How Kentucky football's 2025 commits performed during Week 2
High school football is officially underway across the country. Most states kicked off the 2024 season last week, but a handful waited until this weekend to get the ball rolling. All of Kentucky’s 17 class of 2025 commits (ranked No. 24 in the country by On3) were in action over the last few days as their senior seasons are in full swing.
Some official stats were hard to come by this week, but there are plenty of Hudl highlight videos from plenty of the future Wildcats. Some of this weekend’s big performers include S Martels Carter, WR Ja’Kayden Ferguson, OT Darrin Strey, CB Andrew Purcell, WR Preston Bowman, and QB Stone Saunders.
Before we dive into how all of them performed on the gridiron, let’s hear a quick word from our loyal sponsor…
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How Kentucky commits performed in Week 2
*Player rankings courtesy of the On3 Industry Ranking*
Cedric Works (EDGE) 6-5, 230 | Frederick Douglass (Dayton, OH)
4-star: No. 147 overall, No. 18 EDGE
- Cedric Works and No. 2 Frederick Douglass (1-1) came up short against No. 3 Trinity in Lexington for the KSR Game of the Week, losing 23-13. Stats for the Broncos were not made available, but Works only played roughly half of his team’s snaps — similar to his Week 1 performance. He was easily the biggest kid out there and gave Trinity’s offensive line some fits when in the game. Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow stopped by to watch the first half.
Javeon Campbell (DL) 6-5, 260 | Western Hills (Frankfort, KY)
4-star: No. 155 overall, No. 15 DL
- Javeon Campbell and Western Hills (2-0) pulled off another huge win, a 42-7 victory over Powell County. Again, stats were not made available, but Campbell has been playing both sides of the field for Western Hills so far, lining up as an EDGE on defense and a TE on offense. The Wolverines opened the season with a 46-0 win over Bourbon County last week.
Marquise Davis (RB) 5-11, 200 | Cleveland Heights (Cleveland, OH)
4-star: No. 159 overall, No. 10 RB
- Following a Week 1 win over his future teammate Jermiel Atkins and Trotwood-Madison last week, Marquise Davis and Cleveland Heights (1-1) came up short in Week 2, falling 25-21 to King (MI). Stats were not made available.
Martels Carter Jr. (S) 6-1, 185 | Paducah Tilghman (Paducah, KY)
4-star: No. 172 overall, No. 16 S
- Martels Carter and No. 5 Paducah Tilghman (2-0) smacked Graves County by a final score of 61-7 earlier this week. Carter is playing offense and defense for the Blue Tornado. He caught five passes for 48 yards and a touchdown while rushing twice for an extra 15 yards. On defense, the safety recorded three total tackles (one solo).
Quintin Simmons (WR) 6-0, 170 | Withrow (Cincinnati, OH)
4-star: No. 331 overall, No. 51 WR
- Quintin Simmons and Withrow (0-2) remain winless following a 13-12 loss to Archbishop Alter. Simmons finished with at least four catches for over 40 yards. He also laid down a key block on a screen pass that led to a Withrow score.
Kalen Edwards (DL) 6-4, 325 | Dyersburg (Dyersburg, TN)
4-star: No. 358 overall, No. 31 DL
- After getting blown out in Week 1, Kalen Edwards and Dyersburg (1-1) bounced back in Week 2 with a big 48-6 win over Lake County. Edwards was key to an impressive defensive performance for his squad, which created a running clock by the third quarter. Lake County finished with just 160 total yards of offense and only three first downs.
Darrin Strey (OT) 6-6, 295 | Paw Paw (Paw Paw, MI)
3-star: No. 405 overall, No. 28 OT
- Darrin Strey and Paw Paw (1-0) opened their 2024 season on Thursday with a 32-14 win over Big Rapids. Paw Paw took a 19-0 lead into halftime and never looked back. With Strey leading the charge, Paw Paw rattled off over 300 rushing yards, including 25 first downs gained through the run game.
Ja’Kayden Ferguson (WR) 6-2, 175 | Fort Bend Marshall (Houston, TX)
3-star: No. 434 overall, No. 71 WR
- Ja’Kayden Ferguson and Fort Bend Marshall (1-0) also started their season earlier this week, beating Friendswood (TX) 27-23. Ferguson caught a 27-yard touchdown pass early in the game, finishing with several long receptions throughout the game including a 40-yard catch. He also returned a kickoff over 40 yards.
Andrew Purcell (CB) 5-10, 185 | Enterprise (Enterprise, AL)
3-star: No. 486 overall, No. 43 CB
- Andrew Purcell and Enterprise are off to a 2-0 start following Friday’s 24-6 win over Pike Road (AL). Purcell finished his night with an interception (which he returned roughly 40 yards the other way), a deflection that led to another pick, and one tackle on defense. He also caught a screen pass on offense for a short gain.
Preston Bowman (WR) 6-0, 195 | Pickerington North (Pickerington, OH)
3-star: No. 652 overall, No. 101 WR
- Preston Bowman and Pickerington North (1-1) picked up their first win of the season in a high-scoring 52-50 victory over Grandville (OH). Bowman was all over the place on offense, pulling in plenty of catches and even finding the end zone once. A big block from Bowman led to a Pickerington North score on the ground.
Stone Saunders (QB) 6-0, 205 | Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, PA)
3-star: No. 677 overall, No. 41 QB
- Stone Saunders and Bishop McDevitt (1-1) came up just short in overtime against Harrisburg in a 35-33 loss. Despite the defeat, Saunders finished with 133 passing yards (20-32) and three touchdowns.
Demarcus Gardner (CB) 6-0, 165 | Cedartown (Cedartown, GA)
3-star: No. 704 overall, No. 69 CB
- Demarcus Garnder and Cedartown (3-0) remain undefeated on the season following a 63-28 win over Alexander (GA). Gardner finished with four receptions for 136 yards on offense. Defensive stats were not made available.
Brennen Ward (QB) 6-3, 215 | Gahanna Lincoln (Gahanna, OH)
3-star: No. 778 overall, No. 47 QB
- Brennen Ward and Gahanna Lincoln (1-1) lost an 8-7 defensive battle to Groveport-Madison (OH). Stats were not made available.
Jermiel Atkins (OT) 6-8, 270 | Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, OH)
3-star: No. 895 overall, No. 48 OT
- Jermiel Atkins and Trowood-Madison (0-3) are still looking for their first win of the season after losing to Fairmont (OH) 27-18. Stats were not made available.
Nicholas Smith (DL) 6-5, 275 | Walnut Grove (Loganville, GA)
3-star: No. 1,070 overall, No. 111 DL
- Nicholas Smith and Walnut Grove improved to 3-0 following a 35-13 win over Apalache (GA). Stats were not made available.
Bryan Auguste (OT) 6-6, 285 | Monarch (Coconut Creek, FL)
3-star: No. 1,129 overall, No. 71 OT
- Bryan Auguste and Monarch (1-0) were supposed to be in action on Thursday against Deerfield Beach, however, a final score was never posted and no stats have been made available.
Tucker Kattus (IOL) 6-5, 300 | St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH)
3-star: No. 1,198 overall, No. 99 OT
- Tucker Kattus and St. Xavier (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening loss by beating Centerville 34-10. Kattus helped the St. Xavier offensive line run for roughly 250 yards.
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