Kentucky offers '25 QB Emile Picarella; makes Cutter Boley's first cut

With the expectation that Kentucky football will bring back former offensive coordinator Liam Coen for 2023, the program is already looking ahead to the future of the quarterback position.

On Wednesday, class of 2025 QB Emile Picarella announced that he received an offer from Kentucky associate coach Vince Marrow. Picarella is a rising star in the sophomore class and currently holds offers from the likes of Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, Oregon, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s not yet nationally ranked by the likes of On3 or 247Sports, but the folks over at Rivals already have Picarella billed as a four-star recruit and top 100 player in the country.

The offer from Kentucky was the first for Picarella since Oklahoma State reached out during the summer. The 6-foot-2 Mississippi native spent a good chunk of 2022 attending several camps and spring games at schools such as LSU, Florida State, Oregon, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Rebels were able to get him on campus back in September for a game visit (his third trip to Oxford in 2022) and appear to be the early frontrunner.

Picarella participated in the Supermax 100 Midwest Invitational earlier this week and performed well among a group of the nation’s top QBs, which helped lead to the UK offer. He was joined in the event by a face that the Big Blue Nation is already somewhat familiar with…

Cutter Boley drops first list of top schools

Lexington Christian Academy sophomore quarterback Cutter Boley, who also shined at the Supermax 100 Midwest Invitational, is no stranger to the Kentucky program. Already considered a four-star recruit and top 50 national recruit from the class of 2025 by On3, Boley is arguably the top overall from the state of Kentucky, regardless of grade. The 6-foot-5 gunslinger already holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, and several other big-name schools.

Boley’s first Divison I scholarship actually came from Ole Miss in Dec. 2021, which was followed a couple of weeks later by an offer from Kentucky and Liam Coen. Once Coen left for the Rams last offseason, new OC Rich Scangarello continued the recruitment. With Coen expected to be back in the fold, the ‘Cats should continue to be right there at the top of Boley’s recruitment. So far, they’re off to an encouraging start.

On Thursday, Boley dropped a list of his top schools as of right now. It was a lengthy group consisting of over a dozen programs, but Kentucky made the cut. Joining the ‘Cats were Ole Miss, UCLA, Oregon, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Alabama, Florida State, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Kansas, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Michigan, Penn State, LSU, and Miami (FL).

Boley is going to be a very hot commodity over the next two years.

just getting started 😁 first 18🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ZqSS3wsH3I

— Cutter Boley (@cutterBoley) December 29, 2022

Kentucky extends offer to Eastern Michigan transfer OL

Not even 24 hours after announcing he would transfer out of Eastern Michigan, Marcellus Johnson picked up a slew of offers. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive tackle has already earned nine Divison I scholarships since the decision, including ones from Kentucky, BYU, Louisville, South Carolina, and Cal.

Out of Normal Community High School (IL), Johnson was initially ranked as a low three-star prospect before choosing EMU out of the class of 2018. He redshirted his freshman season, appeared in all 13 games for the Eagles in 2019, started six games in 2020 during the shortened COVID-19 season, and was named a full-time starter at left tackle in 2021. This past year in 2022, Johnson once again started every game for EMU at left tackle, giving up four sacks throughout the season.

Kentucky has already hauled in a pair of offensive line transfers since the regular season came to a close in Tanner Bowles (Alabama) and Marques Cox (Northern Illinois), but the staff is on the lookout for another veteran addition to the Big Blue Wall. Johnson was a graduate student in 2022 for EMU, meaning he will have just one season of college eligibility remaining.