Immediate Impact Players in the 2025 Kentucky Football Recruiting Class

The dust has settled (for now) on the 2025 Kentucky football recruiting class. In the transfer portal era, fewer and fewer high school signees are expected to step in and contribute right away. There are a few future Wildcats who might be exceptions to that norm.

Dejerrian “DJ” Miller

Aside from Dane Key, Kentucky hasn’t had much recent luck recruiting productive X-receivers. DJ Miller might be cut from a different cloth. He has not yet submitted his paperwork. Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow are confident they will soon seal the deal. They need this guy in the class.

The 6-foot-3 athlete played for the same Cardinal Ritter Prep program that produced Luther Burden and Jameson Williams (on the same team, goodness gracious). This fall he caught 71 passes for 1,032 yards and seven touchdowns. Those numbers aren’t as crazy as the 1,361 yards and 24 touchdowns he had as a junior. When I read the following quote he gave Chad Simmons following his commitment, I thought he was being a tad bit overzealous. Time to reconsider.

“I see a chance to make an early impact at Kentucky too. The way they get the ball to their players and the opportunity I have there, I could be SEC Freshman of the Year. I just trust the coaches will put me in a position to make plays right away.”

Cam Miller

Similar to the other Miller, I can understand why BBN might be apprehensive about a speedy, under-sized receiver. They haven’t all been hits, but this might be the one we’ve been waiting for in the slot.

Kentucky desperately needs a YAC guy in the slot and that’s what Miller brings to the table. He doesn’t dance away from defenders. He plants a foot, then gets north-south to blow by them. If that speed translates to the SEC, we might be seeing Miller in action early and often.

Darrin Strey

You hate to say that any offensive lineman can play right away because they shouldn’t. They should have time to develop into their body and get adjusted to the rigors of trench life in the SEC. Strey might be too good to keep off the field.

To strive in the SEC at offensive tackle, you can’t just be a big body. You have to be an athlete that can move with a big body, heavy hands, and long arms. He’s got all of that with great posture, particularly in pass sets. Landon Young is one of the few exceptions to that previously stated norm and I can’t watch Strey play without getting flashbacks to No. 67.

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Andrew Purcell

It’s hard for me to not draw immediate comparisons to Terhyon Nichols. Part of it is because of their size. Kentucky typically isn’t too all-in on cornerbacks that are shorter than 6-feet tall. That prerequisite doesn’t matter if you have long arms, outstanding speed, and excellent ball skills. It’s easy to foresee Purcell playing in a similar role that Nichols had as a true freshman in 2024 as a rotational player at cornerback.

Martels Carter

You’ve heard people say, “You can’t coach speed,” or, “You can’t coach speed.” You know what else you can’t coach? Instincts.

Mark Stoops knows exactly what that looks like. He saw it when he coached Ed Reed and he saw it when he coached Mike Edwards. There’s a feel for the game, an ability to anticipate that’s unquantifiable. Carter has exceptional raw athletic numbers, but that instinctual intangible is what’s going to make him a great college football player.

Mikkel Skinner

I don’t know what Kentucky’s tight ends room will look like next fall. I do know that Vince Marrow never hesitates to play true freshman and he’s going to play this true freshman.

Unlike most of the players Marrow has recruited to his room in the past, Skinner isn’t a traditional in-line tight end. He’s 6-foot-4 and played running back for most of his senior season. Skinner has so much explosiveness, Riverside did whatever they could to get him the ball and let him cook. He has a unique set of tools that must be utilized right away at Kentucky.

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