Kentucky "still at the top" of 3-star WR Ardell Banks' list following Kentucky OV

Kentucky football didn’t exactly put up a good showing at Kroger Field on Saturday afternoon, but the recruits in attendance still appeared to enjoy their time. One of the big-name visitors over the weekend, three-star class of 2023 WR Ardell Banks, had nothing but good things to say about his multi-day stay in Lexington.

We first mentioned Banks as a Kentucky target last week, shortly after he was offered by associate head coach Vince Marrow. A 6-foot-3, 180-pound pass-catcher, Banks was previously committed to Toledo before reopening his process back in September. Marrow spent time watching him shine on the field for Washington (OH) High School earlier in the season and the two stayed in touch, ultimately leading to a scholarship from the ‘Cats on Nov. 1. It didn’t take long for Banks to set up an official visit to Kentucky after that.

Arriving on Friday and leaving Sunday, Banks was treated to the full OV experience. His hotel room was covered in gifts, there was dinner at Jeff Ruby’s with his parents, an academic tour of the university, and, of course, a perfect view of Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt from the boxes.

I want to thank @vincemarrow @CoachWoody7 @UKCoachStoops @UKFootball for having me on an Official Visit and making this weekend a great time !!💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/HdlWUNTAzu

— Ardell Banks (@50kdell) November 13, 2022

Unfortunately, UK suffered arguably the worst loss of the Mark Stoops era, falling to Vanderbilt 24-21 and giving the Commodores its first SEC win in 26 attempts. That being said, the outcome didn’t discourage Banks from how he views the school. In fact, he says the ‘Cats are still one of the top contenders.

“All teams have their upsets at some point,” Banks told KSR Monday night. “The players are young, they didn’t come out and execute how they were supposed to, but they also are a good team, so next week — according to the coaches — they should be beating Georgia.

“(Kentucky is) still at the top, it was a good visit.“

Next up for Banks will be a pair of official visits to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, which both offered him shortly after UK got involved. He’ll visit Pitt in December and is still working on scheduling his trip to Cincinnati, but adds it will happen sometime after the Bearcats’ regular season is over. Illinois continues to keep tabs on him, too.

In the meantime, Banks will prepare for the last few rounds of a potential championship run. His Washington squad is currently 11-1 on the season with a showdown against 13-1 Uniontown Lake this Friday for the Region 7 title. The Tigers would need two more wins after that to take the state finals. So far during his senior season, Banks has recorded over 800 receiving yards in addition to 12 touchdowns for Washington.