In-state athlete Kaden Moorman talks UK after picking up offer during Sunday's Showcase Camp

(Photo courtesy of Kaden Moorman)

For the first time since the pandemic began to sweep the country last March, in-person recruiting is in full swing. Kentucky Football has been taking excellent advantage of having the ability to bring prospects on campus, hosting camp after camp throughout the month of June.

Throughout this process, the coaching staff has been able to watch dozens and dozens of recruits for the first time in person, handing out scholarship opportunities to those who meet Kentucky’s expectations. One of those prospects who stood out amongst the rest lives just about a 60-minute drive down the road from Kroger Field: class of 2023 athlete Kaden Moorman of Franklin County High School.

Moorman, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound native of Frankfort, KY, received his offer from Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow on Sunday following his impressive outing at the Showcase Camp. It’s now the third Division I offer for the in-state product, who has also pulled in scholarships from Wisconsin and Toledo.

After today's camp, I am blessed to receive my third D1 offer from The University of Kentucky. #HomeStateHero #BBN @VinceMarrow @UKCoachStoop @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/XuQhBfuM5C

— kaden j moorman (@kadenmoorman4) June 13, 2021

KSR spoke with Moorman on Monday to get a better idea of how the camp went and where his excitement level is at after picking up an offer from Kentucky.

“It’s so surreal. I’ve been playing football since I was four years old so it’s like crazy…” Moorman told KSR. “I love Kentucky. I had a Kentucky alumni, Ryan Timmons, he went to my high school.”

Moorman said he’s spoken with Timmons, who spent four seasons as a wide receiver at Kentucky from 2013-16, both before and after his camp at Kentucky, and that the two plan on spending some time this summer working out together.

The actual camp at Kentucky only lasted around three to four hours, Moorman said, but he did more than enough during that time to walk out of Lexington with an offer in hand. He did this with minor rest, as well, considering he competed in the State Tournament for track on Friday.

Moorman told KSR that he ran a 4.75 40-yard dash during his first sprint with Kentucky then a 4.85 during the second run. His best time, however, was when he clocked in at 4.63 during his camp at Wisconsin earlier this month. While in Madison, he also picked up an offer from the Badgers. In addition to Kentucky and Wisconsin, Moorman has also camped at Toledo and Cincinnati with trips to South Carolina (June 19th) and Louisville (June 26th) on the docket.

During his stay in Lexington, Moorman spoke mainly with Coach Marrow and new runnings back coach John Settle, who came over from Wisconsin to coach the Wildcats. It was Marrow who extended the offer.

“They just wanted to see me work,” Moorman said of Marrow and Settle. “They said they’ve already seen my talent on my film and stuff, through Hudl, but they just wanted to evaluate my speed, evaluate how I move, stuff like that.

“After I ran my 40 (yard dash), the running back coach came up to talk to me and we talked a little bit. Then Coach Vince came up to me and said I’m offering you a scholarship to UK. And then after the camp, I talked to them again and then he gave me my official offer.”

Moorman told KSR that Kentucky has been recruiting him to play running back or slot receiver at the next level, but he also added that he doesn’t have a preference on which position he might play. To him, it’s all about developing as a player on the gridiron.

“Honestly, I don’t care where I play on the field,” Moorman added. “I just want to play and go to the next level. That’s my biggest thing.”

As of right now, Moorman is not ranked by any of the major recruiting services. But following a sophomore season at Franklin County that saw him finish with 606 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 games, that figures to change moving forward. He also punched in two scores while catching five passes during Franklin County’s overtime loss to Boyle County in this past season’s 4A State Championship Game at Kroger Field. Go ahead and learn Kaden Moorman’s name now–he’s going to be an in-state prospect to keep an eye on down the road.