Kentucky football recruiting news and notes ahead of another big weekend

Time for our weekly recruiting update presented by our friend Andy Luedecke at MyPerfectFranchise. Andy is a huge college sports fan and franchise veteran, having owned multiple franchises and businesses. Using his expertise, he helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough consultation and evaluation process.

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Kentucky football is gearing up for another big recruiting weekend, likely the final one of the spring season.

The next few days will bring in some highly-talented high school prospects of all ages and positions. Several nationally-ranked recruits will be in Lexington beginning on Friday (with some having already made pitstops earlier in the week) and continuing throughout the end of the weekend. The bulk of the visitors is expected to arrive on UK’s campus starting Saturday.

As spring practice comes to a close, visitors will get a chance to watch the coaches and players go through their daily routines. A tour of the facilities will also take place during these visits, as will the popular photo shoots and chances to sit down with current Wildcats and members of the staff to talk shop.

Let’s run through the expected visitors for this weekend, along with a few other recruiting housekeeping notes.

Class of 2024 visitors

Kendall Jackson (DL) 6-3, 245 | F. W. Buchholz (Gainesville, FL)
3-star: No. 436 overall, No. 40 DL

• Kentucky was the second school to offer Kendall Jackson, who will visit on Saturday. Defensive backs coach Chris Collins is his primary recruiter. The nearby Florida Gators have the inside edge at this stage, but Jackson is talking plenty with Kentucky. He recently told KSR that a gameday visit this fall is already in the works. Saturday will be his first time in Lexington. Alabama is also lurking.

John Wayne Oliver (OT) 6-5, 280 | CPA (Nashville, TN)
3-star: No. 525 overall, No. 32 OT

• Not only does John Wayne Oliver have a terrific name, but he’s also a highly-rated option for the future of the Big Blue Wall. Wide receivers coach Scott Woodward and offensive line coach Zach Yenser lead his recruitment. Auburn, Florida State, and TCU hold the early advantage. Oliver also visited Vanderbilt last weekend.

Cameron Monterio (WR) 6-3, 180 | Brockton (Brockton, MA)
3-star: No. 678 overall, No. 97 WR

• Communication between Cameron Monterio and Kentucky’s Scott Woodward has been consistent in recent weeks. Monterio plays high school ball in Massachusetts, an area that Woodward and offensive coordinator Liam Coen are very familiar with. Monterio received an offer from UK back in Oct. 2022. The three-star wide receiver recently told KSR that he’s hearing the most from Kentucky, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest.

Tito Glass (RB) 6-2, 225 | Marion-Franklin (Columbus, OH)
3-star: No. 986 overall, No. 85 RB

• After picking up an offer from Kentucky back in Nov. 2022, Tito Glass is set to visit campus for the first time on Saturday. Associate head coach Vince Marrow and new running backs coach Jay Boulware lead his recruitment. UK was the biggest name when he dropped his “First 11” in February, but he’s also hearing from the likes of LSU (visiting in June) and Ohio State (visited in March).

Mercer Luniewski (OT) 6-7, 300 | Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (Cincinnati, OH)
Charlton Luniewski (OT) 6-6, 280 | Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (Cincinnati, OH)

• We’ll group the Luniewski twins together, which both picked up offers from Kentucky on Friday after visiting on Thursday. This was the first scholarship from a Power 5 program for Charlton. Mercer is the more notable of the two, having already earned offers from the likes of Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Duke, and Minnesota. This was the second visit to Lexington for the Luniewskis. Kentucky sure does like to recruit some twins.

Jaden Smith (S) 6-3, 185 | West Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)

• Jaden Smith earned his offer from Kentucky in early March and will make his first visit to Lexington on Saturday. He’s being heavily recruited by Southern California, picking up a scholarship from the Trojans in February and making a trip out west last weekend. He is looking to take an official to USC this fall. Smith talks mostly with Coach Collins from UK and recently told KSR he was “hyped” when the offer came in. Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Duke are also involved.

Samuel Ramsey (LB) 6-1, 275 | Farmington (Farmington, MI)

• Samuel Ramsey, a Michigan product, currently holds just one D1 offer from Western Illinois, but he’s been making plenty of visits the last several months to the likes of Michigan, Navy, and Pittsburgh. Ramsey is visiting Kentucky on Friday with Collins and Marrow serving as his lead recruiters.

Class of 2025 visitors

Bo Jackson (RB) 6-0, 205 | Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland, OH)
4-star: No. 132 overall, No. 12 RB

• Visiting Kentucky on Friday, Bo Jackson is one of the headline guests for this weekend. His first-ever Divison I offer came from the ‘Cats back in May 2022, shortly after he camped at UK. Ohio State and Penn State have since offered the talented running back. Jackson is being to Kentucky recruited by safeties coach Frank Buffano. He lives up to his name as a star on the baseball diamond, too.

Stone Saunders (QB) 6-1, 195 | Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, VA)
4-star: No. 180 overall, No. 15 QB

• Stone Saunders’ name has been mentioned plenty of times on this site in recent months. He’s one of three primary quarterback targets the Kentucky staff is seriously pursuing. Saunders visited Lexington for Junior Day earlier this year (when he received his offer from the ‘Cats) and began his second visit on Friday. He recently visited Michigan and Nebraska, as well.

Blake Bryce (TE) 6-5, 220 | Newbury Park (Newbury Park, CA)

• Blake Bryce is a tight end out of California with great size. He began his tour of the area on Friday with a visit to Louisville (the first school to offer him). Bryce is visiting Kentucky on Saturday before taking a trip to Cincinnati on Monday to close out the cross-country trip. His four offers so far have come from Louisville, Nevada, Colorado State, and BYU, with the Cougars (where his dad played tight end) holding the early lead.

Tagg Harrison (QB) 6-0, 175 | Westlake | Oxnard, CA)

• A new quarterback prospect to pay attention to, Tagg Harrison will join Bryce on a trip across the country to check out the same trio of Lousiville, Kentucky, and Cincinnati. The Westlake (CA) High School product has only recently begun to hear from the UK staff, already holding offers from Arizona, Ole Miss, and Louisville.

Robert Lee (LB) 6-0, 200 | Osceola (Kissimmee, FL)

• Robert Lee’s first Divison I offer came from Kentucky back in February. Central Florida and Florida International have since extended scholarships, but Lee is high on the ‘Cats, planning to visit on Saturday. Collins is his primary recruiter, who has recruited out of Florida’s Osceola High School before.

Phillip Bowser (OL) 6-5, 260 | Ursuline (Youngstown, OH)

Derrick Smith Jr. (WR) 5-10, 155 | Fulton (Knoxville, TN)

Class of 2026 visitors

Evan Hampton (ATH) 6-0, 180 | Owensboro (Owensboro, KY)
Kentucky Baseball commit

• Already committed to playing college baseball for Nick Mignione’s Kentucky squad, Evan Hampton could be looking to play on a dual-sport scholarship. Hampton, high school freshman, chose the Bat ‘Cats not long ago on March 31. The Owensboro product plays running back and slot receiver on the gridiron. Hampton will check out spring practice on Saturday.

Elijah Ward (WR) 5-9, 150 | Frederick Douglass (Lexington, KY)

• A freshman out of local powerhouse (and Kentucky football pipeline) Frederick Douglass, Elijah Ward has already picked up an offer from Louisville, which he received back in Sept. 2022. Ward actually visited UK earlier this week on Thursday and was shown around by freshman DB Ty Bryant, who also attended Frederick Douglass.

Pickerington Central (OH) well-represented

Kentucky football is no stranger to recruiting out of Ohio’s Pickerington Central High School, recruiting out of the program for over a half-decade now. The last player from there to play for the ‘Cats was Jaylin Bannerman from the class of 2016, but the staff continues to keep tabs on what’s available. With that in mind, Pickerington Central is bringing down a busload of prospects this weekend for a visit. We already know of four of them after they posted to their respective social media pages that they’ll be in Lexington for spring practice on Saturday.

Terrance Alexander (’24 WR) 5-9, 160
Sheron White Jr. (’25 ATH) 5-9, 150
Kaejuan Alexander (’25 ATH) 5-11, 165
Rashaud Holland (’26 CB) 6-1, 165

New offers going out this week

It’s all about the visitors this weekend though. Kentucky has sent out a handful of scholarship offers to at least four notable prospects, headlined by a top-50 junior in the entire country.

Cameron Coleman (’24 WR) 6-3, 190 | Central (Phenix City, AL)
4-star: No. 44 overall, No. 10 WR

Peyton Lewis (’24 RB) 6-1, 190 | Salem (Salem, VA)
4-star: No. 254 overall, No. 19 RB

Alex Foster (’24 DL) 6-5, 250 | St. Joseph (Greenville, MS)
3-star: No. 759 overall, No. 80 DL

Tyreek King (’26 ATH) 6-0, 165 | Knoxville Catholic (Knoxville, TN)

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