Football recruits visiting for Kentucky-Florida on Saturday

This Saturday couldn’t be a better opportunity for the Kentucky Football program to showcase in front of the country just how far its come in the last decade. Beating a top-10 Florida Gators squad at home on national TV would set up the Wildcats for one of the best runs in school history. But what happens off the field will also have long-term ramifications. The Kroger Field stands will be loaded with some of the most talented high school football players out there, some of them still scanning their options for the future.

Let’s see who will be in Lexington for this weekend’s primetime showdown against the Gators. All recruits mentioned below have either confirmed with KSR that they will be in attendance or posted as such on social media.

*Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on Wednesday, and has been updated periodically throughout the week as new visitors have been discovered.*

Class of 2022 visitors

COMMITTED

A big group of already committed prospects from the class of 2022 will be making their second or third returns to Kroger Field already this season. The Kentucky staff has done an excellent job of maintaining and progressing relationships with their recruits even after they commit, and the names below are prime examples of that.

Kiyaunta Goodwin: 6-7, 300-pound 5-star OT (Charlestown, IN)

Jackson Smith: 5-11, 170-pound 5-star K/P (Danville, KY)

Grant Bingham: 6-6, 300-pound 4-star OT (Paintsville, KY)

Keaten Wade: 6-4, 225-pound 4-star LB (Spring Hill, TN)

Destin Wade: 6-3, 205-pound 4-star ATH (Spring Hill, TN)

Alex Afari: 6-2, 195-pound 3-star ATH (West Chester, OH)

Treyveon Longmire: 6-2, 170-pound 4-star ATH (Corbin, KY)

UNCOMMITTED

Barion Brown: 6-1, 175-pound 4-star WR (Nashville, TN)

• KSR’s Nick Roush reports that Barion Brown, who is being heavily recruited by Alabama, will take an official visit to Lexington for the game.

Dane Key: 6-2, 170-pound 4-star WR (Lexington, KY)

Deone Walker: 6-6, 350-pound 4-star DL (Detroit, MI)

• KSR was able to confirm with Deone Walker on Friday that he’ll be in Lexington on Saturday, and you could make an argument he’s one of the top three most important non-committed players left on the board. Walker has seen a significant boost in his rankings as of late and his top five consists of Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Georgia, and now Alabama. Getting Walker on campus is a big move.

Rodney Johnson: 5-11, 160-pound 3-star CB (Gadsden, AL)

• A relatively new name on the block, Rodney Johnson doesn’t hold an offer from Kentucky at the moment, but he will be in Lexington on Saturday. The three-star defensive back holds offers from the likes of Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Penn State, and several other smaller programs. Johnson recently posted on Twitter that he will be “committing in the next few weeks.”

I will be committing in the next few weeks stay tuned !! @BenThomasPreps @On3sports @JeremyO_Johnson @raveryjr

— Rodney ‘’⛄️’’ johnson lll (@RJlllscarface) September 26, 2021

Jawaun Northington: 5-11, 185-pound 3-star ATH (Louisville, KY)

Jacoby Thornsbury: 6-2, 290-pound NR DL (Pikeville, KY)

Gilbert Robbins: 5-10, 175-pound NR WR (Louisville, KY)

Class of 2023 visitors

COMMITTED

Ty Bryant: 6-0, 175-pound 3-star ATH (Lexington, KY)

UNCOMMITTED

William Spencer: 6-5, 315-pound 4-star OL (Louisville, KY)

• A key visitor on Saturday night will be the top-ranked Kentucky prospect from the class of 2023, William Spencer, who plays his high school ball for Louisville Male. He received his offer from UK back in March and has since picked up scholarships from Power 5 programs Louisville, Michigan State, and Georgia Tech. Spencer trains at Aspirations Gym, the same gym where Kiyaunta Goodwin works out at.

Brycen Sanders: 6-5, 280-pound 4-star OL (Chattanooga, TN)

Luke Brown: 6-5, 300-pound 4-star OT (Paris, TN)

• One of the most talented players on this list, Luke Brown is a top 200 player in the country. He’s also one of the many Tennessee products who will be in attendance. Brown took unofficial visits to Auburn and Vanderbilt over the summer and also camped at Tennessee, too. He took a game visit to Clemson earlier this month and will do the same with Kentucky this weekend. Despite Brown’s clear talent level, it’s unclear if the ‘Cats have officially extended an offer, but even if they haven’t, one will surely be on the way. Georgia, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan State, and Ole Miss are a handful of the other programs that have offered Brown.

Dakota Patterson: 6-1, 195-pound 4-star ATH (Corbin, KY)

Ethan Crisp: 6-2, 200-pound 3-star LB (Mount Juliet, TN)

• The first of two three Mount Juliet players making the drive up to Lexington is Ethan Crisp, a still-rising three-star linebacker. Over the summer, he began to be courted by multiple SEC programs such as Auburn, Florida, Tennesse, and Missouri, along with Kentucky. Michigan is also in the mix. Crisp was on UK’s campus back in June for an unofficial visit, so getting him back in town is a good sign of a developing relationship.

Micah Carter: 6-5, 260-pound 3-star DL (Louisville, KY)

Oryend Fisher: 6-6, 195-pound 3-star DE (Georgetown, KY)

Ayden Bussell: 6-5, 290-pound 3-star OT (Mount Juliet, TN)

Nathan Robinson: 6-5, 245-pound 3-star LB (Greenbrier, TN)

Kaden Moorman: 5-10, 205-pound 3-star ATH (Frankfort, KY)

Tre’ Hartwell: 6-0, 220-pound 3-star RB (Thompson’s Station, TN)

• We don’t talk about running backs all that often with the classes of 2022 and 2023, but Tre’ Hartwell is absolutely a name to keep an eye on. He only has two offers (Tulane and Arkansas State) but is quickly gaining steam in the surrounding areas. Purdue, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and a few other high-level programs have been constsintely reaching out to Hartwell this summer. He camped at several Power 5 schools in recent months and is quietly blowing up as a result.

Donovan Walker: 6-1, 190-pound NR ATH (Aliquippa, PA)

Luke Needham: 6-5, 205-pound NR OT (Germantown, TN)

Vinnie Canosa: 6-1, 215-pound NR LB (Acworth, GA)

Braiden Staten: 6-6, 210-pound NR TE (Mount Juliet, TN)

Grant Scott: 6-4, 220-pound NR TE/DE (Pikeville, KY)

Jaden Commodore: 5-9, 145-pound NR ATH (Paris, KY)

Mason Sayers: 6-3, 295-pound NR OG (Pikeville, KY)

Zack Clark: 6-2, 175-pound NR ATH (Owensboro, KY)

Class of 2024 visitors

Kaleb Beasley: 5-11, 175-pound CB (Nashville, TN)

• Only a sophomore in high school, Kaleb Beasley is going to be one to keep an eye on moving forward. The Lipscomb Academy product already picked up offers from the likes of Florida, Georgia, Michigan over the summer and even took trips to Ohio State and UGA.