Kentucky Football Target Announces Surprising Decision

Kentucky has been intentional on the recruiting trail. Offensive line recruiting has fallen by the wayside in recent years. They attacked that position group this offseason by adding five players from the transfer portal and four from the high school ranks.

The next task at hand? Stack up more wins. One of the Cats’ most prized possessions from the high school ranks is now off the board.

Adam Guthrie is a 6-7, 280-pound offensive tackle from Washington Court House, OH. The four-star talent is a consensus Top 250 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting class. He’s the No. 19 offensive tackle in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. 

It felt like Kentucky had made some inroads in his recruitment. The Cats were the first SEC school and just the second Power Four program to extend Guthrie a scholarship offer. He took an unofficial visit last fall, and UK offensive line coach Eric Wolford had returned the favor with an in-home visit.

Obviously, recruiting Blue Chippers in the state of Ohio, especially those who live just 45 minutes from Columbus, is a challenge for Kentucky. Ohio State just won a National Title. That’s hard to compete against. Even so, there have been similar recruitments were Kentucky hung around long enough to have a chance down the stretch. This time, there is no down the stretch.

Guthrie made a shocking announcement on Friday afternoon, pledging his allegiance to play for Dabo Swinney at Clemson. He committed shortly after unofficially visiting Clemson this week.

“It was a great time,” Guthrie told On3’s Steve Wiltfong. “I fell in love with the place.”

Even though it may have been a long shot to land the four-star talent over Ohio State and Penn State, losing an offensive line target to Clemson bites. If you recall, Kentucky lost one of its longest-held commitments right before the Early Signing Period when Tucker Kattus, Josh’s younger brother, flipped to the Tigers.

Kentucky is still searching for its first high school commitment in the 2026 recruiting class. Adam Luckett has the latest on who Kentucky is targeting as prospects plan official visits and trim their list of suitors.

Want more Kentucky football recruiting intel? Join KSR Plus for the most comprehensive coverage of the Cats on the internet. With a KSR membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.