Woodford County 3-star OL Justyn Perez talking to UK, Penn State with decision on the way

Three-star offensive lineman Justyn Perez is only a few months away from choosing his college home — and Kentucky is among the schools in the mix to land his commitment.

KSR caught up with Perez on Friday night after he and No. 21 Woodford County smacked South Oldham 52-12 in the KSR Game of the Week. It was a revenge opportunity for Perez and the Yellow Jackets, who lost to their district rival last year in a tough 32-27 battle. Woodford County scored within the first 70 seconds of the game and never looked back, improving to 5-1 on the season.

“We took this game personal,” Perez, a junior from the class of 2027, said. “This game was really personal because we lost to them last year. We just had in our mind that we had to destroy them because they did us dirty last year, talking bad about us after the game.”

Perez’s efforts on the offensive line allowed Woodford County QB Foxx Coons plenty of time to operate and thrive in the pocket. It’s no wonder several Power 4 schools are heavily recruiting him. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him rated as the No. 531 overall high school junior in the country. Perez mentioned the likes of Kentucky, Penn State, Arkansas, NC State, and Cincinnati as schools he’s talking with regularly.

For the Wildcats, offensive line coach Eric Wolford has taken the lead in recruiting him to stay home. Perez visited Lexington for UK’s Week 2 loss to Ole Miss. Vince Marrow, now on staff at Louisville, is the one who initially offered Perez on Kentucky’s behalf back in March, but Wolford has kept the communication alive since Marrow’s departure.

“The talks have been great,” he said of his conversations with Wolford. “Talking about Kentucky, talking about imagining me in a Kentucky jersey, representing my hometown.”

Perez, who was at Penn State last weekend and Central Florida the week before, has upcoming visits on his schedule to check out Cincinnati on October 25 and NC State on November 1. His current plan is to commit in January. Kentucky is a team to watch for, but don’t count out the Nittany Lions in this one.

“They know that they’re gonna actually need me on the team,” Perez said when asked what would be the final factor that decides his commitment. “Because I know I could die for my quarterback, I know I could just do everything for the team that I’m going to commit to.”

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