Hayes Johnson, Taylor County OL, to visit Kentucky

One of the most talented young blockers in the state will be visiting Kentucky this weekend. Hayes Johnson tells KSR he will be returning to Lexington this Saturday to tour the Wildcats’ campus.

Johnson, a rising junior at Taylor County High School, is the second-ranked player in the state of Kentucky in the 2024 class, according to On3. Kentucky was the first school to offer Johnson a scholarship. He has since collected offers from Michigan State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Purdue and EKU. This spring he took an unofficial visit to Alabama.

A 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive tackle, this weekend’s trip to Lexington will be his first since Zach Yenser took over as the leader of the Big Blue Wall. It will not be their first meeting. The new Kentucky offensive line coach made the trip to Campbellsville last month to visit Johnson at his high school.

Throughout the offseason Johnson has taken steps to improve his game at Aspirations Gym. A few days a week he makes the 90-minute drive to train with Chris Vaughn and throw some weight around with Kentucky left tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin. Johnson is one of the few people in this world that is not completely dwarfed in pictures when standing next to Goodwin.

BBN what y’all think @K_Goodwin2022 #BBN pic.twitter.com/h8hG3OCr5b

— Hayes Johnson (@hjohnson_71) December 16, 2021

An important in-state recruit for Kentucky, it certainly does not hurt that Johnson is a lifelong UK fan. Even so, Yenser will have to put in serious work as more and more schools jump into the Hayes Johnson sweepstakes during the camp circuit this summer.