The Iowa Rapping Vampire Wants Thursday Afternoon Recruiting Notes

Why is there a vampire rapping about Iowa football? It’s a mystery we may never solve. Thanks to the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle, everybody that was anybody in the late 80s pumped out corny rap songs. Hurt ’em Bad made a novelty rap about the NBA, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling used one as their theme song and “Rappin'” Rodney Dangerfield got in the mix, but never got no respect.

In a shocking twist, the trend made it to Iowa City. Right in the middle of Hayden Fry’s heyday, with at least one Stoops brother serving on the Iowa staff, this rap song was created. Some sicko unearthed it on the internet and the world will never be the same.

Brace yourself.. pic.twitter.com/AUziupcN0i

— Joe Conklin (@JoeConklin20) June 22, 2023

“You’re in for a rumble. We’ll intercept your pass and recover your fumble.”

So much flow. No wonder Iowa Vampire’s coif is so immaculate.

Recruiting Predictions for Kentucky Tackle Targets

The pursuit of offensive tackles has been a popular point of discussion in the recruiting world. Kentucky’s top two targets are receiving predictions to land elsewhere.

Kentucky was the first school to recruit Jac’Qawn McRoy, back when the offensive tackle was a high school teammate of Kobi Albert‘s. After officially visiting Kentucky, the Wildcats did not appear to gain enough traction. Oregon was considered a favorite in the spring. Ahead of McRoy’s official visit to Eugene, Steve Wiltfong submitted a Crystal Ball pick for the Ducks to land McRoy.

The week before McRoy was in Lexington, Kentucky hosted Jonathan Daniels for an official visit. A Panama City native, today Florida State insider Josh Newburg submitted an RPM for the Seminoles to land the top-ranked tackle in the On300. Daniels will be in Tallahassee for an official visit this weekend.

McRoy is scheduled to make an announcement on June 30. Neither recruitment will be over until the Early Signing Period. Kentucky must be willing to commit a lot of resources to turn the tide over the next seven months.

Hardley Gilmore is a Top 300 Prospect

Wide receiver Hardley Gilmore was a surprise addition to last weekend’s official visit roster. Originally ranked as a 2025 prospect, the talented wide receiver announced he will move up to the 2024 class. As the sites have adjusted, Hardley Gilmore is now No. 238 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. Barion Brown is the only wide receiver ranked higher to sign with the Cats in the Mark Stoops era.

There seems to be plenty of smoke surrounding Gilmore and Kentucky. Two wide receiver targets — Dorian Williams and Shamar Rigby — have committed elsewhere. As one astute observer on KSBoard pointed out, Gilmore was excited to share the news of Tovani Mizell’s commitment and quickly changed his Instagram profile picture to a snapshot from his photoshoot at UK. KSR’s Zack Geoghegan recently added a UK pick to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. The stars are aligning for a potential big win on the recruiting trail.

More Commitments Coming?

This could be the first day since Sunday that the Wildcats have not picked up a new player for the 2024 recruiting class. Do not fret, others await on the horizon.

One Final Weekend of Official Visit Recruiting

Many schools, including Kentucky, have closed up shop for the summer official visit season. There are a few exceptions. One to keep an eye is in Columbus. Ohio State will be hosting Kentucky tight end target Damarion Witten this weekend. Cornerback Terhyon Nichols is officially visiting Michigan, Kendall Jackson will be in Miami and Jalewis Solomon is joining Jonathan Daniels in Tallahassee. We’ll see if the Cats can weather the storm.