Kentucky Football February National Signing Day High School Targets

The Kentucky football program wrapped up the Early Signing Period by inking the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history. Mark Stoops’ work is not finished.

The Wildcats have six weeks to add more pieces to the puzzle on the first Wednesday of February, the traditional National Signing Day. The transfer portal adds a few wrinkles to the final equation. Adam Luckett will address those later, but for now, let’s focus on the final high school football players Kentucky is targeting through the final six weeks of the 2022 recruiting calendar year.

DB Davison Igbinosun

The highest-ranked remaining Kentucky target, Igbinosun is the top player from the state of New Jersey and No. 193 overall according to the On3 Consensus. Stoops and Brad White’s first visit during the live period was to New Jersey to see the talented defensive back. The Wildcats also got an official visit with Igbinosun in Lexington, but this will be a tough recruiting battle to win.

Igbinosun’s older brother plays for Rutgers. His last official visit to Ole Miss appears to have gone well. Tennessee completes Igbinosun’s top four. We will learn the top 200 defensive back’s college destination Jan. 8 at the All-American Bowl. Maybe a couple future Cats playing in the game — Kiyaunta Goodwin, Barion Brown and Keaten Wade — will be able to convince Igbinosun to bleed blue in San Antonio.

Edge R Mason Thomas

Thomas attends a school Kentucky recruited well in the past, Ft. Lauderdale’s Cardinal Gibbons High School. A four-star edge in the On300, Thomas is an Iowa State commit. That did not prevent him from officially visiting Kentucky in December. He shared details of his time in Lexington with On3’s Chad Simmons.

“Kentucky caught my attention on the visit,” Mason said. “I can tell they really want me, they have shown me a lot of attention, and they have really been consistent with me.

“Outside of how they have recruited, I liked the campus, how they practice, and the coaches up there on the visit.”

“Coach White is a great coach. He came from the NFL, he has recruited me hard, and he knows a lot about players at my position. I like coach White’s knowledge and how he knows the game.” 

On3+

New Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables recently extended an offer to Thomas. He plans on officially visiting the Sooners before signing in February.

OL Jalen Farmer

Billy Napier’s first act as Florida head coach was ask his recruits to wait until February to sign. The bold strategy led many to sign elsewhere in December. Kentucky tried to get in on the mass exodus, hosting the enormous offensive lineman for an official visit Dec. 10. Instead of acting right away, Farmer is going to fulfill Napier’s request and wait until February. The window to steal a player from Florida may have closed, but the Cats will still be pushing for a flip until Farmer signs on the dotted line.

OL Jackson Brown

In the final hours before the Early Signing Period, Kentucky fans had no idea what to make of the news that UK offered a 6’6″ offensive tackle from California. Vince Marrow reassured the BBN that it had nothing to do with Goodwin’s decision the following day.

“Some players are not going to sign until February,” he Tweeted. “We will never turn down a good player.

Brown is from the Bay Area and committed to Cal in August. He officially visited Cincinnati the week before the Early Signing Period. UK could use another OT on the roster and I believe they could convince Brown to take an official visit before the first Wednesday in February.

RB Jawaun Northington

Kentucky has continued to maintain contact with the Manual running back. Marrow dropped by to visit Northington in-person prior to the start of the early signing period. The Wildcats are playing the long game for the physical rusher and it might work out perfectly. Two Kentucky running backs — Travis Tisdale and Torrance Davis — have already entered the portal. If they feel the need to add another running back, Northington might be the right fit for the Wildcats.