like to enroll at their new school for the spring semester, which is preferable from the coaches' point of view, they are under the gun to make decisions this month.
Just got another look at our roster. Given the 10 outbound transfers so far, Stoops is committed to 55 returning players if either Horsey or Jefferson comes back, 54 if neither does. We currently have 14 committed prospects in our 2023 recruiting class, plus Tanner Bowles transferring in. The implication is that about 69-70 scholarships are already committed for the 2023 season. If that is the case, then Stoops is still looking for about 15-16 more new players.
Using these numbers as a guide, if Stoops takes a full 25 man recruiting class, then he could add about 4-5 more transfers besides Bowles. I still think Stoops will take (needs) at least one QB, a RB, a WR, an OT, and a couple of LBs through the portal. These numbers work, more or less. If Valentine decides to go to the draft, that would open another scholarship that Stoops would need to use on a transfer CB at an impact level of what Keidron Smith and Kelvin Joseph brought to our team.