Film Room: Rickey Hyatt Jr.
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(Photo: @RickeyHyatt)[/caption]
Mark Stoops is not done making additions to his secondary unit and joining the 2020 recruiting haul is Ohio defensive back Rickey Hyatt Jr. The track star from the same high school that produced Benny Snell had all kinds of interest from a ton of big schools. After a long recruiting process, he'll be continuing his playing career in Lexington.
The 6-foot-2 safety had listed offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, and West Virginia. In the end, it appeared to come down to Kentucky and Michigan State. Rickey Hyatt Jr. decided to go with the Big Blue instead of heading to East Lansing. Score another crootin' win for Vince Marrow.
The Westerville, Ohio native becomes the third secondary player in the class, but the first true safety. With Kentucky currently in rebuild mode following the exodus of players that left in 2018, Rickey Hyatt Jr. will get the chance to come in and compete for a spot at free safety.
It's time to step into the KSR film room and show you just what Hyatt brings to the table. The tall and lengthy safety brings some legit speed to the position. Despite his mid-three star ranking, it's clear why a bunch of schools were in on his recruitment. When you turn on the tape, it is easy to see why he is so highly coveted.
The safety is a long strider who can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. That is needed when you are the last line of defense and above he flashes instincts and necessary ball skills to reel in the interception. This creates a big play for his defense. Hyatt is very comfortable playing deep and consistently makes plays where he has to cover a lot of area in a hurry.
There's no question that he is a free safety who is at his best playing deep, but is also capable of coming up to the line and making plays.
Westerville Central uses Hyatt on a blitz scheme on this play and he finishes it with a sack. For a high school safety, he is a strong tackler who brings a thump when he makes contact. Kentucky likes to use their free safety in a multitude of ways and Hyatt has the skills required to make plays at all three levels of the defense.
Speaking of physicality, multiple times on tape we see Rickey Hyatt Jr. come up to the line and make a play in the run game. He's not afraid to stick his nose in heavy traffic.
On contact, Hyatt drives the running back backwards and does a great job finishing the tackle before the two players get out of bounds. The free safety tackles with some hostility and that is a great trait to have.
The Westerville, Ohio native appears to have everything UK wants in a free safety. Rickey Hyatt Jr. has great size, excellent closing speed, and is a very solid tackler. His high school team uses him in multiple ways and that is exactly what Kentucky asks their free safety to do. He's a scheme fit and gives Kentucky another solid recruiting win in the Buckeye State. The Wildcats now have five verbals from the state of Ohio with some more on the way.
Who will be the next to join?
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(Photo: @RickeyHyatt)[/caption]
Mark Stoops is not done making additions to his secondary unit and joining the 2020 recruiting haul is Ohio defensive back Rickey Hyatt Jr. The track star from the same high school that produced Benny Snell had all kinds of interest from a ton of big schools. After a long recruiting process, he'll be continuing his playing career in Lexington.
The 6-foot-2 safety had listed offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, and West Virginia. In the end, it appeared to come down to Kentucky and Michigan State. Rickey Hyatt Jr. decided to go with the Big Blue instead of heading to East Lansing. Score another crootin' win for Vince Marrow.
The Westerville, Ohio native becomes the third secondary player in the class, but the first true safety. With Kentucky currently in rebuild mode following the exodus of players that left in 2018, Rickey Hyatt Jr. will get the chance to come in and compete for a spot at free safety.
It's time to step into the KSR film room and show you just what Hyatt brings to the table. The tall and lengthy safety brings some legit speed to the position. Despite his mid-three star ranking, it's clear why a bunch of schools were in on his recruitment. When you turn on the tape, it is easy to see why he is so highly coveted.
The safety is a long strider who can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. That is needed when you are the last line of defense and above he flashes instincts and necessary ball skills to reel in the interception. This creates a big play for his defense. Hyatt is very comfortable playing deep and consistently makes plays where he has to cover a lot of area in a hurry.
There's no question that he is a free safety who is at his best playing deep, but is also capable of coming up to the line and making plays.
Westerville Central uses Hyatt on a blitz scheme on this play and he finishes it with a sack. For a high school safety, he is a strong tackler who brings a thump when he makes contact. Kentucky likes to use their free safety in a multitude of ways and Hyatt has the skills required to make plays at all three levels of the defense.
Speaking of physicality, multiple times on tape we see Rickey Hyatt Jr. come up to the line and make a play in the run game. He's not afraid to stick his nose in heavy traffic.
On contact, Hyatt drives the running back backwards and does a great job finishing the tackle before the two players get out of bounds. The free safety tackles with some hostility and that is a great trait to have.
The Westerville, Ohio native appears to have everything UK wants in a free safety. Rickey Hyatt Jr. has great size, excellent closing speed, and is a very solid tackler. His high school team uses him in multiple ways and that is exactly what Kentucky asks their free safety to do. He's a scheme fit and gives Kentucky another solid recruiting win in the Buckeye State. The Wildcats now have five verbals from the state of Ohio with some more on the way.
Who will be the next to join?
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