Recapping an important week in the world of Kentucky football recruiting

On3 imageby:Zack Geoghegan03/31/23

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Time for our weekly recruiting update presented by our friend Andy Luedecke at MyPerfectFranchise. Andy is a huge college sports fan and franchise veteran, having owned multiple franchises and businesses. Using his expertise, he helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough consultation and evaluation process.

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Recruiting season is always in full swing, but that’s been especially true the last week-plus. The Kentucky football staff has been hot on the trail, hosting dozens upon dozens of high school prospects dating back to this past weekend. They haven’t slowed down since then either, with a handful of high-profile visitors making it to Lexington throughout the week. It’ll only get busier for the staff moving forward, as well. Let’s go ahead and dive right into the good stuff.

Where things stand with the ’25 QBs

It’s no secret at this point that Kentucky is going after multiple quarterbacks from the class of 2025. Let’s start with the big fish: Lexington Christian Academy’s Cutter Boley, who recently received an RPM pick in favor of Kentucky from KSR’s Adam Luckett this week. With Liam Coen back in the offensive coordinator role, Boley’s interest in Kentucky has shot back up to where it was before he left for the Los Angeles Rams. Boley was in Lexington this week to meet with members of the UK coaching staff, a source told KSR. Also of note, two of Kentucky’s top competitors for Boley, Tennessee and Michigan, both received commitments this week from highly-rated ’24 quarterbacks: Jake Merklinger (UT) and Jaydn Davis (UM). Considered the No. 21 overall sophomore in the entire country by On3, Boley is at the very top of Kentucky’s Big Board and the ‘Cats appear to be in good shape at this stage in the process. Don’t count out the possibility of him reclassifying to 2024, either.

Then you’ve got Ryan Montgomery, a top 150 sophomore prospect in the nation, per the On3 Consensus, out of Ohio. Like Boley, the Kentucky staff rolled out the red carpet for Montgomery this week, hosting him on Thursday with a trip to the popular Lexington steakhouse, Jeff Ruby’s. A source tells KSR that the trip went well and the Kentucky coaching staff is already working on getting Montgomery down for another visit in June. He’s been to campus at least four times already. Auburn offered him earlier this week.

Finally, we’ve got Stone Saunders, a top 200 sophomore in the country by the On3 Consensus. The Pennsylvania prospect tells KSR he’ll return to Lexington (after first visiting on Junior Day in late January) on April 7. He’s likely the third option of these three QB targets, but Kentucky is certainly keeping close tabs on his recruitment.

Notable visitors from this week

Aside from the QB position, Kentucky brought in several big-name recruits (and some under-the-radar prospects) to Lexington throughout the week. Most notably, OT Jac’Qawn McRoy, TE Gavin Grover, and CB Terhyon Nichols — a trio of talented ’24 prospects that are all considered among the best at their respective positions — were in town for visits.

Kentucky cracked McRoy’s top 10 last month, telling On3’s Chad Simmons that receiving his first-ever Divison I offer from the Wildcats is playing a significant factor in his recruitment. He also visited in September and is building a sound relationship with offensive line coach Zach Yenser. Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, and Tennessee are also involved with McRoy.

As for Grover, Kentucky is in terrific shape with the three-star tight end out of Ohio. He raved about his visit to Kentucky with KSR’s Nick Roush after the fact, saying that “it almost felt like home”. Grover has long been a priority at tight end for the ‘Cats, with Vince Marrow leading the charge. Like McRoy, Kentucky was the first D1 school to offer Grover, which came in April 2022. He’s since been to Lexington several times and is a fan of what Coen is building on offense. Grover took trips to Rutgers and West Virginia after leaving UK this week. He holds two RPM picks in favor of the ‘Cats.

Lastly, Nichols is more of a wild card compared to the other two, which clearly have a high level of interest in Kentucky. The Cincinnati product came to campus this week with several of his Withrow High School teammates for a visit. Nichols picked up offers from Michigan and Louisville earlier this month. This wasn’t his first time in Lexington though, as Nichols was in attendance for Junior Day two months ago.

Upcoming visitors

While this week was certainly important for Kentucky when it comes to recruiting, the upcoming weekend and going into next week will be just as big. Kai Greer, a top 500 prospect from the class of 2024, is planning a visit to UK this weekend. Penn State is in the driver’s seat, already locking him into an official visit set for mid-June. But Coach Yenser is looking to get the ‘Cats more involved after offering the three-star offensive tackle back in January.

Meanwhile, three-star DL Kendall Jackson (April 8) and unranked LB Samuel Ramsey (April 7) plan to visit Kentucky next weekend. Jackson, who plays high school ball in the Sunshine State, is the more well-known of the two, receiving interest from the likes of Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss, and Texas, among others. UK was his second offer from an SEC program, which he picked up from defensive backs coach Chris Collins back in October. As for Ramsey, the Michigan product currently holds just one D1 offer from Western Illinois, but he’s been making plenty of visits the last several months to the likes of Michigan, Navy, and Pittsburgh. It’ll be interesting to see if he leaves Lexington with an offer in hand.

For all you fans of special teams, four-star kicker/punter Michael Buck out of North Carolina is planning a return visit to Kentucky this weekend. UK’s new special teams coordinator Jay Boulware is making it a point to target more kickers/punters on the trail, and Buck is on the radar. Appalachian State hosted him earlier this week.

Other recruiting notes

  • Where does Kentucky stand with the four-star Smith Twins? After cracking the Top 10 for twin brothers Jacob and Jerod Smith, who previously played high school football in the Somerset, KY area, Kentucky appears to be losing some traction with the package duo. In particular, Notre Dame is making a strong push for the defensive-minded brothers, re-visiting South Bend on Thursday after making a trip in January. They also visited Michigan this week, as well. The current plan is for both to commit on their birthday in August. The Smiths twins are also considering Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Penn State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, and Texas in addition to UK, Notre Dame, and Michigan.
  • Kentucky eyeing three-star OT out of Florida. Deryc Plazz earned an offer from Kentucky earlier this week, telling KSR a scholarship had “been in the works for a while now”. Plazz says Kentucky initially wanted to get him on campus for a workout before deciding on an offer, but the staff decided to speed up the process as his popularity continues to boom. He went from just one Divison I offer in 2022 (Austin Peay) to now holding 23 as of late March from the likes of Miami (FL), NC State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Rutgers, Cincinnati, UCF, and Louisville. Plazz is looking to make an unofficial visit to UK sometime in April with the possibility of scheduling an official visit in the summer.

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