Kentucky football opens 2023 season with important recruiting weekend

There were some big names on Kentucky’s campus for Saturday’s season-opening 44-14 win over Ball State — emphasis on big.

The Wildcats hosted over a dozen high school prospects to kick off the 2023 season, including three-star ’24 LB Devin Smith for an official visit, but none were more important than a trio of four-star ’24 defensive targets. EDGE Brian Robinson, DL Jerod Smith, and EDGE Jacob Smith all made the trip to Lexington on Saturday for a notable visit. Robinson posted a photo on social media Sunday morning of himself posing with the Smiths and Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow.

Robinson, who remains uncommitted, was a last-minute addition to this weekend’s visitors list, while the Smith twins, who are still committed to Michigan, were already in Lexington on Friday night as they suited up for Corbin in a 30-10 win over Lexington Catholic. All three recruits were rocking UK gear.

Great game. And congrats on the win @UKFootball @vincemarrow @CoachWhiteFB @UKCoachStoops 💪🏽@Jerodsmith44 @jjls_14 Big Dawgs with Big Dude.💪🏽 always Hospitable Thanks. pic.twitter.com/jz0Ib14PIC

— Brian Robinson AKA B Rob (@BRob_2323) September 3, 2023

Regarding Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class, which currently has 16 commits locked in, these three are arguably the biggest remaining pieces on the staff’s Big Board.

With Robinson, it was long thought that he would make a decision earlier in the summer, but that timeline has passed us by. In spite of that, Kentucky remains in contention for the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder, along with the likes of Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, and Pittsburgh. Robinson took official visits in June to UK, Michigan, and Penn State. Don’t be shocked if he makes his way onto a different campus next weekend (or the weekends after that) for another quick visit.

As it currently stands, there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut leader in Robinson’s recruitment. Anyone who says that one team has the upper hand right now can’t do so with confidence. But a Week 1 trip to Lexington certainly can’t be a bad thing for UK’s chances. Robinson is considered the No. 131 overall prospect from the ’24 class.

Smith Twins trending toward Kentucky

As for Jerod and Jacob Smith, the smoke around their recruitment is beginning to heat up. As mentioned, they were in Lexington on Friday night for a showdown against Lexington Catholic. Suiting up for the No. 4-ranked Corbin Redhounds, the Smiths lived up to their four-star billing — especially Jerod Smith. The defensive lineman caused havoc all night long against the Knights’ front line, forcing two fumbles that were recovered by Corbin along with plenty of quarterback hurries and multiple tackles in the backfield.

Following the action, neither player was made available for interviews with the media, but Corbin head coach Tom Greer had plenty of positives to say about the talented brothers.

“It’s obvious both of them are great players. There’s no question about that,” Greer said. “But I tell you this, their character and who they are — yes sir, no sir guys — what they’ve really brought to our football team, they’ve got a work ethic like nobody else and it’s caused some of our other players to kinda fall in line and raise our level of play for our football team.”

As for their recruitment, the Michigan commits could be on the verge of a change. Early Sunday morning, I logged picks in favor of both players flipping from the Wolverines to Kentucky. The fact that they elected to stay in town to check out Saturday’s win over Ball State was telling. They’ve now made it on campus multiple times since transferring to Corbin just a few weeks ago. Jerod was even spotted wearing gloves during Friday’s game with the UK logo on it. UK is now the overwhelming favorite to execute a flip on both according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

There is no timeline for a possible decision for either player, but the sense is that a decommitment from Michigan could come soon. At that point, it would only be a matter of time before Kentucky pulls off the flip. Jerod is rated No. 256 overall in the ’24 class while Jacob checks in at No. 276.

New scholarship offers going out

Jaylen Mosley (’25 S) 6-0, 185 | Jackson Christian (Jackson, TN)
4-star: No. 313 overall, No. 25 S

• Jaylen Mosley made his first-ever trip to Lexington on Saturday and left with an offer in hand. The versatile playmaker is being recruited to Kentucky as a wide receiver. He also holds offers from the likes of Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn, Louisville, and others. The linebackers coach at Mosley’s high school is former Kentucky linebacker Avery Williamson.

Cam O’Hara (’26 QB) 6-2, 180 | Cooper (Union, KY)

• Teammates at Cooper with class of 2025 four-star Kentucky target Austin Alexander, QB Cam O’Hara has now hopped on Liam Coen’s radar. UK is just his third offer, the other two coming from Miami (OH) and Austin Peay. Prior to Cooper’s loss on Friday night against Ryle, O’Hara had thrown for 496 yards and eight touchdowns to just one interception on 27-32 passing through two games.

Joshua Sims (’26 CB) 6-0, 170 | Pearl-Cohn (Nashville, TN)

• Suiting up for the same Nashville-based high school as sophomore WR Barion Brown, Joshua Sims now holds two Division I offers. The first came from Colorado on August 22 and the second from UK on Saturday.

Marquis Ray (’28 ATH) | Pickerington North (Pickerington, OH)

• Just an eighth grader, Marquis Ray plays both sides of the field early in his football career. He was joined by Brian Robinson in Lexington for his visit to UK on Saturday. That same day, Ray would earn an offer from Marrow and the ‘Cats. Bowling Green then went out and offered him on Sunday. His father, Marcus Ray, was an All-American defensive back during the late 1990s at Michigan.