First Down Kentucky: Cunningham's Law

It’s a busy time of the year for Kentucky football recruiting. We have much to catch up on, but first, I learned something recently that I feel the need to share with our loving internet community.

I live my life online. It’s an odd way to make a career and at times it makes you feel crazy. This week I discovered a term that provided an epiphany comparable to the likes of Saul on the road to Damascus.

Cunningham’s Law is a term coined by Ward Cunningham, a renowned computer programmer who created the first “wiki,” inspiring the online reference we know and love today. Cunningham’s Law states: “The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question; it’s to post the wrong answer.”

Nothing has ever described internet behavior better. Remember when Twitter first started and nobody got the jokes? “We need a sarcasm font.” No, you just need people with a brain to be able to comprehend the quip. Take for instance my post that got the most online engagement over the weekend. Do I really think Kentucky-Vandy belongs among this group of games? Of course not, but idiot Tennessee fans don’t understand self-deprecating humor.

Not sure why Kentucky-Vandy was omitted from this. https://t.co/A2bb6n5uPC

— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) June 30, 2024

That’s not the best example of Cunningham’s Law. While considering making this my primary talking point in First Down Kentucky, Tom Fornelli delivered a Golden Goose. He called out the biggest idiots on the internet and they all took the bait. Every single stupid one of them.

Least Passionate Fan Bases In College Football

1. Ohio State
2. Florida State
3. Texas A&M
4. Tennessee
5. Notre Dame
6. Texas
7. Penn State
8. Florida
9. Alabama
10. LSU pic.twitter.com/ilOE8CuZGJ

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) July 3, 2024

People will hesitate to praise you for being right, but boy, are they quick to let you know when you’re wrong. Thank you, Mr. Cunningham, for making the internet make sense with your evergreen wisdom.

Kentucky Stacking Up Important Defensive Line Wins

Buzz transformed into another four-star commitment on Wednesday when Kalen Edwards pledged his allegiance to the Wildcats. He’s a Top 25 defensive lineman in the class who picked the Cats over Auburn and Louisville. That’s not what makes this recruiting win such a big deal.

1. Finding Nose Guards is Hard. Deone Walkers don’t just grow on trees. Neither do Quinton Bohannas. To successfully run a 3-4 defense, you need a big athlete who can eat up two gaps in the middle, and also move well enough to push the interior of the pocket while rushing the passer. That kind of athlete is hard to find and Edwards checks that box.

2. You Must Find Them in High School. Some recruiting misses can be patched over in the transfer portal. There are plenty of talented quarterbacks and wide receivers available in every cycle. You can’t say that about interior defensive linemen. This spring programs had to overpay for adequate players, but it was necessary because there were so few available.

3. Kentucky is Racking Up Blue Chip Defensive Linemen. As Adam Luckett wrote on KSR+ following Javeon Campbell’s commitment, the Wildcats have an excellent win rate in the trenches. The addition of Edwards ensures Kentucky will have two Top 500 defensive linemen in three straight recruiting classes. Phil Steele ranked Kentucky as the ninth-best defensive line in America. The Cats are recruiting well enough to make sure this continues to be a strength of the team in the future.

Two Fourth of July Decisions Await

Kentucky has two chances to make it three straight days with a new commitment. Dayton offensive tackle Jermiel Atkins is announcing his decision at 4 pm EST tomorrow on Instagram Live. The Wildcats are looking to make the 6-foot-8 athlete the third offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class.

Florida WR Samari Reed has kept things close to the vest throughout his recruitment. He’s considering Kentucky, Clemson, Ole Miss, Penn State, and West Virginia. The intel is kind of all over the place, but we’ve gathered as many breadcrumbs as possible on KSBoard.

Join KSR Plus! With a KSR Plus membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Kentucky Climbs Up the Recruiting Rankings

Following the addition of Edwards, the Wildcats are up to No. 20 in the On3 Industry Recruiting Rankings with 16 commitments.

Player	High School	Position	Ranking
Cedric Works	Clayton (Ohio) Northmont	EDGE (6-5, 230)	4-star (No. 144 overall)
Javeon Campbell	Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills	DL (6-5, 260)	4-star (No. 167 overall)
Marquise Davis	Cleveland (Ohio) Heights	RB (5-11, 200)	4-star (No. 186 overall)
Martels Carter	Paducah (Ky.) Tilghman	S (6-1, 185)	4-star (No. 198 overall)
Kalen Edwards	Dyersburg (Tn.) High	DT (6-4, 325)	4-star (No. 320 overall)
Quintin Simmons	Cincinnati (Ohio) Withrow	WR (6-0, 170)	4-star (No. 328 overall)
Darrin Strey	Paw Paw (Mich.) High	T (6-6, 295)	4-star (No. 397 overall)
Ja’Kayden Ferguson	Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall	WR (6-2, 175)	High 3-star (No. 420 overall)
Andrew Purcell	Enterprise (Ala.) High	CB (5-10, 185)	High 3-star (No. 472 overall)
Stone Saunders	Harrisburg (Pa.) Bishop McDevitt	QB (6-0, 205)	3-star (No. 650 overall)
Demarcus Gardner	Cedartown (Ga.) High	CB (6-0, 165)	3-star (No. 674 overall)
Brennen Ward	Gahanna (Ohio) Lincoln	QB (6-2, 205)	3-star (No. 732 overall)
Tucker Kattus	Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier	OL (6-5, 300)	3-star (No. 1,089 overall)
Bryan Auguste	Coconut Creek (Fla.) Monarch	T (6-6, 285)	3-star (No. 1,291 overall)
Nicholas Smith	Loganville (Ga.) Walnut Grove	DL (6-7, 255)	3-star (No. 1,335 overall)
Preston Bowman	Pickerington (Ohio) North	WR (6-0, 196)	3-star (No. 1,375 overall)