Mark Stoops visits 4-star OT out of Paducah Tilghman

Kentucky is making it clear to Jarvis Strickland he’s a priority recruit for the Wildcats.

After hosting the talented offensive tackle for an unofficial visit earlier this month, head coach Mark Stoops made the trip out west Wednesday to meet with Strickland (and a couple of others) in person. Stoops popped into Paducah Tilghman High School to visit Strickland, who is ranked No. 309 nationally in the 2026 recruiting class and is considered the top junior prospect in the state.

Stoops also visited with Paducah Tilghman class of 2026 offensive lineman Ben Myers and class of 2027 wide receiver Brenden Brown. Myers holds an offer from Troy while Brown holds offers from Ole Miss and Kentucky.

Appreciate @MarkStoopsKY for coming through and checking out the Blue tornado! #bluesbest pic.twitter.com/IJaTA7s3Tu

— Coach Thomp (@coachthomp9) January 29, 2025

Strickland, who is originally from Chattanooga, TN, checks in at 6-foot-6, 290 pounds. His first Division I offer came from Eastern Kentucky all the way back in April 2022. Kentucky got into the mix a few months later in June with a scholarship offer of its own. Strickland has since taken several trips to Lexington for unofficial visits and is among the top targets in 2026 for the UK staff.

Kentucky isn’t alone in recruiting Strickland either. The likes of Michigan, Michigan State, South Carolina, Louisville, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Tulane, and several others have also extended him offers. He’s previously visited the likes of Louisville, Vanderbilt, and Michigan with more visits expected in the spring/summer.

Strickland tells KSR he will “definitely” take an official visit to Kentucky in the future.

As a junior at Paducah Tilghman in 2024, Strickland helped lead the Blue Tornado to a Class 4A state championship in December. He was teammates with Kentucky’s 2025 four-star commit, Martels Carter. Tilghman capped off a perfect 15-0 season by beating Franklin County 27-20 in the title game. Strickland was named First-Team All-State by the Louisville Courier Journal.