Recapping A Huge Couple Of Weeks
For many the phrase “Yahtzee” means a legendary dice game. However, for card-carrying members of the Big Blue Nation, it means something entirely different. Ever since Mark Stoops, Vince Marrow, and the Kentucky football staff took over the phrase means the Cats got a new commitment. The dice have certainly been hot lately for the UK staff. It’s been not only a huge weekend but a couple of weeks. Let’s get to it with our 2024 Kentucky Recruiting Update.
Fourth Of July Yahtzee
Tuesday afternoon the Cats picked up Quaysheed Scott, a 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back from Marion High School in South Carolina. He chose the Cats over Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, and Old Dominion. Scott impressed the coaching staff at a recent camp where he clocked a 4.4 40-yard dash. A two-way player Scott had 940 receiving yards, ran for 540 more, and had 64 tackles, seven interceptions and four pass breakups as a junior. He comes from a football family as his cousin Cam Smith went in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Another cousin, T.J. Sanders recorded 16 tackles and had an interception last year for South Carolina.
Scott’s pledge continued what’s been a big holiday weekend for the Kentucky football team.
Big Time Commitment
Over the years there’s been a pipeline from Cincinnati down Interstate 75 to Lexington. That continued on Sunday night when cornerback Terhyon Nichols announced his commitment to the Cats. The four-star player from Withrow High School chose Kentucky over a who’s who of college football. Nichols’ finalists included Cincinnati, Michigan, Ohio State, and Pittsburgh.
4⭐️ DB Terhyon Nichols commits to Kentucky over Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and others!! 🎲 🔥 pic.twitter.com/iwwVSE4uAr
— Cody Couch (@Couch_29) July 2, 2023
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Nichols ranks as 271st best player in America by 247 Sports. In addition, he’s listed as the 12th best player in Ohio and 27th best cornerback in the nation. He’s the highest-ranked defensive back to commit to Stoops in his 11 years in Lexington.
Nichols wasn’t the only big pickup for the Cats over the weekend. As we continue our 2024 Kentucky recruiting update let’s look at another player from just across the border.
Getting Another One From Tennessee
One thing Stoops and his staff have done really well is recognizing under-the-radar players before they blow up on the national scene. That is certainly the case with Eiljah Groves who chose Kentucky one day earlier. A four-star linebacker from East Robertson High School in Cross Plains, a town of about 2,000 people 34 miles north of Nashville. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder chose the Cats over North Carolina State and Purdue which is a big recruiting win for defensive coordinator Brad White.
LEXINGTION! @UKFootball @er_football pic.twitter.com/UsASsJITNe
— Elijah Groves (@ElijahGroves6) July 1, 2023
In the past week, Groves made a huge jump in the 247 rankings now sitting 144th in the nation and second best player in the Volunteer State. Furthermore, he rates as the 14th-best linebacker in the country. He also played as a receiver and return man. Not only a standout football player, Groves also starred in basketball and track. Last season he averaged nearly 20 points per game and has already passed 1,000 career points. In track, he ran an 11.84 100 and a 23.90 200 and high jumped 5-8. His cousin Taylor Groves plays safety for Ole Miss. He’s the latest in a string of players from the Nashville area including Barion Brown and Destin and Keaten Wade.
We mentioned, in the beginning, the dice have been hot recently for the Wildcats. As we wrap up our 2024 Kentucky recruiting update let’s look at a few more recent pledges.
Building A Strong Class
Last Wednesday the Cats picked up a commitment from edge Caleb Redd. A three star player, Redd chose Kentucky over Arizona and Kansas State. However, he held offers from Oregon and USC. Currently, Redd ranks as the 14th-best player in the state of Missouri and the 60th-best edge in the country. As a junior, he had an incredible 21 sacks to go along with 60 tackles. Kentucky’s been trying to break into the “Show Me State” for recruiting for a few years and finally broke through with Redd.
While all the players we’ve talked about are on defense, the other side of the ball hasn’t been neglected by any means. Willie Rodriguez, a tight end from traditional Kentucky football power Covington Catholic, chose the Cats over Purdue and Virginia Tech. He’s listed as the sixth-best player in Kentucky. Lastly Tovani Mizell, a former Georgia commit who had also visited North Carolina and Oklahoma, ultimately chose the Cats. He’s the 71st-best player in Florida who has great pass-catching ability for a running back.
Kentucky’s 2024 class currently sits 44th in the nation by 247Sports. The group is headed by Lexington Christian Academy quarterback Cutter Boley. Right now the Wildcats only have 13 commitments. As that number goes up so will their overall ranking.
Thanks for checking out our 2024 Kentucky Recruiting Update here at Last Word On College Football. We’re getting close to the start of the 2023 campaign in the coming weeks we’ll get you ready for what should be another great season in Lexington.
Photo courtesy: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
