Kentucky capitalizes on Florida game with big recruiting weekend

After making easy work of the Florida Gators on Saturday, Kentucky football’s recruiting momentum continues to build.

The Wildcats coaching staff brought in dozens of current commits and top targets to Kroger Field to watch UK whip up on the Gators, 33-14. Headlining the group of visitors included a handful of class of 2024 prospects already locked in with Kentucky. Four-star QB Cutter Boley, four-star DL Jerod Smith, four-star EDGE Jacob Smith, three-star TE Willie Rodriguez, three-star IOL Aba Selm, three-star LB Antwan Smith, three-star WR David Washington Jr., and three-star ’25 QB Stone Saunders were among the bunch. They weren’t there just to enjoy the free food and Kroger Field atmosphere though — they were sporting recruiting hats.

There were a pair of high-profile 2024 recruits joining the current commits in Lexington: four-star EDGE Brian Robinson and four-star Alabama WR commit Rico Scott. Saunders posted a picture on social media that included Robinson and Scott along with Rodriguez, the Smith twins, Boley, and associate head coach Vince Marrow. They all posed on the field ahead of Saturday’s kickoff.

Home💙 pic.twitter.com/BxDv4xM9go

— Stone Saunders (@Stone_Saunders8) October 2, 2023

Robinson has been trending towards the ‘Cats for a while now, but it wasn’t until after he got back home on Sunday that he announced a commitment date of Wednesday, Oct. 4. All signs point to him joining the fold in a couple of days. As for Scott, his recruitment continues to stay under wraps. He’s been committed to the Crimson Tide since April, but Saunders — his high school teammate — has been pushing for him to consider UK. Getting Scott on campus is no small note.

Marrow even found the aforementioned picture of them all together online and quoted it saying “Christmas in October”. During the Sunday AM Sports Talk radio show after the win, Marrow also said “One kid who is committed to a top-five program, he was like, ‘This is the place to be,'”. Was Marrow referring to Scott? You don’t have to read too far into the details to come away with the answer being yes.

Adding Robinson by itself would be a massive recruiting win for the Wildcats — a long-time-coming one, at that. But the possibility of flipping Scott from a powerhouse like Alabama would be a power move unlike anything this staff has done before. Adding both to the 2024 class would push Kentucky into the top 20 national team rankings.

Additional Florida-Kentucky visitors

Class of 2025

Devin Ancrum (’25 DL) 6-3, 280 | Mill Creek (Buford, GA)

Brock Coffman (’25 ATH) 6-0, 155 | Sayre School (Lexington, KY)

Drayden Pavey (’25 DL) 6-3, 305 | Robert A. Taft (Burlington, KY)

Brock Camp (’25 ATH) 6-6, 240 | Hickman (Columbia, MO)

Class of 2026

Shavar Young (’26 CB) 6-0, 165 | Brentwood Academy (Knoxville, TN)
4-star: No. 76 overall, No. 8 CB

Trevy Barber (’26 WR) 5-9, 165 | Bowling Green (Bowling Green, KY)

Cooper McCutchan (’26 TE) 6-4, 215 | Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, OH)

Chaston Smith (’26 CB) 6-1, 145 | Bearden (Knoxville, TN)

Class of 2027

Kade Goodin (’27 QB) 6-2, 175 | Martha Layne Collins (Shelbyville, KY)

Emmett Queen (’27 QB) 6-1, 180 | Elder (Cincinnati, OH)

New offers going out

At least seven new scholarship offers were handed out by the Kentucky coaching staff over the last few days, all of them going to Michigan prospects from the 2027 recruiting class. The ‘Cats currently have four players on the roster who hail from the Great Lake State — all being important pieces. They include DL Deone Walker (Detroit), DB Maxwell Hairston (West Bloomfield), OL Jeremy Flax (Detroit), and TE Khamari Anderson (Detroit).

Dakota Guerrant (’27 ATH) 6-1, 175 | Harper Woods (Harper Woods, MI)

Jameer Henry (’27 EDGE) 6-5, 260 | Martin Luther King (Detroit, MI)

Anthony Cartwright (’27 ATH) 6-4, 200 | Detroit Country Day (Detroit, MI)

Darryl Flemister (’27 ATH) 6-0, 160 | Martin Luther King (Detroit, MI)

Chad Willis (’27 WR) 6-2, 185 | Belleville (Belleville, MI)

Jaidyn Martin (’27 WR) | Detroit Country Day (Detroit, MI)