Kentucky is in pursuit of blue-chip Miami DL commit Artavius Jones

Kentucky now has 15 high school commitments in the fold for the class of 2024. On defense, the Wildcats have been slowly loading up on linebacker and secondary targets. However, the defensive line still needs to be addressed. A new name emerged on Wednesday.

Artavius Jones is the No. 167 overall player in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking. A top-25 defensive line product, the Blountstown (Fla.) High rising senior has been committed to Miami for just over two weeks. However, that hasn’t stopped other programs from pursuing.

When the calendar turned to August, programs were allowed to send out official offers to 2024 prospects. Jones received some from Florida State, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and UCF.

@UKCoachStoops @CoachC_Collins @Bigstew9 #BBN 🔵⚪️!! pic.twitter.com/3DD6s9keNY

— Artavius Jones (@ArtaviusJ1) August 3, 2023

Defensive backs coach Chris Collins and defensive line coach Anwar Stewart are leading the charge for the Wildcats. Back in June, UK was unable to get any defensive line prospects on campus for an official visit. Now the coaching staff is working on pulling what would be a huge flip for Jones.

Baylor commit Alex Foster also published official offer graphics on this week from Dave Aranda‘s Big 12 program and Kentucky. Collins is also running point for UK for the Greenville (Miss.) St. Joseph product. Michigan commit Jerod Smith has also taken two unofficial visit trips to Kentucky over the last couple of weeks. Defensive line still needs to be addressed in the 2024 cycle and some clear targets are emerging.

Now Kentucky must attempt to get Alex Foster, Artavius Jones, and Jerod Smith on campus for an official visit at some point over the next four months before signing day arrives in December.