One Of Kentucky’s Best Classes Ever Next Season
Ever since Mark Stoops came to Kentucky, recruiting has gotten steadily better. Over the course of seven seasons the Cats are now consistently in the mix with four and even five star players. Factor in the school’s best record in 41 years a season ago and the Wildcats are a trending school. Next year’s class shapes up as one of the best Stoops has had. With that in mind let’s take a look at Kentucky’s Impressive 2020 Recruiting Class. We’ll start with the top incoming player.
The Literal Big Man On Campus
Through the years Mark Stoops and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow coined the phrase “yahtzee” whenever a player commits. The biggest one of all is defensive tackle Justin Rogers who is the centerpiece of the incoming class. Coming in at 14th in the Rivals rankings Rogers is the highest rated Kentucky recruit since they began compiling records in 2002. He committed to the Wildcats back in May, choosing the Cats over a who’s who of top schools.
With the Cats losing quite a bit up front this season the 6-4, 314 pound defensive end is the type of player who can make an immediate impact in 2020. The number one player in the state of Michigan is part of an impressive pipeline from Michigan to Kentucky headed by Coach Steve Clinkscale. Four start offensive tackle Deondre Buford pledged in August and current Cat Marquan McCalll also hails from Michigan.
Two Big Commitments On The Same Day
July 1st was a huge day for Mark Stoops and the staff and the gained pledges from two more four star prospects. Up first was four star wide receiver Kalil Branham from Columbus, Ohio. Branham held offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and Michigan before ultimately choosing Kentucky. In addition he did so with one of the best commitment videos you will ever see.
https://twitter.com/kbug_dash/status/1145799360472657925
Originally Branham committed to play for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines. However he backed out of that pledge on April 13. Less than three months later the six foot one 205 pound receiver announced he is Lexington bound.
The Daily Double
While usually a phrase associated with horse racing, that day it fit the Kentucky football program. About five hours after the Branham commitment the dice rolled again as Kentucky received a pledge from Samuel Anaele.
The 6-4, 247 pound defensive end picked the Wildcats over Florida, Georgia and Miami. In fact Anaele decomitted from the Hurricanes the day before only to pledge to Kentucky the next day. He ranks as the fifth best defensive end and 96th best player in the 2020 class. One would believe the job the coaching staff did in developing Josh Allen only helped the cause.
Quality Over Quantity
Over a one month span Kentucky received nine of their 17 commitments for next year’s class. In addition four of them came in a two day period. Currently they sit 22nd in Rivals’ ranking for next season. The 17 players ties for the second fewest of anyone in the Top 25. Furthermore Kentucky has one five star, four four star and 12 three star players.
Stoops has said on many occasions next year’s class will be smaller due to the fact they have so few seniors on the current team. The Wildcats are looking to have 18-20 players tops next year. As we continue looking at Kentucky’s Impressive 2020 Recruiting Class we finish with some in-state guys.
Hitting The Home State Hard
A season ago five of Kentucky’s 22 recruits were home grown. In addition four of the five came from Louisville. This year’s class is shaping up similarly with four of the 17 players coming from the Bluegrass State. Four star quarterback Beau Allen heads this group. The Lexington Catholic product chose the hometown school over Cincinnati and Duke.
The other three players all hail from Louisville. Offensive lineman John Young along with wide receiver Izayah Cummings and athlete Jordan Watkins all spurned the hometown Cardinals to move up Interstate 64. Last weekend Cummings and Watkins squared off against each other. Between the two the accounted for 10 receptions for 323 yards and two touchdowns. Obviously the coaching staff can’t wait to get these guys on campus.
One More Player Left
As we mentioned earlier Stoops is looking at somewhere around an 18-20 player class. With 17 spots filled the staff hopes one is Vito Tisdale. The four star safety from Bowling Green, Kentucky recently announced his final four schools with Kentucky one of them.
Blessed to announce my top four schools NO ORDER…
University of Alabama 🐘
University of Georgia 🐾
University of Kentucky 🔵
Texas A&M University 👍🏽— V7️⃣ (@vitotisdale7) September 17, 2019
He’s making his college choice on January 4th during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. What great publicity it would make for the program to have him pick the Cats on national television.
A Long Time Until December
It may not seem that long until early National Signing Day on December 18th. However for college coaches it is an eternity. In the past Kentucky has had several players commit only to see them eventually go somewhere else. Jarren Williams is the name who usually comes to mind. In fact two weeks after pledging to the Wildcats Rogers visited Alabama. However he says he’s firmly committed to Stoops. Of course nothing is ever certain until the name is on the dotted line. Sometimes even that isn’t enough with the way recruiting goes. We’ll all find out in December.
With the Cats on a bye week thanks for checking out our look at Kentucky’s impressive 2020 recruiting class. The Wildcats attempt to break a three game losing streak when they host Arkansas next Saturday night. We’ll have a preview for you here at Last Word On College Football.
