A Huge Day For Kentucky Football
In the seven years since Mark Stoops came to Kentucky recruiting has gotten steadily better. Gone are the days of competing with non power five schools over one and two star players. They are consistently taking on the traditional powers and in many cases winning. How good is this class? Now that the ink has dried and the fax machine is put away let’s wrap it up with the Kentucky 2019 signing day recap.
On Paper The Best Class In School History
As it stands right now Kentucky’s class ranks 19th in the country by Rivals. It includes one five star player, nine four star and 11 three stars. The biggest catch in the class is Justin Rogers. The defensive lineman committed to the Cats back in May and Stoops and company held onto him despite offers from other schools. The six foot four 314 Rogers has been projected as a second round NFL Draft Pick before ever stepping foot on campus. Rogers is another in the growing Michigan to Kentucky pipeline headed by assistant coach Steve Clinkscale.
Super Tuesday
The day before signing day the Cats picked up two huge commitments, literally. RJ Adams a four star player from Virginia chose Kentucky over North Carolina State. In addition Alabama had made a late run at Adams as well. The six foot three 325 pound former Penn State pledge chose the Cats in one of the better videos you will see.
Apologies again for not being able to Live Stream or provide an update. Here is @exclusivejaayy announcement! The entire ceremony can now be seen at https://t.co/SXy6SNAfPr @AthleticsWshs @GJrWorth https://t.co/7zfq2AxTOT pic.twitter.com/B5eVll5ylC
— PW Sportz & Ent (@PWSportz) December 18, 2019
Kentucky’s been on the other end of these many times so it was great to see them as the winner for once.
A few hours later Jeremy Flax of Independence Community College in Kansas announced he was coming to Kentucky as well. The number two ranked tackle in junior college Flax was long thought to be heading to Auburn. However Clinkscale worked his magic again and Adams is a Wildcat. Originally from Detroit the six foot six 320 pounder is another in the Michigan to Kentucky pipeline.
As we continue on with our Kentucky 2019 signing day recap let’s look at areas the coaching staff hit hard, the offensive and defensive lines.
The Big Blue Wall
Whether it was the record setting career of Benny Snell or the Hornung Award winning season of Lynn Bowden Kentucky’s quickly gaining the reputation of being known as “Offensive Lineman U.” Along those lines the Cats signed five players in this class. In addition to Adams and Flax Kentucky also inked Joshua Jones out of Alabama and Deondre Buford another player out of Michigan. The fifth player we will talk about in a minute. In addition Rogers also played on the offensive line in high school.
While hitting that side of the ball hard the Cats certainly didn’t forget about the defensive line. Kentucky signed yet another four star player in Tre’vonn Rybka, a Tennessee native who chose the Cats over Oklahoma.
However in one of the bigger surprises of the day the Cats reeled in Josaih Hayes, another four star player out of Mississippi. Kentucky made a late run at Hayes and got the commitment. The 160th best player in America chose the Cats over Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss. Looking at this lineup it’s easy to get excited about the next few years for Kentucky football.
Kentucky's 2020 defensive line class:
Top-5 DT Justin Rogers (6-3, 311)
Top-10 DE Samuel Anaele (6-4, 243)
Top-25 DT Josaih Hayes (6-2, 308)
Top-40 DT Tre'vonn Rybka (6-4, 281)
Top-50 DT Octavious Oxendine (6-2, 308)— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) December 18, 2019
Hitting The Home State Hard
A season ago five of Kentucky’s 22 recruits came from in state. Furthermore four of those players came from Louisville. Fast forward to 2020 and four of the 21 pledges came from Kentucky including two more from the home of their rival.
The class is headed by another member of The Big Blue Wall John Young. He ranks as the fifth best player in the state and 36th overall at offensive tackle. Right up there with Young is quarterback Beau Allen. The Lexington Catholic product won the Paul Hornung Award for the top player in the state of Kentucky. He threw for 3,456 yards and 37 touchdowns with only six interceptions.
Kentucky’s two other in state players are defensive tackle Octavious Oxendine and wide receiver Izayah Cummings. Oxendine is from North Hardin high school and chose Kentucky over Tennessee. He had 14 and a half sacks in 2019 to go along with fumble return for a touchdown. Cummings is another Louisville native who caught 55 passes for 1.056 yards. In addition he had 12 touchdowns.
More To Come?
During his press conference on Wednesday Stoops says they want to sign three or four more players in February. One of those is Vito Tisdale. The six foot two safety from Bowling Green, Kentucky has been a priority for a long time for the coaching staff. He’s playing in the U.S. Army All-American Game on January 4th where he’ll make his decision. Kentucky’s a heavy favorite to land his services.
In addition to the players mentioned this class doesn’t include two high profile transfers heading to Lexington. Quarterback Joey Gatewood is heading to Lexington after leaving Auburn. Also former LSU cornerback Kelvin Joseph is eligible to suit up next season.
A fourth straight bowl game and the best recruiting class in school history. The Big Blue Nation is feeling good about the future.
Continue to love the job @UKCoachStoops is doing at @UKFootball.
Another Top 25 recruiting class, lands Joey Gatewood as a transfer.
Lands #1 player in Michigan, cleans up in Ohio.
Blue collar mentality.
More wins than Texas, FSU, Michigan St and Nebraska in last 4 years. pic.twitter.com/77MuzaeixP
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) December 20, 2019
Thank you for checking out the Kentucky 2019 signing day recap here at Last Word On College Football. As a reminder we’ll have the Belk Bowl preview coming soon for the game between the Cats and Virginia Tech.
