Assessing the Recruit: Alex Montgomery and Marcus McWilson

Alex Montgomery celebrating with Kentucky coaches after committing this afternoon.

It’s been a great day for Kentucky Football. Both Alex Montgomery and Marcus McWilson are high-level prospects that will immediately help the Wildcats on both sides of the football. The culture of Kentucky Football is changing before our very eyes. Flipping a four-star recruit’s commitment is no easy feat, but Stoops and company got it done, and seemingly with ease. Signing Day is shaping up as one of the best in the history of the program. Let’s take a closer look at the guys who joined the Wildcat family today:

 

Alex Montgomery — Wide Receiver/Free Safety; 6’2″, 202 lbs.; Cypress Bay, FL

Rivals: 3-star. #51 WR
ESPN: 3-star

*************************

The first thing that jumps out about Montgomery is his amazing hands. Drew posted his sick one-handed catch in the afternoon notes, but his tape shows a guy that can make catches like that on a regular basis. Montgomery might have even more amazing highlights but he was stuck in Cypress Bay’s run-heavy offense that limited his targets. Stepping into to Neal Brown’s offense will be a welcomed change and an opportunity to show what he can do when passing is the priority. Montgomery played both sides of the ball in high school, which can help in two ways. First, he’ll be able to better assess what type of coverages the safeties are playing, which is half the battle in getting open. Secondly, he developed a physical nature that will help him challenge for the football in a tough SEC conference. At 6’2, 202 lbs., Montgomery has great size that will help him out-muscle and overpower defensive backs. Kentucky’s wide receiver corps got another boost today and it’ll be pretty exciting to see who wins the position battles going into next season.

 

Marcus McWilson— Safety/Wide Receiver; 6′ 0″, 195 lbs.; Youngstown, OH
Rivals: 4-Star, #16 S
ESPN: 3-Star, # 40 S

*****************

Looking at McWilson’s physique, he just looks like he was born to play football. He is just a fast, physical, tough player that has all the tools to do great things in the scheme of a fellow Cardinal Mooney alum, Mark Stoops. McWilson is a winner, too. In his junior year, he single-handedly won the state championship for Mooney. McWilson’s interception return in the second quarter put Mooney in position for the go-ahead score and his late-game deflection prevented Mooney’s opponents from sending the game into overtime. Mooney won 21-14. Like Montgomery, McWilson’s time at wide receiver will help him flourish at safety. McWilson was so good at wideout that schools recruited him to play it at the next level. Looking at his film and athleticism, there’s no doubt in my mind he could do it.

 

Kentucky fans can chalk McWilson’s commitment up to new tight end’s coach Vince Marrow, who recruited McWilson to Nebraska while there. Marrow is a fellow Mooney alum as well, and that didn’t hurt Kentucky’s chances, either.