KSR Today: Kentucky Football Pro Day is here

NFL coaches and scouts are pouring into Lexington to get a close look at Kentucky football’s standouts leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft, which begins April 28. It’s Pro Day at the Joe Craft Football Training Facilities, with draft-eligible Wildcats set to participate in strength, agility and skill drills throughout the morning and afternoon.

10 current Kentucky players — and one former Wildcat — will put their abilities to the test starting at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Check out the complete Pro Day schedule:

10:30 AM – Measurements: Height, Weight, etc.
11:15 AM – Vertical, Broad Jump, and 225 Rep Test
Rolling Schedule (12:00—2:00 EST.)
- 40-yard test
- Short Shuttle
- 3-Cone Shuttle
- 60-yard Shuttle
- Position Drills
  - OL
  - DB
  - DL
  - WR / TE / QB

Full list of participants:

Josh Ali
Yusuf Corker
Luke Fortner
Darian Kinnard
Marquan McCall
Quandre Mosely
Josh Paschal
Justin Rigg
Wan’Dale Robinson
Dare Rosenthal
Terry Wilson

The event will be streamed live online at UKathletics.com and on SEC Network + beginning at 11 am ET.

You can find KSR’s complete Pro Day preview here, courtesy of the one and only Adam Luckett.

The NFL Draft is set for April 28-30 in Las Vegas. The first round will be held on April 28, followed by the second and third rounds on April 29, and will conclude with rounds 4–7 on April 30.

Mintz, Howard compete in College 3-Point Contest

Davion Mintz and Rhyne Howard of the Kentucky men’s and women’s basketball teams were proud representatives of the program Thursday evening in New Orleans.

Down in New Orleans for the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, both players participated in the 3-point contests, with Howard advancing to the semifinals. Mintz scored 15 points in the first round, putting him in a four-way tie to advance. Due to a tiebreaker formality — best rack moves forward in the event of a tie — the former Wildcat sixth man was knocked out early.

“Cheated the kid,” Mintz wrote on Twitter.

cheated the kid 🤦🏽‍♂️
— Davion Mintz (@deemintz1) April 1, 2022

As for Howard, she scored 12 in the first round to advance to the next round, but was knocked out in the semifinals after scoring 17 — her head-to-head competition scored 22 points.

Mintz and Howard are just the eighth and ninth Kentucky players to participate in the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships. The Wildcat duo join Travis Ford (1994, 3PT), Scott Padgett (1999, 3PT), Gerald Fitch (2004, 3PT), Chuck Hayes (2005, Dunk), A’dia Mathies (2013, 3PT), Janee Thompson (2016, 3PT) and Maci Morris (2019, 3PT).

Also in attendance? None other than Oscar Tshiebwe, who is in New Orleans to potentially take home 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for Men’s Player of the Year honors at the Final Four. The trio of Kentucky standouts met up prior to the event, with Tshiebwe in the stands to watch both compete.

Name a better trio, we'll wait…

RT to wish Rhyne and Davion good luck at the 2022 State Farm 3-Point Championship🏀 pic.twitter.com/tf77lV0lLG
— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) April 1, 2022

GEICO Nationals continue

After a busy opening round of the 2022 GEICO Nationals on Thursday, the semifinals are set to begin starting Friday afternoon.

In the event loaded with familiar faces for the Kentucky basketball program, including one future Wildcat, potential recruits, former targets, and rival signees, four games took place to open the prestigious event yesterday.

Thursday results

No. 4 Link Academy 81, No. 5 Oak Hill 64
- Kentucky signee Chris Livingston finished with 12 points (5-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-3 FT), five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist in 32 minutes in the loss
- Arkansas signee Jordan Walsh (Link Academy) finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-10 FG to go with eight rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block
No. 3 Montverde Academy 72, No. 6 AZ Compass 63
- Former Kentucky commit Skyy Clark (Montverde) is out of GEICO Nationals due to a hand injury
- Kentucky target and five-star junior KJ Evans (Montverde) finished with five points (1-7 FG, 0-2 FG, 3-4 FT), six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two turnovers in 22 minutes
- UK target Mookie Cook (AZ Compass) — who later committed to Oregon — finished with just two points (1-3 FG), four rebounds, three assists and one turnover in 22 minutes of action
No. 2 IMG Academy 76, No. 7 La Lumiere 51
- Keyonte George (Baylor) and Jarace Walker (Houston) — two former Kentucky targets — combined for 55 points in the blowout win
No. 8 Prolific Prep 59, No. 1 Sunrise Christian 56

You can find KSR’s complete breakdown of the GEICO quarterfinals here.

Semifinals

2:30 PM EST | ESPN2 – No. 3 Montverde Academy (FL) vs. No. 2 IMG Academy (FL)
4:30 PM EST | ESPN2 – No. 4 Link Academy (MO) vs. No. 8 Prolific Prep (CA)

Championship

Saturday, Noon EST | ESPN – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Mookie Cook commits to Oregon

Kentucky missed out on one of its top recruiting targets in the class of 2023, as Marquis “Mookie” Cook announced his commitment to the Oregon Ducks on Thursday evening.

Cook, a five-star small forward out of Jefferson, OR, made his decision live on ESPNU at GEICO Nationals. The 6-foot-7 wing, who plays for AZ Compass Prep, chose Oregon over Kentucky and Gonzaga.

“Their pitch has honestly been… you’re born and raised here…you’d have your family here and your whole support system,” Cook recently told On3‘s Joe Tipton. “And also come in and have a big role there and be able to play your game to the fullest and have great pieces around you.”

Cook, the No. 5 prospect in 2023 according to the On3 Consensus, is the second-highest recruit of the modern era to pick Oregon, trailing only former Duck Bol Bol.

Although the word from Cook is that he will remain in the class of 2023, sources tell KSR that a possible reclassification to 2022 is still on the table.