Recapping this week in Kentucky Football recruiting

Time for our weekly recruiting update presented by our friend Andy Luedecke at MyPerfectFranchise. Andy is a huge college sports fan and franchise veteran, having owned multiple franchises and businesses. Using his expertise, he helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough consultation and evaluation process.

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Good evening, folks! It’s Friday and another work week has passed us by. Admittedly, this has been one of the slower overall news weeks of the year so far, but as the old saying goes: recruiting never sleeps (or something like that). That mantra stayed true to its meaning this week, and we’ve got a few notes and updates to discuss as we turn the corner into the final weekend of June.

Let’s dive right in.

Kentucky makes a trio of “top school” lists

It must be “List Szn” in the world of recruiting right now. Three significant class of 2023 prospects dropped their updated top school lists and Kentucky made the cut in all of them. The targets include four-star WR Anthony Brown (top 5); high three-star S Jaremiah Anglin (top 8); and soon-to-be-ranked OT Sean Thompkins (top 4).

Brown is, without a doubt, the priority among the three. The Springfield, OH native has been on Kentucky’s Big Board since the staff first extended him his first-ever Division I scholarship back in the summer of 2020. It’s believed to be a two-horse race for Brown’s services between UK and Cincinnati with the ‘Cats appearing to hold the inside edge. A decision could come as early as July.

Anglin included Kentucky in his top eight, which also featured the likes of powerhouses such as Alabama and Penn State along with Tennessee, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Jackson State, and Central Florida. He camped at UK earlier this month and dropped his list on Friday afternoon. That being said, it didn’t take long at all for On3’s Director of Recruiting, Chad Simmons, to log a pic in favor of FSU. The Seminoles are the current favorite.

Thompkins is a currently unranked offensive tackle out of Georgia, but he expects to receive a hefty ratings bump in the next update. His top four features Kentucky, Florida, Baylor, and Tennessee, with the Gators and Bears the perceived frontrunners. However, UK is considered a close third in the pecking order as this recruitment could drag on into the fall.

Where UK targets are visiting this weekend

Earlier this week, KSR’s Adam Luckett broke down all of the ’23 Kentucky targets taking official visits to other colleges over the next few days. Considering UK is done for the summer with their OVs, this weekend could be important for all of the recruits listed below. The ‘Cats are in terrific shape with a few of them and are heavily in the mix with all of them.

All player rankings are courtesy of the On3 Consensus.

Arkansas
Robert Stafford: 5-11, 170-pound CB | Eau Gallie (Melbourne, FL)
4-star, No. 157 overall; No. 17 CB

Florida State
Tavion Gadson: 6-5, 265-pound DL | Jenkins (Savannah, GA)
3-star, No. 531 overall; No. 64 DL

Avery Stuart: 6-2, 175-pound S | Alabama Christian Academy (Montgomery, AL)
4-star, No. 222 overall; No. 18 S

Iowa
Kendrick Gilbert: 6-5, 250-pound DL | Cathedral (Indianapolis, IN)
4-star, No. 362 overall; No. 44 DL

Michigan
Karmello English: 5-11. 180-pound WR | Central (Phenix City, AL)
4-star, No. 128 overall; No. 21 WR

North Carolina
Koby Keenum: 6-4, 285-pound IOL | Mars Hill Bible School (Florence, AL)
3-star, No. 726 overall; No. 63 IOL

South Carolina
Jaden Robinson: 6-1, 210-pound LB | Columbia (Lake City, FL)
4-star, No. 376 overall; No. 35 LB

Tenneessee
Cristian Conyer: 6-1, 170-pound ATH | South Warren (Bowling Green, KY)
3-star, No. 616 overall; No. 36 ATH

Ja’Keem Jackson: 6-2, 285-pound CB | Osceola (Kissimmee, FL)
4-star, No. 243 overall; No. 27 CB

Introducing 4-star LB Stanquan Clark

We first mentioned Stanquan Clark earlier this week, but let’s see if there’s anything else we can learn. Considered a four-star linebacker and No. 369 overall by the On3 Consensus, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Miami, FL prospect told KSR earlier this week that he was in Lexington for an official visit on Monday.

He’s a relatively new ’23 prospect to pop on Kentucky’s radar, but he sure is a talented one. He took an official visit to NC State just a few days before he stopped by UK and is also hearing from the likes of the Miami Hurricanes, Auburn Tigers, and Louisville Cardinals. Both Miami and Auburn were able to get Clark on their respective campuses in the spring, too. The in-state Hurricanes should be the team to look out for as of right now with NC State and Kentucky right there in the mix.

An update on Great Crossing’s Oryend Fisher

One of the top rising seniors in the Bluegrass State doesn’t appear to be all that high on Kentucky’s radar right now.

Oryend Fisher, considered a three-star EDGE rusher and the No. 1 in-state recruit, according to On3, received an offer from the ‘Cats in August 2021. The Great Crossing product earned additional offers from the likes of West Virginia, Louisville, and Memphis around the same time. His recruitment hit a bit of a lull for the next several months but picked up again in the spring. Fisher attracted offers from Akron, Marshall, and Kent State while taking visits to Florida and Alabama (where he performed incredibly well in a camp setting).

Kentucky has remained in contact with Fisher since the offer came in last summer, bringing him to campus for visits in September and April. However, KSR has learned that the ‘Cats likely won’t go all-in on the Georgetown native. The staff feels comfortable with where they stand in terms of the EDGE position for the ’23 class with another in-state prospect, Boyle County’s Tommy Ziesmer, who is ranked as a three-star in his own right.

With that in mind, I logged an RPM (Recruiting Prediction Machine) pick on Tuesday in favor of Fisher landing at West Virginia with a confidence level of 35 percent. Fisher began his official visit to the Mountaineers — which is his only scheduled OV of the summer so far — on Thursday and will stay there until Saturday. He’s visited the WVU campus multiple times in the past. His recruitment wasn’t closed earlier this week, but a good OV to Morgantown could do the trick.

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