Recruiting Notebook: Resetting the board after big weekend for Kentucky

Kentucky football got some good news on Sunday when three-star linebacker Antwan Smith committed to the Wildcats. Another defensive commit could be arriving on Tuesday when three-star athlete Trelain Maddox makes his decision. However, other programs are getting good news too.

Recruiting boards across college football are now starting to take shape with decisions being made following official visits. Tailback and safety stand out as two positions to watch over the next few weeks.

Tailback board is getting clearer

About a month ago, we had no idea what names offensive coordinator Liam Coen and running backs coach Jay Boulware were going to zone in on. Just a few weeks later, the tailback picture is beginning to become much clear.

Forsyth (Ga.) Mary Persons tailback Duke Watson can be removed from the board after the four-star prospect committed to Louisville during his official visit. That came one week after Fort Walton (Fla.) Choctawhatchee Senior tailback Cole Tabb committed to Stanford. Sam Williams-Dixon reaffirmed his commitment to Ohio State this weekend following a mid-week official visit to Kentucky. Developments are occurring all around us.

Kentucky is set to host three tailbacks for official visits this week. Expect the Wildcats to push for a commitment soon from one of the prospects.

The party will get started when high three-star Jason Patterson takes a mid-week official visit to Kentucky. Boston College, Cincinnati, and Vanderbilt are among the top contenders for the tailback who led the state of Florida in rushing yards last season. Anwar Stewart established a relationship with Patterson last year, and Boulware has come in to help out with this recruitment.

Over the weekend, Johann Cardenas and Tovani Mizell will be on campus for an official visit. Cardenas is a former Texas Tech commit who just completed an official visit with Vanderbilt. Mizell is a former Georgia commit who just completed an official visit to North Carolina. Mack Brown‘s program is a team to watch with the South Florida prospect.

Kentucky has three legitimate options at a position that could turn over fast. The Wildcats could have room to add two backs. Cardenas and Patterson are two recruits to monitor closely.

Wisconsin is a top competitor for Kentucky

Kentucky had many recruiting battles with Luke Fickell‘s staff when the former Ohio State defensive coordinator spent six seasons at Cincinnati. That is not changing with Fickell relocating to Wisconsin. The Badgers are already causing some headaches for UK.

Last week, Wisconsin was able to get four-star tackle Kevin Heywood committed during his official visit in Madison. That caused his official visit with Kentucky to be canceled. One week later, three-star safety Raphael Dunn committed to Wisconsin during his official visit. The New Jersey safety likely won’t make it to his previously scheduled visit to UK. High three-star defensive lineman Dominic Kirks bumped his UK official visit to go to Wisconsin.

The Badgers are taking targets off the board for Kentucky in multiple areas. Wisconsin is making some noise in the Mid-Atlantic and also still has a heavy presence in Ohio. Fickell’s first full recruiting staff at Wisconsin has won some early battles against Kentucky.

Safety options are coming off the board

In our first recruiting big board, five safety prospects were listed. Raphael Dunn came off the board on Sunday, and Vaboue Toure is currently a heavy Penn State lean. Options are starting to come off the table.

Kentucky just completed an official visit with unranked prospect Cam Dooley who has told KSR that he will make his decision on July 4. Dooley is scheduled to take an official visit to Vanderbilt this weekend. However, some other options need to emerge.

Trelain Maddox is deciding on Tuesday and is a versatile defender that could be plugged into multiple places. High three-star Jiquavious Marshall is also expected to take an official visit to Kentucky at some point this month.

Developments are occurring rapidly in the secondary.

Jaden Smith ends his recruitment

The expected happened on Monday afternoon when unranked linebacker Jaden Smith committed to Michigan. Jim Harbaugh’s program now has 19 commitments in the fold for the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Kentucky was scheduled to get Smith on campus for an official visit this weekend but that is unlikely to happen now. However, it’s not all bad news as the Wolverines are running out of room in this class. Kentucky remains in a great spot to close of four-star EDGE Brian Robinson who just completed his official visit to UK.

Antwan Smith is in the fold but Kentucky could use another player at off-ball linebacker in this class.

An important class of 2025 visitor

Cutter Boley, Ryan Montgomery, and Stone Saunders all became 2025 QB recruits of note when offensive coordinator Liam Coen returned to Lexington. UK got a commitment from Boley and the Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy passer reclassified to 2024 and joined UK’s class. Montgomery has been on campus multiple times. So has Saunders and the Mid-Atlantic native returned to Lexington on Sunday.

Incredible day at Kentucky, thank you to the whole staff for the amazing hospitality to me and my family💙#BBN pic.twitter.com/HppKLl3brs

— Stone Saunders (@Stone_Saunders8) June 11, 2023

Saunders threw for 54 touchdowns as a sophomore and led his high school to a state championship. After making a trip to Nebraska on Saturday, Saunders made a quick pitstop in Lexington where he and his parents were spotted wearing UK gear while walking on the sidelines at Kroger Field while another recruiting camp was taking place.

High school recruiting has been an issue for the Wildcats for a long time, but Coen is helping fix that in a big way. UK is a major player in this recruitment and a decision should be made soon. If Kentucky lands Saunders, it could give the 2025 class some early momentum that the 2023 and 2024 classes simply didn’t have.