Kentucky Football continues to dominate backyard recruiting scene

In the case of Kentucky Football, success on the field has directly led to success off of it. Now a proven and consistent winner in the Southeastern Conference, the Wildcat coaching staff has established a monopoly on the local recruiting scene. With four impressive Bluegrass State prospects signing with Kentucky on Wednesday, the class of 2022 continued that trend.

Dane Key, Grant Bingham, Elijah Reed, and Jackson Smith make up this year’s group of home state products. Toss in five-star OT Kiyaunta Goodwin, who attends high school in Indiana but is a Louisville native, and it’s arguably the most top-heavy batch of in-state recruits Kentucky has ever hauled in. Considering Goodwin’s commitment was over five years in the making, the UK staff sure did put in the hours to make this all happen.

These five continue a dominating trend for Kentucky Football; when the ‘Cats want a local recruit, they typically get their way. From the class of 2022, per On3’s Consensus ratings, Key is considered the No. 1 player in Kentucky, Bingham No. 3, Reed No. 7, and Smith No. 18. Looking back at the last couple of years, this is now the norm.

From the class of 2021, Kentucky secured commitments from No. 1 Kentucky prospect Jager Burton, No. 4 Dekel Crowdus, No. 5 Jordan Dingle, No. 7 Jordan Lovett, No. 8 La’Vell Wright, and No. 9 Kaiya Sheron. The 2020 class was equally as impressive, with No. 3 KY prospect John Young, No. 6 Beau Allen, No. 7 Vito Tisdale, No. 8 Octavious Oxendine, and No. 9 Izayah Cummings all choosing the ‘Cats.

Over the last three recruiting classes, Kentucky has picked up 14 of the top 10 local recruits out of a possible 30. The Louisville Cardinals, on the other hand, have just one: class of 2022 DL Selah Brown. Not a single program has been able to come into Kentucky and steal more than one local recruit over the last three classes.

Let’s quickly talk about how Kentucky secured all of its backyard signatures from Wednesday’s National Signing Day, starting with the potential stars.

Dane Key: 6-2, 190 pounds; 4-star wide receiver (No. 1 KY prospect)
Kiyaunta Goodwin: 6-6, 325 pounds; 5-star offensive tackle (No. 1 IN prospect)

Key and Goodwin need little introduction. The former is a legacy recruit who plays his high school ball right down the road at Frederick Douglass High School. Michigan, South Carolina, and Oregon were all in the mix, but the family connection and closeness of the program won out in the end.

As for Goodwin, he’s the diamond pull of the 2022 class. While his recruitment sure was hectic and overly dramatic (and that’s being kind), it ultimately doesn’t matter. He signed on the dotted line and chose UK over Michigan State. The Kentucky staff also had to beat out Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida State, Michigan, and Ohio State at one point in order to scoop Goodwin up. Him signing with Kentucky is the biggest recruiting win of the Mark Stoops-Vince Marrow era thus far.

Grant Bingham: 6-4, 310 pounds; 4-star inside offensive lineman (No. 3 KY prospect)

An important piece to the future of the Big Blue Wall, Kentucky expects Grant Bingham to develop into a multi-faceted lineman; one who can suit up and play at least four positions in the trenches. His recruitment was mostly quiet, as he committed in April over the likes of Notre Dame, Arkansas, Michigan, Miami (FL), and a few others. Since then, Bingham has never wavered from being a future ‘Cat.

“He’s a guy that’s a very good athlete,” UK offensive line Eric Wolford said after Bingham signed. “Obviously, we’re excited about him coming from a program (Johnson Central) that loves to run the football, loves to put his face on you, likes to get physical. He’s a guy that we’ll play at the guard position… In the long term, he’s a guy that we’ll be able to project as a four-position player.”

Elijah Reed: 6-3, 180 pounds; 3-star cornerback (No. 7 KY prospect)

Much like Goodwin, Elijah Reed is a product of Aspirations Gym, which ultimately helped him land with Kentucky. Reed took advantage of the extra COVID-19 year given to high school students and worked his way into three-star status as a fifth-year senior at Pleasure Ridge Park. He also held offers from the likes of West Virginia, Illinois, Utah, and Purdue, but the relationship he developed with Vince Marrow won out in the end.

Jackson Smith: 5-11, 170 pounds; 3-star punter/kicker (No. 18 KY prospect)

Considered by some as the nation’s top punter/kicker from the class of 2022, Jackson Smith is well worth the price of a scholarship. Princeton and Eastern Kentucky were also involved, but his status as a Kentucky legacy recruit played too large of a role. As a result, UK has its kicker of the future.

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Don’t expect the Kentucky staff to slow down anytime soon, either. UK has already locked up three-stars Ty Bryant (Frederick Douglass, DB) and Kaden Moorman (Franklin County, RB) for the class of 2023. Both are considered top 10 prospects from the state of Kentucky, according to 247Sports. More are on the way, too.

The Wildcats are in the mix for fellow top 10 juniors William Spencer (No. 1), Cristian Conyer (No. 2), Micah Carter (No. 3), Dakota Patterson (No. 6), Tommy Ziesmer (No. 7), and Saadiq Clements (No. 8). Spencer and Conyer are ranked as four-stars while the rest hold three-star status.

Landing all of them might not be possible, but if history tells us anything, Kentucky will get the players they truly want.