Kentucky Football Hosting Multiple Official Visitors for Vanderbilt Game

We are now officially less than six weeks away from the start of the Early Signing Period. Kentucky ends the season with three straight games at Kroger Field, providing valuable recruiting opportunities. Mark Stoops, Vince Marrow and the rest of the UK coach staff are kicking off the final class of 2023 push by hosting a handful of recruits for official visits. Take a look at the list of visiting prospects that is subject to change before the festivities begin Friday evening.

Will Norman

• Defensive Lineman, 6-4 276 lbs.
• On3 Consensus: 4-Star, No. 210, 27 DL
• Hometown: Camden (NJ) Eastside
• Other Schools: Florida Commit

The Skinny: Brad White has done an exceptional job operating in the shadows. He is attempting it again with a former IMG Academy standout who moved back to the Northeast this fall. This is just the second of Norman’s five official visits.

Trey Cornist

• Running Back, 5-10 220 lbs.
• On3 Consensus: 3-Star, No. 99 RB
• Hometown: Cincinnati (OH) Winton Woods
• Other Schools: Louisville, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Purdue

The Skinny: A late-riser in the recruiting process, he’s piled up Power Five offers over the last few weeks at a school Vince Marrow frequents. Kentucky’s interest in Cornist may have played a role in Khalifa Keith‘s decommitment. KSR caught up with Cornist’s coach last week.

“He’s a big-time back. There’s no doubt about it,” Coach Murphy told KSR of Cornist on Tuesday night. “He is 220 pounds, he can run and he’s strong as an ox. (Cornist) can parallel squat 500 pounds. He gets down and dirty, combine that with some straight-line speed, some agility, he’s got pretty good hands, too.”

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Ardell Banks

• Wide Receiver, 6-3 181 lbs.
• On3 Consensus: 3-Star, No. 140 WR
• Hometown: Massillon (OH) Washington
• Other Schools: Cincinnati, Pitt, Miami (OH)

The Skinny: The Wildcats already have two wide receivers committed, and their sights set on two others, yet Marrow is still intrigued by this big prospect from an Ohio football powerhouse. After hearing from almost no one on the recruiting trail, Ardell Banks picked up three Power Five offers in the last week. “After I got the Kentucky offer, I guess other colleges decided they were gonna start paying attention more to me,” he told KSR’s Zack Geoghegan.

Brandyn Hillman

• Athlete, 6-1 190 lbs.
• On3 Consensus: 3-Star, No. 17 ATH
• Hometown: Portsmouth (VA) Churchland
• Other Schools: Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and more

The Skinny: There’s a ton of competition for the talented two-way star. Notre Dame has been the team to beat after they hosted Hillman for an official visit last month. Now the Wildcats appear to be another strong contender among an impressive list of finalists. A dual-threat quarterback in high school, Hillman’s future is likely in the secondary.

TOP 8 🫣 pic.twitter.com/mUrqnzAJKE

— Brandyn Hillman🌟 (@dmv_b3) October 29, 2022