Kentucky Football Class of 2022 Recruiting Big Board: Defensive backs

Recruiting momentum in the Bluegrass State is at an all-time high.

Following the commitments of three different four-star prospects over the weekend–Kiyaunta Goodwin, Destin Wade, and Keaten Wade–the Kentucky Football coaching staff is holding a pair of red-hot dice and they’re looking to roll them out sooner rather than later. Mark Stoops has said that the class of 2022 could be his best since arriving in Lexington and so far that’s held true. Now it’s about riding the hot hand and building off the success of the last few weeks.

Of the eight commitments the ‘Cats currently have out of 2022, three of them–Andre Stewart, Treyveon Longmire, and Jeremiah Caldwell–can all fill needs at the defensive back position. There is a belief that Kentucky could add another two or three defensive backs to this class, as well, considering the majority of the current roster’s defensive backs are sophomores and upperclassmen.

Below is a Big Board list of serious potential Kentucky targets for the class of 2022, ranging from cornerbacks and safeties to athletes who excel at both defensive back and wide receiver. It’s a deep group of prospects, so let’s get right into it starting with the cornerbacks.

All rankings are courtesy of 247 Sports’ Composite Score.

CORNERBACKS

Myles Pollard (4-star, No. 414): 6-2, 185 pounds – Ravenwood (Brentwood, TN)

One of the remaining prize defensive back pieces from 2022, Myles Pollard’s recruitment is one to keep a close eye on. He visited Kentucky last week, his third time on campus, and recently told KSR that he plans on returning this summer to take an official visit to see Lexington. Pollard already has three official trips planned once the in-person dead period is lifted on June 1; Oklahoma, Michigan, and Auburn. He recently dropped his list of top 6 schools in late February, which included Oklahoma, Michigan, Washington, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Kentucky. Auburn offered him shortly after that and secured one of Pollard’s five official visits, but Kentucky is sure to get its shot later in the summer and is clearly one of the preferred destinations for the gifted corner.

JQ Hardaway (3-star, No. 425): 6-3, 185 pounds – Central (Phenix City, AL)

Bordering on being recognized as a four-star talent, JQ Hardaway has the ‘Cats among his top 6 with a decision date set for June 20. Along with Kentucky–the only school with a bent hat in his decision date announcement video–Hardaway is also considering Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and Oregon. As of right now, the 6-foot-3 stud has just one official visit scheduled and that’s to see the Cincinnati campus during the middle of June. Hardaway told 247 Sports earlier this month that the Bearcats were showing him the most love with Georgia not far behind.

Andre Stewart [COMMITTED] (3-star, No. 477): 6-0, 190 pounds – Brookwood (Snellville, GA)

BJ Blake (3-star, No. 580): 6-2, 190 pounds – National Christian Academy (Washington, MD)

There isn’t much out there on BJ Blake right now, but he’s still a prospect to keep an eye on. Kentucky was his first SEC offer and that came back in July 2020. He also holds offers from West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

Deshaun Lee (3-star, No. 697): 5-11, 175 pounds – Belleville (Belleville, MI)

Another highly-rated recruit from Belleville High School up in Michigan–the same school Jeremiah Caldwell attends–Deshaun Lee has a Crystal Ball pick logged in favor of Pittsburgh. Kentucky is arguably the biggest name to extend an offer and they were his first Power 5 school to do so. Lee also visited the Lexington campus during the summer of 2019 but there does not appear to be much traction with the ‘Cats as of right now.

Jayden Rowe (3-star, No. 851): 6-3, 210 pounds – Union (Tulsa, OK)

All signs are pointing toward Jayden Rowe landing with a Big 12 program, with two Crystal Ball picks and one FutureCast selection logged in favor of Oklahoma. The majority of his offers come from schools within the Big 12 and his Twitter account is loaded with graphics sent from Oklahoma and Baylor. Rowe has a campus visit scheduled to see both schools this June. The offer from Kentucky came in February, which was after Big 12 schools had already done the same.

Joshua Wiggins (3-star, No. 902): 6-1, 170 pounds – Klein Oak (Spring, TX)

While he doesn’t have a visit to Lexington planned at the moment, Joshua Wiggins recently told KSR that he would like to visit Kentucky at some point this summer. He already has an official visit to Colorado scheduled for June, and has previously done virtual visits with them. Wiggins tweeted on April 19 that he is contemplating making his decision on his birthday, which is July 20.

SAFETIES

Taylor Groves (4-star, No. 251): 6-2, 175 pounds – East Robertson (Cross Plains, TX)

The recruitment for Taylor Groves, a top 300 player in his class, recently picked up after he de-committed from Michigan at the end of March. Some sites have him listed as a wide receiver, but his status as a four-star player has met a consensus. He recently participated in a Zoom call with the Ole Miss staff last week and holds offers from the likes of LSU, Baylor, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, along with several others.

Tre Donaldson (4-star, No. 258): 6-2, 190 pounds – Florida State Univ. School (Tallahassee, FL)

A two-sport athlete with serious talent, Tre Donaldson is tabbed as a four-star prospect in both football and basketball. Back in December, he dropped his list of top 12 potential college choices (for both sports) and the ‘Cats were included, but for football instead of hoops. His basketball offer sheet includes the likes of Alabama, Florida, Louisville, Ole Miss, and a few others, while his football skills have collected big-time offers from schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami (FL), Oregon, Florida State, and plenty others along with the Kentucky Wildcats.

D’Arco Perkins-McAllister (3-star, No. 681): 6-1, 185 pounds – Stratford Comprehensive (Nashville, TN)

Kentucky made the top 7 for D’Arco Perkins-McAllister back at the beginning of the month and he confirmed with KSR that he will visit campus on June 11. Florida extended an offer just a few days ago and he also has a visit planned to South Carolina in June. Gaining the services of Perkins-McAllister would be a huge addition for UK, but it won’t be easy. He also holds offers from Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. Perkins-McAllister was at Ole Miss this past weekend for an unofficial visit.

Delian Bradley (3-star, No. 696): 6-0, 185 pounds – Springfield (Springfield, OH)

As they tend to do nowadays, Kentucky was the first school to extend a Divison I offer to Delian Bradley, doing so all the way back in May of 2019. It wasn’t until December of the same year before he would pick up another one, this time courtesy of Iowa State. Despite a solid ranking by recruiting services, his offer sheet is lacking powerhouse names. Outside of Kentucky, Nebraska and Michigan State are the biggest offer he’s received thus far.

Marquis Lymon (3-star, No. 715): 5-9, 205 pounds – Atlantic (Delray Beach, FL)

Considered a Miami (FL) lean, Marquis Lymon picked up an offer from the ‘Cats last April. He’s also received offers from the likes of Indiana, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee along with Kentucky and Miami (FL).

Kajuan Banks (3-star, No. 717): 5-10, 170 pounds – Amos P. Godby (Tallahassee, FL)

Tennessee likely has the inside path at this moment for Kajuan Banks, as they were his first SEC offer all the way back February 2020 and he’s already visited the campus. That being said, that was before the Volunteers coaching change and Banks recently told 247 Sports that Maryland, Louisville, West Virginia, and South Carolina were reaching out the most.

Jaydon Hodge (3-star, No. 885): 6-2, 175 pounds – Forest (Ocala, FL)

Vanderbilt and Mississippi State appear to have the edge in acquiring the services of Jaydon Hodge as of right now. He originally planned to drop a list of his favorite schools back in February but tweeted out that he was pushing back that announcement in order to evaluate all of his options more closely. His offer sheet is loaded with Ivy League schools and other high-level institutions.

Websley Etienne (3-star, No. 1,099): 5-11, 170 pounds – Western (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

One of the lowest-ranked players we will discuss, Kentucky could probably secure a commitment from Websley Etienne if they wish to go down that path. The ‘Cats first offered him in May 2019 (his second from a Division I program) and he also has offers from the likes of Syracuse, Indiana, and Marshall. Etienne could be a target the coaching staff keeps in their back pocket in case they miss on prospects higher up on the board.

ATHLETES

Jaden Mangham (4-star, No. 287): 6-3, 185 pounds – Wylie E. Groves (Franklin, MI)

Since dropping his top 15 schools back in February–which included Kentucky among the bunch–Jaden Mangham doesn’t appear to have received much further interest from the ‘Cats. His social media timeline is stocked with graphics and images from programs such as Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Nebraska, and Notre Dame, but nothing from UK. Both Michigan and Michigan State are also in the mix. Mangham already has official visits planned to go see Georgia Tech and West Virginia this June. He might be too far out of reach at this point.

Antonio Kite (4-star, No. 347): 6-1, 180 pounds – Anniston School (Anniston, AL)

Doubling as a football and basketball star in high school, Antonio Kite has offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida State, and Penn State along with a couple of other SEC schools. As of right now, he told KSR that visits to Florida State, Maryland, and UCF are all coming up this summer. He also added that he has not heard from the Kentucky staff in a while, but did confirm that he is still interested in the ‘Cats and that he would like to visit the campus in the future. He splits time playing defensive back and wide receiver at the high school level but is being recruited mainly as a safety.

Alex Afari (3-star, No. 361): 6-2, 195 pounds – Lakota West (West Chester, OH)

It’s no secret that Kentucky wants to add Alex Afari to this potentially special class. A borderline four-star recruit, he listed Kentucky among his top 6 back in late February and has received two Crystal Ball picks in favor of the ‘Cats, the most recent coming from recruiting expert Allen Trieu earlier this month. Also, the Rivals’ FutureCast projections have three picks locked in for Kentucky.

Afari has a decision date planned for May 7 and would be another massive pick-up to round out a deep group of defensive backs. He’s an Ohio talent out of Lakota West High School, which has produced former Kentucky stars John Conner (fullback) and George Asafo-Adjei (offensive tackle). Looking at the rest of Afari’s top 6–Indiana, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Virginia–the UK coaching staff surely feels good about where they stand with a decision looming.

Ja’Kobi Albert (3-star, No. 364): 6-0, 175 pounds – Fairfield Preparatory School (Fairfield, AL)

Doubling as a wide receiver and defensive back, Ja’Kobi Albert dropped a list of his top 8 schools earlier this month which featured Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Maryland, Michigan, UAB, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. He already has official visits set up to see the in-state Auburn Tigers in June as well as Maryland and told KSR that he has a third visit pending, but did not disclose where.

Treyveon Longmire [COMMITTED] (3-star, No. 384): 6-2, 170 pounds – Corbin (Corbin, KY)

Jeremiah Caldwell [COMMITTED] (3-star, No. 387): 6-3, 170 pounds – Belleville (Belleville, MI)

Chris Graves Jr. (3-star, No. 533): 6-2, 170 pounds – Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, FL)

One of the most recent offers from the coaching staff, Chris Graves Jr. picked up his Kentucky scholarship on April 9, which brought him up to 25 total offers. He already has visits scheduled to see South Carolina and USF this summer. His offer from the Wildcats actually came courtesy of wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight, indicating that the staff might be looking at Graves as a prospect on the other side of the field. He’s a player that’s blown up on the scene since the start of 2021, drawing in all but one of his Power 5 offers since January.

Tommy Winton (3-star, No. 584): 5-10, 190 pounds – Knoxville Catholic (Knoxville, TN)

Kentucky has been after Tommy Winton since extending an offer back in November 2019 but there’s doesn’t appear to be much traction as of late. A West Virginia Rivals insider reported that West Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State have been in contact with Winton the most.

Mikeece Jones (3-star, No. 811): 6-0, 185 pounds – Hillsboro (Nashville, TN)

It’s been well over a year now since Kentucky officially extended an offer to Mikeece Jones, who dropped his list of top 9 schools on April 19 with the ‘Cats included in the mix. Hillsboro High School is about a 30-45 minute drive from Spring Hill, TN, where the Wade twins both play high school ball, and Destin Wade has already begun the recruiting pitch for Jones to join them in Lexington. Among the rest of Jones’ top 9 are the likes of Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and some other lower-tier schools.

Ty Bryant (3-star, No. 932): 6-0, 175 pounds – Frederick Douglass (Lexington, KY)

A legacy recruit, Ty Bryant’s father, Cisco, played at Kentucky during the mid-80s, but that doesn’t automatically imply he’ll follow in his dad’s footsteps. Bryant is a consensus three-star player but ranked well below the likes of Longmire, Caldwell, and Stewart. If Kentucky plans to load up on defensive backs, they could end up taking three more in addition to the three who have already committed. If that were to be the case, it’s safe to say that the ‘Cats would prefer to see how things shape up with other, more-heralded prospects before going all-in on Bryant. While Cisco is admittedly hoping his son picks UK, Ty has plenty of other Power 5 offers to consider.

Junior Vandeross (Not ranked): 5-10, 195 pounds – Jesuit (Tampa, FL)

A prospect still on the rise, Junior Vandeross isn’t ranked by 247 Sports but does hold a three-star rating from Rivals and he is apparently still hearing from the Kentucky coaching staff. UK was the very first Division I offer for Vandeross, coming in May 2019, and he’s since picked up offers from Iowa State, Iowa, and Louisville. Per a report from 247 Sports, Vandeross mostly speaks with Iowa State and Kentucky. His UK contact is receivers coach Jovon Bouknight, indicating he could be viewed as a wideout at the next level.