Kentucky Hosts Talented In-State Football Recruits at Rupp Arena

Handcuffed by the SEC basketball schedule, Kentucky’s football coaching staff altered their schedule to use Rupp Arena as a recruiting tool.

Kentucky does not have many recruiting advantages over the SEC counterparts, except in the spring at Rupp. Each year one Saturday in late January or early February is christened as Junior Day. A star-studded recruiting event, it serves as the foundation for a successful recruiting class.

This picture from last year’s Junior Day featuring Beau Allen, Vito Tisdale, John Young and Izayah Cummings proved to be prophetic.

This year the basketball schedulers threw a hitch in Vince Marrow’s giddy-up. The Kentucky basketball team played one Saturday home game days after the Belk Bowl victory. They will not play another Saturday home game until Feb. 15.

Instead of falling behind, the Big Dog is hosting recruits from nearby to see the best the BBN has to offer. Like last year, an offensive lineman posted a picture with a ton of talented peers.

#BBN pic.twitter.com/E2SMUJ6rVC

— Jager Burton (@jager_burton) January 22, 2020

Frederick Douglass’ Jager Burton is the sixth-ranked offensive guard in America and the No. 141 player in Rivals 2021 recruiting rankings. After hosting an Ohio State assistant coach this afternoon, Burton spent time with Marrow at Rupp Arena. He brought with him a couple of his talented teammates — quarterback Josh McClurg, 2022 wide receiver Dane Key and wide receiver Dekel Crowdus, the No. 160 player in the 2021 class.

Aside from Marrow, the group had another tour guide — Octavious Oxendine. The four-star defensive end enrolled in classes at UK for the spring semester. Ox was joined by a couple of his younger North Hardin teammates, defensive back Jordan Lovett and running back Lavell Wright. For those counting at home, that’s half of the top eight players in the state.

This may not be the only time some of these players gather for a UK football recruiting event this week. Even though Kentucky is not playing a basketball game this Saturday, the football program is still hosting a ton of recruits for Junior Day. It’s safe to say they got the 2021 recruiting season off to a good start tonight.