Kentucky recruiting class built by plucking top talent from multiple states

Kentucky’s 2022 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 12 overall in On3’s Consensus Team rankings. The Wildcats have just signed the best class in program history.

Kentucky accomplished this by going into multiple states and pulling out the best players.

Under Mark Stoops, Kentucky football has established a recruiting home base for the first time in the modern era. The Wildcats send recruiting ace Vince Marrow all over the Bluegrass State and into Ohio to land players that serve as the backbone of Kentucky’s roster. However, picking other areas to pursue prospects is essential.

“We hit a lot of different states,” Stoops told reporters about Kentucky’s 2022 signing class. “Right now to this point, we’ve got four out of Kentucky, three out of Ohio, three out of Georgia, three out of Tennessee. That’s kind of our main bread and butter, and then we got a lot of one-offs and guys going to different parts of the country and landed some terrific football players.

“No. 1 player in in Delaware in Tomiwa [Durojaiye]. No. 2 player in the state of Tennessee — three of the top players in the state of Tennessee in Barion Brown, Keaten and Destin Wade. The No. 3 player in Michigan in Deone Walker.”

The Wildcats went into Pittsburgh and landed four-star EDGE Tyreese Fearbry. In Michigan, four-star nose tackle Deone Walker picked the Wildcats over Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan program. In the Deep South, the Wildcats plucked speedster wideout Jordan Anthony out of Mississippi and flipped Alabama athlete Kobi Albert away from Auburn. Meanwhile, Kentucky dipped into Texas to land legacy recruit Nikolas Hall.

The Wildcats dipped into multiple areas, and the movement had a huge impact on this recruiting cycle. However, home turf must be protected. Kentucky accomplished that at home.

“I think our bread and butter has still got to be Kentucky and Ohio and branch out from there,” said Stoops. “But you see a lot of one-offs on here, and we’ll continue to do that.”

Dane Key and Grant Bingham were two of the top-five prospects in the state. Kentucky signed both. In Louisville, the Wildcats secured a commitment and signature from cornerback Elijah Reed. However, landing the big fish was the most important.

The Wildcats had to wait a long time, but Kiyaunta Goodwin‘s signature came in on Thursday afternoon. Despite playing high school ball for Charlestown (Ind.) High, there is no denying that the five-star offensive tackle is an in-state prospect.

“I could say he’s the No. 1,” Stoops said about Goodwin. “When I was talking about the No. 1s and the high picks, the No. 1 player in Indiana, but really he’s Louisville. So really we count him in state because that’s really where we recruited him from the start, from in-state. So really that puts another guy — that puts us, the way we look at it, five from Kentucky this year.

Therefore, the Wildcats landed the only three blue-chip prospects from the state per the On3 Consensus in the class of 2022. Out-of-state recruiting will remain essential, but keeping good players at home will always be the top recruiting priority in Lexington.

Doing both efficiently and effectively created the best recruiting class in program history.