Kentucky Football hosting transfer Tyler Steen, several high school recruits
Kentucky Football is ramping up spring practice this week, and so is the coaching staff’s recruiting efforts. The Wildcats will practice on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday this week after taking it easy for last week’s spring break. Those practice days will hold even more weight than just what happens on the field, though.
Several recruits will be on campus throughout the week and into the weekend, including one key transfer target, former Vanderbilt offensive lineman Tyler Steen, who began his visit to Lexington on Monday morning. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound soon-to-be fifth-year senior is being heavily recruited by powerhouse programs such as LSU and Alabama, the latter of which he will visit later in the week. He was at LSU the previous weekend and visited NC State at the beginning of the month.
Steen has made 33 starts over the last three years for Vanderbilt. He started in every game of his sophomore season at right tackle, then switched to left for his junior and senior campaigns. In 2021 he started in all 12 games for Vanderbilt at left tackle and was a preseason Fourth-Team All-SEC selection by Athlon Sports. Kentucky has gaps that still need to be filled in the Big Blue Wall following the departures of Darian Kinnard, Luke Fortner, and Dare Rosenthal to the NFL. Steen could go a long way in helping that.
But Steen isn’t the only player making a pitstop in Lexington for spring practice. A trio of Ironton High School (OH) prospects are on campus for visits: class of 2022 linebacker Angelo Washington, class of 2023 wide receiver Ty Perkins, and class of 2023 running back Jacquez Keyes arrived on campus on Monday.
Washington is actually already committed to Kentucky as a preferred walk-on, which he announced back in November. Keyes has hauled in offers from Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, and Massachusetts with Kentucky increasing communication.
Perkins is the most intriguing of the three, as he already holds Divison I offers from the likes of Virginia Tech, Army, Akron, Toledo, Kent State, and Eastern Michigan. The 6-foot-3 pass-catcher is also hearing from Boston College, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, with the Wildcats getting more involved. Perkins hauled in 29 receptions for 643 yards and 11 touchdowns during his junior season.
KSR has also learned that 6-foot-5 class of 2023 Henderson County defensive lineman Saadiq Clements is on campus for a visit. The in-state product continues to see his stock increase, with an offer from Florida State coming in as recently as February. Clements has been hearing heavily from Kentucky since receiving his offer from the ‘Cats back in April 2021. Purdue, Louisville, and Indiana have also extended scholarships. Clements will be high on Kentucky’s big board throughout the rest of his recruitment.
Fellow in-state product Cristian Conyer, a class of 2023 three-star ATH out of South Warren, will take another visit to Kentucky this weekend, he tells KSR. He was in Tennessee for a visit earlier this month and is hearing plenty from both the ‘Cats and Vols. Vince Marrow has been all over Conyer, extending the high school junior his first-ever DI offer all the way back in April 2020. Keeping Conyer in the Bluegrass is a big priority for the staff.
Tuesday will mark an important day for the Kentucky coaching staff when three-star class of 2023 linebacker James Heard comes to town. Playing for St. Joseph’s Prep Academy in Philadelphia, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder has earned offers from the likes of Duke, Cincinnati, Penn State, Tennessee, and many others. Heard has already taken visits this month to both Tennessee and West Virginia.
Looking ahead to the weekend, an especially key visitor will make the trip to Lexington. Avery Stuart, a four-star class of 2023 cornerback out of Montgomery, AL, will be on campus this Saturday for a visit. The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder is considered by the On3 Consensus as a top 250 player from his class. Stuart holds offers from the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech (which he visited last week), Miami (FL), Michigan State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Penn State.
UK initially offered him in late December 2021 and he eventually included the ‘Cats among his top 13 on March 19.
This weekend will see plenty more visitors, too with more names expected to surface over the next few days. As of now, the expectation is that a trio of Lowndes High School prospects will come to campus, headlined by three-star class of 2023 ATH Kevis Thomas. His Lowndes teammates, class of 2024 prospects Marlon Evans Jr. and Jordan Gatlin, are expected to join Thomas on the visit. Thomas has recently visited Georgia and Florida State and expects to be on Florida’s campus on Tuesday.
Additionally, class of 2023 three-star safety Jalon Kilgore hopes to make the trip to Lexington this weekend, although the travel details have yet to be ironed out at this time. The Putnam County (GA) product was in Athens last week for a visit to Georgia and already holds offers from the likes of Florida, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and plenty others.
The last player of note who expects to visit UK this weekend is class of 2023 three-star cornerback Jermaine Mathews, who holds offers from the likes of Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Maryland, and Louisville. He’s got a busy two weeks of travel ahead of him, with visits to Ohio State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, and Northwestern scheduled between March 24 and April 2, according to 247Sports.
The UK staff offered Mathews earlier this year after his junior year performance at Winton Woods High School (OH), which has produced former ‘Cats such as Mike Edwards and Chris Oats.
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