Stone Saunders, Blue Chip 2025 Quarterback, Commits to Kentucky

The Kentucky football recruiting operation has turned quarterback from a weakness to a strength. Friday night Stone Saunders committed to Kentucky. The blue chip quarterback from Pennsylvania picked the Wildcats over Nebraska, Georgia, Miami and Michigan.

Stone Saunders is a 2025 prospect entering his junior football season, but he’s already an accomplished prep athlete. The Harrisburg native has spent two seasons as a starter for a prolific Pennsylvania program, Bishop McDevitt. Each season ended in the 4A state championship game. Saunders avenged a 2021 loss last fall by throwing for five touchdowns against Aliquippa in a 41-18 route.

A 6-foot-1, 195-pound passer, in 2022 he threw for 3,583 yards and 54 touchdowns. Through two seasons of prep football, Saunders has thrown 100 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Not too shabby. He is the 25th-ranked quarterback, a top-10 recruit in Pennsylvania and the No. 336 over player in the 2025 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

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Liam Coen Fixes QB Recruiting Problems

Shortly after making the move to Lexington, Mark Stoops rode an early wave of momentum in large part thanks to the commitment of Drew Barker. The four-star in-state star passer picked the Cats over Steve Spurrier. That recruiting win never resulted in game-changing production. Since Barker’s season-ending injury in 2015, Kentucky has not had a full-time starting quarterback recruited from the high school ranks.

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky, but it’s a dangerous game. Upon Liam Coen’s return, a top priority was fixing the Wildcats’ high school quarterback recruiting operation. He’s done it almost immediately.

Cutter Boley rolled the dice and reclassified into the 2024 class. He’ll be on campus in January. Now Stone Saunders is in the fold, giving Kentucky consecutive blue chip wins at the most important position on the team.

What’s even more significant is the timing of Saunders’ decision. Slow starts have been a recent recruiting concern. The Cats have a building block in 2025 with Saunders as the pillar, attracting top talent from around the country to consider Kentucky.

Stone Saunders has Eye-Opening Tools

From the outside looking in, it appears Liam Coen made moves in record to to secure the commitment. In fact, his connection with Stone Saunders goes way back. When Coen concluded his career at UMass, he trained with Saunders’ father, Steve, throughout the NFL Draft prep process. Watching Saunders play, it’s clear he’s the son of a coach.

The talented young quarterback can flick his wrist and launch the ball 50 yards down the field. Even when under duress, he remains poised in the pocket, keeping his eyes on the target until he can create a connection. There’s obviously still plenty of room to improve for the young man, but the foundation is rock solid, pun intended.