Mike Stoops is getting Kentucky recruiting back into Central Florida

At the beginning of the Mark Stoops era, recruiting Central Florida was essential to Kentucky football. The program landed a bunch of high-quality players from the Greater Orlando area to get things started in Lexington.

In the first two signing classes under Stoops, running backs coach Chad Scott went into the Sunshine State to land Jeff Badet, Garrett Johnson, Jojo Kemp, and Blake McClain out of greater Orlando. Scott also went west to Tampa to find Derrick Baity. However, that area dried up after Scott left the staff following the 2015 season to work for North Carolina.

Kentucky dipped into Central Florida to land Kenneth Horsey (Sanford Seminole) in the class of 2018, but for the most part, Central Florida has been avoided. That seems to be changing with Mike Stoops now on the football staff in Lexington.

The former Arizona head coach and long-time Oklahoma defensive coordinator has recruited the Sunshine State for most of his career and is looking to help his brother’s program out by getting some efficient recruiting done for Kentucky in this fertile recruiting territory.

For the first big camp of the summer, Mike Stoops got over 20 players from the Central Florida area on campus, and most looked like guys who could emerge as big targets for the Wildcats down the road.

Let’s check in on the prospects of note.

Orlando recruiting

Chrisdasson Saint-Jean: A 2023 offensive tackle out of Orlando (Fla.) Evans, Saint-Jean looked the part on Tuesday standing at 6-foot-7. The low three-star recruit does not have an offer from Kentucky yet but has seen some Power Five interest with Indiana, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse, and West Virginia all issuing offers. This could be a sneaky target for Kentucky as the 2023 cycle marches on.

Cai Bates: The 2024 wide receiver out of Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater, the rising junior is an explosive athlete with long arms and big-time jumping ability. Bates currently does not have an offer from Kentucky, but that could be coming soon as there are some real traits with this prospect.

Brandon Jacob: The 2024 safety prospect is currently the No. 325 prospect in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The Orlando Evans product is receiving real interest from Florida State but is also receiving some love from Kentucky.

Had an great unofficial visit/camp at the University of Kentucky @Mike_Stoops41 @CertifiedDawgAG #BBN pic.twitter.com/MD7zJxS9bq

— Brandon Jacob (@Thereallkingbj_) June 7, 2022

The 6-foot-2 defensive back has the skills to be a blue-chip recruit in the class of 2024 and Kentucky is putting in the groundwork to become a player in this recruitment.

We are still learning about Mike Stoops the recruiter, but it’s clear some good relationship building is going on in Orlando. We may not see results in the class of 2023, but it’s only a matter of time before the new assistant pulls some big recruiting wins in Florida for the Big Blue.