Five Things You Missed from UK Football Recruiting During Memorial Day Weekend

The last weekend of May serves as the unofficial start of the summer.  While many of you were enjoying barbecues or a little time on the lake, the Kentucky football coaching staff logged a few hours recruiting.  Here are a few developments from the frontline:

1. UK Makes Cut for Elite Defensive Ends

Top 300 defensive end Michael Fletcher has set a decision date.  On June 29 he will choose between Alabama, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State, Michigan and Kentucky.  The 6’5″ 240-pound four-star athlete will officially visit UK on June 15, two weeks before he makes a final decision.  It could be just in time for the Cats to gain momentum with the Flint, Michigan native.

Another highly-touted Michigan pass rusher, Ruke Orhorhoro, announced a top four today: Clemson, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky.  Orhorhoro will officially visit Kentucky on June 8, the opening weekend of camps at Kroger Field that will serve as the Cats’ first big recruiting weekend of the summer.

2. DeAndre Square Recruiting Michigan Kids

Kentucky outside linebacker DeAndre Square is the first player from Michigan to enroll at UK in years.  He’ll be joined by Marquan McCall when freshmen report to camp this weekend.  In the meantime, Square is doing what he can to make sure more from Michigan make the trip down I-75.

Friday night, he posted pictures with a few of the best from The Great Lakes State.  Square posed alongside offensive guard Justin Rogers and safety Marvin Grant.

Can y’all please make the move and join the fam 🔵🔵 #BBN @AllAmerican52JR @hardbodymarv44 pic.twitter.com/WhM8uR74YS

— DeAndre Square (@d_square10) May 26, 2018

Rogers (left) is really, really, really good.  He’ll just be a junior this fall, but the Oak Park native has already picked up 35 scholarship offers and is considered the No. 13 player in the 2020 class by 247 Sports.  Rogers is a long way from making a decision, but the Cats were one of the first to offer and he’s made the trip to Lexington a handful of times.

Kentucky is considered the favorite for Grant, a four-star 2019 prospect that is eighth-ranked safety and No. 126 player overall according to Rivals.  It looked like he was going to commit to UK earlier this spring, until he pushed back his initial decision date.  Grant is one player you definitely need to keep an eye on.

3. UK Offers Enormous Tennessee Commit

If you follow UK football recruiting, you’ll see new offers extended almost daily.  Not all are noteworthy, but the latest offer to Darel Middleton is.

A 6’7″ 290-pound defensive tackle, Middleton is an absolute monster.  Hailing from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, he originally committed to Tennessee in 2013.  Middleton never made it to Knoxville and spent the last season playing for East Mississippi C.C.  He recommitted to the Vols in April.  Middleton has one more season in Scooba, enough time for UK to make a move.

4. Bad News/Good News at Offensive Guard

First, the bad news.  Jamari Williams, a three-star offensive guard for Nik Scalzo’s Cardinal Gibbons, committed to UofL Friday night.  An expected move, Kentucky was one step ahead.  The weekend prior UK hosted Zach Carpenter, the nation’s No. 20 offensive guard who plays for Cincinnati Moeller, the same school as future Kentucky tight end Brenden Bates.  Carpenter gave UK an exceptional review in a conversation with 247’s Steve Wiltfong.

“The visit to Kentucky was good,” Carpenter started in. “I got the chance to meet the coaches and Coach (John) Schlarman went over formations and blocking schemes, but I enjoyed being quizzed by what calls to make based on defensive formations and alignment they gave me.

“I enjoyed talking to Coach (Eddie) Gran because we talked about the importance of faith which plays an important role in my decision. Then I talked to Coach (Mark) Stoops and he told us how they are turning things around with the program. He also talked about where he saw me in the program and we were able to see facilities and toured campus.”

To get Carpenter to Kentucky, UK will have to beat out Clemson, no small task for Vince Marrow.

5. Terry Wilson Worked Out in Arizona

It’s not technically recruiting-related, but it was kind of cool to see Terry “Touchdown” Wilson workout with kids at this weekend’s quarterback academy in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Always a blessing seeing someone with the platform like @TerryTouchdown3 giving back to the youth @TheQBAcademy #DimeDropper camp. pic.twitter.com/iL60V5zC2Y

— Derek Rasmussen (@derekrasmussen) May 26, 2018

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