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KSR Today: Three Wildcats selected at NFL Draft

Adam Luckettby:Adam Luckett•04/30/22•

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The NFL Draft is expectedly owning the sports world this weekend and Kentucky was thrown into the spotlight on day two. Round two was busy, and we did not have to wait long to see the third Wildcat come off the board in round three.

Luke Fortner, Josh Paschal, and Wan’Dale Robinson have all found new homes. Let’s get our last Saturday in April started by taking a quick look back and preparing for what should be a wild day three out in Las Vegas.

Wan’Dale Robinson joins Giants rebuild

Thanks to the size and positional versatility concerns, there were worries that Wan’Dale Robinson could have fallen into the third round. However, the New York Giants jumped at the opportunity to land the efficient slot receiver with their first pick of the second round.

With a new regime taking over for the NFL East franchise, Robinson will have a chance to become a valuable piece of the young core that general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will attempt to build to bring the Giants back to relevancy in the NFL.

KSR has everything covered as the single-season reception leader at Kentucky will look to make an impact early with the Giants.

Luke Fortner, Josh Paschal go off the board earlier than expected

The good news for the Kentucky football program continued after the Robinson selection when Josh Paschal came off the board at No. 46 overall. General manager Brad Holmes seems committed to building the defensive front in Detroit and the NFC North franchise picked Josh Paschal’s scheme versatility to team up with Aidan Hutchinson’s edge rush dominance.

To begin the third round, Luke Fortner was the first name off of the board as the Jacksonville Jaguars took the super senior center at No. 65 overall. The AFC South franchise just saw starting center Brandon Linder retire in the offseason and needs to find the long-term answer at the position for franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence to grow with. That job could be Fortner’s with new head coach Doug Pederson taking over in Duval County.

Day three of the draft will remain jam-packed for the program. Surprisingly, Darian Kinnard went undrafted but should be one of the first names off of the board in round four. Elsewhere, Dare Rosenthal, Yusuf Corker, and Marquan McCall each have a good shot at hearing their names called when the draft gets rolling again at noon.

Kentucky basketball had a ridiculous Friday news dump

With the NFL Draft taking over the sports world, not much was expected on the basketball side of things heading into the day on Friday. That changed quickly as Kentucky was hit with some hard news.

The first story hit hard when it was reported that Kentucky assistant coach Jai Lucas will be leaving his post in Lexington to go to the ACC to work at Duke under new head coach Jon Scheyer. After a previous report that Lucas would be staying, the rising staffer is now off to join the best recruiting operation in college basketball. John Calipari immediately issued a statement.

Later in the evening, upcoming senior Keion Brooks Jr. entered the transfer portal as another departure could be occurring. Things are happening fast in the offseason, and Calipari has another big task to add to his plate as Kentucky must find another quality coach to join the staff.

The Lucas news sent shockwaves through the Big Blue Nation, and KSR gave some instant analysis with an emergency roundtable with our staff to go along with a fresh podcast episode by the Sources Say guys.

Come get caught up to speed.

Recruiting buzz

With all the other action, some recruiting news was lost in the shuffle. Outside of spring sports, every team is in the offseason right now and they are all trying to rebuild their rosters through recruiting. KSR has all of the stories the Big Blue Nation needs to know about.

Vikings filibuster

In likely the most ridiculous moment of this year’s NFL Draft, former Minnesota Vikings running back Ed Marinaro was brought out at the celebrity picker. The viewers then got to witness a rant that reached almost three minutes.

The now actor from Blue Mountain State fame would not stop talking forcing what looks to be a television producer to come out on stage to ask the picker to announce the selection so the show could roll on.

I watch every pick of the draft yearly and have never seen anything quite like this.

That’s all I’ve got. The Kentucky Derby is a week away, and the conference semifinals for the NBA playoffs start on Sunday, but now it’s draft time. Let’s get buckled in for the marathon.

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2024-05-22