'23 CB Kenari Wilcher planning OV to Kentucky in June

Coming into the month of May, Kenari Wilcher had just three Division I offers from Florida Atlantic, Fordham, and Rhode Island. Fast forward nearly four weeks later and he’s now up to 11 total scholarships, three coming from Power 5 schools, and has already scheduled a pair of official visits for June.

One of those stops will be Lexington. Wilcher, an unranked 6-foot-1, 275-pound cornerback out of Clewiston, FL, will take an official visit to Kentucky on June 17, he tells KSR. He’ll then take his second OV to check out the Indiana Hoosiers a week later on June 24. Wilcher received his offer from Wildcats defensive back coach Chris Collins earlier this week and wasted no time setting up a visit.

Kentucky and Indiana both reached out with scholarships on Monday before Illinois did the same on Tuesday.

blessed to receive my 10th offer from university of kentucky #AGTG🔵 @UKFootball @TheBallCoach09 @BillyEmbody @MohrRecruiting @ParkerThune @247Sports @Andrew_Ivins @247recruiting @larryblustein pic.twitter.com/LFN4N3FhRn

— 𝕂𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕚 “𝕂𝟟“ 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕣 (@KenariWilcher) May 24, 2022

Following an impressive junior season at Clewiston High School, Wilcher has seen his stock take off. Once he posted his film from the 2021 season a few months ago, college coaches began to reach out on a regular basis. FAU got the ball rolling in February before the likes of Western Kentucky, Florida International, South Florida, and James Madison began to get involved.

But he hasn’t stayed under the radar for very long and recently transferred to Moore Haven for his final season.

Wilcher told KSR that he was surprised when Kentucky extended an offer but added that he was previously in contact with Coach Collins before. The two have begun to build a relationship, talking about education and potential majors. Collins came down to his school in Florida to give Wilcher the offer and set up a visit.

Indiana’s pitch to Wilcher so far has been based on early playing time. In regards to Kentucky, it’s the idea of performing at the top level in the SEC that immediately stands out.

As a junior at Clewiston, Wilcher played both sides of the field. He caught 20 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns on offense while recording 14 tackles, 2.0 sacks, two interceptions, and one blocked field goal as a versatile defensive back. Wilcher doubles as a track star, too, running the 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds.

“Most the coaches dig my ability to use my length and speed,” Wilcher told KSR. “I can play almost every skill position on the field, so that helps out a lot.”

Wilcher’s visits to Kentucky and Indiana will be his first to both. He wants to make a commitment before his senior year of high school begins this fall. He intends to use all five of his official visits before making that decision.