Kentucky TE target Gavin Grover commits to Cincinnati

Go ahead and mark one tight end option off the recruiting Big Board.

On Sunday morning, three-star tight end Gavin Grover announced that he has committed to the Cincinnati Bearcats. Once considered a Kentucky lean, the three-star class of 2024 prospect released a Top 3 schools list on Tuesday that included the Wildcats and Bearcats plus the West Virginia Mountaineers. Grover recently told Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ that he was “eager to get committed” just a few days before pulling the trigger on Cincinnati.

Grover is considered the No. 684 prospect in the junior class and the No. 32 overall tight end, per the On3 Consensus.

Thank you to all of the Coaches who recruited me thus far. But I’m Home 🏡 @GoBearcatsFB x @OHSBravesFB pic.twitter.com/DmUu3zShWq

— Gavin Grover (@GavinGrover87) April 16, 2023

Grover was clearly a priority for the Kentucky coaching staff throughout his process, taking multiple visits to Lexington over the last year-plus, most recently one near the end of March that he said gave him a “homey” feel about the Wildcats. UK also extended Grover his first-ever Divison I scholarship offer nearly one year ago to the day.

“I honestly felt confident there. It almost felt like home a little bit. I’m starting to get that homey feel about Kentucky,” Grover told KSR’s Nick Roush.

That being said, Grover told Polacheck last week that he wanted “to get off the board until another tight end commits and beats me to the commitment.” Could that be the case here? Kentucky is in serious talks with four-star tight end out of Michigan, Dylan Mesman, who visited UK this weekend and plans to make his college decision on April 28.

Kentucky currently has two commitments in the class of 2024 with in-state offensive line prospects Hayes Johnson and Aba Selm officially in the fold.