Recruitment of 3-star offensive guard Tristan Wilson heating up after offer from Kentucky

(UK Athletics)

After Kentucky reached out, the offers started to pour in for Tristan Wilson.

A 6-foot-5, roughly 300-pound offensive guard prospect from Lebanon, MO, Wilson has witnessed his recruitment explode ever since the beginning of the new year. Kentucky offered Wilson on Jan. 21, making the ‘Cats his third official offer and the first from an FBS school. Rated by both 247 Sports and Rivals as a three-star player from the class of 2022, he’s up to 12 offers now, 10 of them coming from Divison I programs.

Wilson has also received offers from the likes of Baylor, Missouri, Arkansas, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Kansas State, and Iowa State–all of them coming in the weeks after UK extended theirs. It won’t be anytime soon before Wilson makes a commitment, however, he would like to do so before his senior season begins in the fall. Taking visits once the recruiting dead period is lifted at the end of May will play a crucial role in his decision.

For now, there is no list of Wilson’s “top” schools, although there are schools that are further along in conversations with him. Kentucky, Baylor, and Missouri are three programs that Wilson’s head coach at Lebanon High School, Will Christian, told KSR are among the most active in contact with the high school junior. Tennessee has also been in touch, as has Nebraska, with potential offers from both looming. Coach Christian said that Wilson had a Zoom meeting with Alabama last Monday, too.

“Kentucky for sure is in the mix,” Coach Christian told KSR earlier this week about Wilson’s recruitment. “For me to give you a list and rank I don’t think I could do. I don’t think he could do that. His plans are, from now until June, to go on some unofficial visits and at least get an idea of the lay of the land. He wants to have a decision made before the season.”

With the recent boom in his popularity, the attention Wilson receives is only going to increase throughout the summer, especially once on-campus visits are allowed and camps are re-opened. More high-profile schools will surely reach out. Wilson was able to draw in offers from schools like Kentucky, Baylor, and others–despite COVID-19 restrictions and playing in an area of Missouri where Kansas City and St. Louis are both two-plus hour drives–doing so by sending out plenty of highlight clips and workout videos.

“Here in southwest Missouri, the facts are the facts,” Coach Christian added. “This is not a recruiting hotbed and so for our kids to get exposure, social media is a key component, us recruiting the schools first… Our offensive line coach, Garrett Wade, and Tristan have done a really good job of creating some workout videos and some pass set videos that we’ve been able to send to schools. I think that all of those have really gained him the exposure he needed.

“And of course, when a school offers, when a school takes the time to look at the stuff we’re sending and like it, then that offer forces others to take a look. Once you get one to actually look, and if it’s good enough to warrant interest–and with Tristan it was–then all the sudden it goes into a different pile.”

Kentucky’s new offensive line coach, Eric Wolford, has been the main contact reaching out to Wilson and has earned rave reviews from Coach Christian and Wilson.

“He [Wolford] has done an outstanding job,” Coach Christian said. “He has been very active in the recruiting and has been easy for us to work with.”

Finding the right fit is important. Right now, Wilson told KSR he’s just “trying to take this all in” as his recruitment stands at the moment. He won’t be able to find the proper fit until he can get on campus, but his head coach broke down two traits about Wilson that are sure to play a role in his process as he continues to search for a decision, including an interesting comment on the in-state school that’s after Wilson, the Missouri Tigers.

“Here’s the thing with Tristan,” Coach Christian continued. “Two things. Number one: he’s not one of these “lifelong fan” type kids. And number two: we [Lebanon High] have a player there right now [at Missouri] and we have a player that graduated in ‘13 that was an All-SEC offensive linemen and went on to get drafted. I think that Tristan does not want to have to live in the shadow of Justin Britt there. I think he really wants to establish his own legacy. That being said, is Mizzou in the equation? Yes. No matter what, they’ll be in his top 5. But at the end of the day, I predict that might not be the spot.”