Kentucky Football expecting big recruiting weekend

Spring practice is officially in high gear for Kentucky Football this week, which means droves of recruits will be in Lexington to check out how the operation is run. It’s already been a busy week for the UK coaching staff, with plenty of high school prospects across all ages and positions dropping by campus and posting pictures of their visit on social media. But this weekend figures to be the cherry on top.

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means (I found most of these names through some Twitter searching) but it does give us an idea of the caliber of talent that the staff is looking to host. There are a couple of four-stars, some local recruits, and plenty of solid three-stars. As more names leak out over the next couple of days, we’ll update this post and then recap the weekend of visitors come Monday. But for now, here’s what we have.

*All rankings are courtesy of the On3 Consensus*

Avery Stuart (4-star CB; No. 227) 6-foot-2, 175 pounds – Montgomery, AL

Avery Stuart holds offers from the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech (which he visited last week), Miami (FL), Michigan State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Penn State. Kentucky initially offered him in late December 2021 and he eventually included the ‘Cats among his top 13 on March 19.

Kendrick Gilbert (4-star DL; No. 375) 6-foot-5, 250 pounds – Indianapolis, IN

Kendrick Gilbert expects to be in Lexington again this weekend after making multiple visits since his offer came in during June 2021. Iowa and LSU are both firmly in the mix for the defensive lineman as he also holds offers from the likes of Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Tennessee, and Illinois, among several others.

Cristian Conyer (3-star ATH; No. 514) 6-foot-1, 170 pounds – Bowling Green, KY

Cristian Conyer was in Tennessee for a visit earlier this month and is hearing plenty from both the ‘Cats and Volunteers. Vince Marrow has been all over Conyer, extending the high school junior his first-ever DI offer all the way back in April 2020. Keeping Conyer in the Bluegrass is a big priority for the staff.

Kaden Moorman (3-star ATH; No. 558) 5-foot-10, 205 pounds – Frankfort, KY [COMMITTED]

Arguably Kentucky’s top recruiter not on the payroll, Kaden Moorman will be back on campus for what feels like the dozenth time this year alone. It’s never a bad thing to have a commit hyping up the program to other recruits throughout the day.

Dakota Patterson (3-star ATH; No. 561) 6-foot-2, 190 pounds – Corbin, KY

High school teammates at Corbin with one-time Kentucky commit Treyveon Longmire, the younger Dakota Patterson has kept his recruitment quiet as of late, but he will be in Lexington on Saturday for practice. Cincinnati and Tennessee are also involved for the Bluegrass native.

Kevis Thomas (3-star ATH; No. 594) 6-foot, 180 pounds – Perry, FL

Kevis Thomas has had a busy month already, with stops at Florida State and Georgia, plus a visit earlier this week to Florida. Next, he’ll drop by UK on Saturday along with two of his teammates at Lowndes High School, class of 2024 prospects Marlon Evans Jr. and Jordan Gatlin.

Jermaine Mathews (3-star CB; No. 649) 6-foot, 175 pounds – Cincinnati, OH

Jermaine Mathews holds offers from the likes of Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Maryland, and Louisville. He’s got a busy two weeks of travel ahead of him, with visits to Ohio State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, and Northwestern scheduled between March 24 and April 2, according to 247Sports. The UK staff offered Mathews earlier this year after his junior year performance at Winton Woods High School (OH), which has produced former ‘Cats such as Mike Edwards and Chris Oats

Luke Needham (OT; NR) 6-foot-5, 300 pounds – Germantown, TN

Luke Needham is a budding offensive tackle who holds offers from the likes of Murray State, UT-Martin, Austin Peay, and a few others. He’ll be back in Kentucky for a visit after initially checking out campus back in the fall to watch the win over Florida. Needham doesn’t yet hold an offer from UK, but he’s also hearing from the likes of Florida State and Virginia Tech.