Another JUCO Kentucky Football Target to Monitor

The Kentucky football program received a commitment on Wednesday from a JUCO prospect who was off everyone’s radar. Braxton Urquhart, a 6-foot-3 defensive back, pledged his allegiance to Kentucky, the former Hoover High product’s only Power Conference offer.

Recruiting from the junior college ranks was a common tactic for decades, particularly by the SEC’s Mississippi schools. Mark Stoops had a nice run of successful JUCO products, beginning with Za’Darius Smith. The Cats also had a couple of defensive backs selected in the NFL Draft, Lonnie Johnson and Brandin Echols, who started their careers playing JUCO football.

The transfer portal essentially replaced the JUCO recruiting market. Kentucky is going back to the well to supplement its 2026 recruiting class for a couple of reasons.

“Sometimes out of junior college they replace some of the high school (players), right? Because you get a guy with multiple years,” Stoops explained. “Sometimes with the free agents so to speak, you don’t want all of them to be one-year guys. You would like to have some multiple, some guys (with multiple years remaining).”

“They are a little more mature, they have some more football under their belt, we have seen more on tape and you maybe feel a little more confident that they can come in and help you next year and have multiple years. The free agent market is awfully expensive.” 

[KSR Plus: Adam Luckett Breaks Down Kentucky’s JUCO Targets]

Meeting budgetary needs plays a role in this new tactic. Kentucky also needs to supplement depth, something they can no longer do in the spring transfer portal window, which has been eliminated. Additionally, Mark Stoops knows the temperature of his seat. He needs players who can help him win now, rather than invest in somebody who will not be able to contribute for 2-3 years.

One of those players is Caleb Pyfrom, an offensive lineman who started his career at Missouri. He just wrapped his official visit to Kentucky, and a commitment could be just on the horizon. The 6-foot-6, 325-pound guard talked about his trip to Kentucky with Cats Illustrated.

“It was good, I enjoyed everything they showed me,” Pyfrom said. “I enjoyed watching Coach Wolf coach. He’s a really good O-Line coach with a really good resume. Kentucky is a school in the SEC and they play the best competition. It’s a good program.”

Kentucky currently has 14 players prepared to join the program when the Early Signing Period begins next Wednesday. Expect that number to grow with more JUCO products added into the fold.