Starting Off Another Great Class
Like everything in the sports world, college football has come to grinding halt due to COVID-19. Since coaches aren’t allowed to make recruiting trips and players can’t visit campuses, they now rely on other means to keep in touch. So far it hasn’t slowed down the Wildcats’ recruiting efforts. In fact, Mark Stoops and his staff recently got another big commit. We’ll look at him and the entire class with our Early Kentucky Football 2021 Recruiting Update.
Getting Good Players To Stay Home
Over the last few years, Kentucky has done a great job getting top in-state players to stay home. That happened again as Kaiya Sheron, a quarterback from Somerset picked the Wildcats.
After a great conversation with @UKCoachStoops and @CoachHinshaw today, I would like to announce my commitment to the University of Kentucky. #BBN #WhyNotNow #21Savages pic.twitter.com/wDfnnB5Hsb
— Kaiya Sheron (@kaiyasheron2) March 24, 2020
Sheron ranks as a three-star quarterback by Rivals and is the eighth-best player in the state. As a junior, he threw for 3,218 yards and 28 touchdowns. In addition, he ran for 959 yards and nine more scores.
On top of that, he led his team to the Class 2A Championship in dramatic fashion. Down 31-28 with 28 seconds to go and no time outs he calmly led them down the field. With no time remaining Sheron hit Tate Madden for a 34-31 game-winner.
🏆CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONS🏆
Somerset (14-1) – 34
Mayfield (13-2) – 31
*The Briar Jumpers were down 31-28 with 28 seconds left in the game. Kaiya Sheron threw a 20 yard TD pass to Tate Madden with no time left to pull off the miracle to win their 1st state championship! pic.twitter.com/qqrEgoUvJG
— KY HIGH FOOTBALL 🏈 (@KYHighFootball) December 7, 2019
The six-foot-three Sheron joins a loaded set at quarterback which features Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood and another local product Beau Allen of Lexington Catholic.
Now that we’ve looked at the most recent commit for Kentucky let’s take a look at the other three. They feature two players who are going to be blocking for Sheron in the future.
Two Big Guys Up Front
Kentucky fans know Ohio has been a recruiting hotbed for Stoops and Vince Marrow ever since they came to Lexington. The 2021 class is no different, the other three hail from the Buckeye State.
David Wohlabaugh, a six-foot-five, 277-pound offensive tackle from Wadsworth, Ohio pledged to the Cats on February 20th. He ranks as the 54th best at his position in the nation and 22nd in the state of Ohio. Wohlabaugh held offers from Maryland, Michigan State, and Pittsburgh among others.
After a great talk with @UKFootball I am excited to say I am committed to the University of Kentucky!! #BBN #GoCats #SEC #kentucky pic.twitter.com/VReCcvTD9D
— David wohlabaugh (@WohlabaughDavid) February 20, 2020
On the same day, Kentucky received a pledge from another Ohio offensive tackle. Paul Rodriquez, a six-foot-five, 315 pounder from Dublin, chose the Wildcats over Cincinnati, Iowa State, and Rutgers among others. He ranks as the 32nd best player in Ohio.
Committed…✍🏽 @BillLapthorn @CoachCastner @R_Redinger4 @DarinLittle36 @CoachGKontsis @KCPopplewell @vincemarrow @CoachSchlarman @UKCoachStoops @UKStoopsTroops pic.twitter.com/zw4t9Ho8qM
— Paul Rodriguez (@PaulRod67) February 20, 2020
Over the last few years, Kentucky has turned out a number of great NFL players under offensive line coach John Schlarman. Both Rodriguez and Wohlabaugh look to fit in as members of the “Big Blue Wall.”
As we continue on with our Kentucky Football 2021 Recruiting Update let’s look at the fourth member of the class and the only defensive player.
Help on the Defense
As mentioned earlier the Wildcats have become quite a hotbed for offensive line talent. In addition, their work at linebacker isn’t too shabby. Another player looking to add his name to that list is Devon Williams. The six-foot-two outside linebacker ranks as the 15th best player in Ohio and 30th best in the nation at his position. Williams held offers from Michigan, Nebraska, and West Virginia among others.
He’s yet another in the Vince Marrow, Ohio to Kentucky pipeline. In fact, three of the four 2021 commits were brought in by Marrow.
https://twitter.com/9_DWILLIAMS/status/1221979982412550145?s=20
Looking at Kentucky’s recruiting success only shows how important it was for Stoops to keep Marrow on the staff. In the offseason, he turned down not only the head coaching job at Youngstown State but a chance to join Mel Tucker at Michigan State.
How Does the Class Stack Up?
Of course, it’s really early in the process but currently, Kentucky’s class ranks 29th in the country by 247 Sports and seventh in the SEC. Rivals.com also has the Wildcats ranked seventh in the SEC and 27th overall.
Thanks for checking out our Kentucky Football Early 2021 Recruiting Update here at Last Word On College Football. Next time out we’ll look at the changes on the coaching staff. In addition, we’ll continue on with our greatest games of each decade.
