Rounding up recent offers handed out by Kentucky football
The Kentucky football staff hit the recruiting trail with ferocity over the last week-plus.
Dozens of scholarship offers have been extended to high school sophomores and juniors, with a focus on the Cincinnati, OH (seven offers) and New Jersey (five offers) areas, in particular. The staff also dipped into states such as Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, and North Carolina with offers, along with a couple of other northeastern states in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Additionally, we also learned of a handful of preferred walk-ons that made their pledge to the Wildcats over the last week.
Let’s dive right in and see which high school prospects the University of Kentucky has been targeting over the last 7-10 days.
*All player rankings are courtesy of the On3 Consensus*
Class of 2024
Koy Beasley (CB) 5-11, 180 | La Salle (Cincinnati, OH)
4-star: No. 271 overall, No. 28 CB
- One of the many Cincinnati-based prospects in this article is Koy Beasley, who is also the highest-ranked recruit we’ll be talking about. He earned his offer from Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow last Friday, joining the likes of Boston College, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh. Of note, Beasley was being recruited by Cincinnati back in the fall (even taking a visit in Sept.) prior to the head coaching change that brought in Scott Satterfield.
Ashton Woods (LB) 6-3, 205 | Walton (Marietta, GA)
3-star: No. 404 overall, No. 35 LB
- Kentucky’s inside linebackers coach, Mike Stoops, extended an offer to Georgia product Ashton Woods on Thursday, one day after Arkansas reached out and did the same. Woods is already considered a top-end high school junior, holding additional offers from the likes of Auburn, West Virginia, Kansas, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and several others. He splits time playing linebacker and tight end for Walton but is being recruited to play defense at UK. Auburn and UNC are considered to be near the top of his priority list.
Jayden Coleman (CB) 6-1, 180 | Central (Phenix City, AL)
3-star: No. 518 overall, No. 51 CB
- Kentucky is no stranger to Central High School in Alabama, which is the same program four-star WR Karmello English, who was recruited heavily by the ‘Cats before ultimately choosing Michigan, plays for. UK reached out to Coleman with an offer on Wednesday, not long after he took a visit to Louisville. Other SEC schools such as Florida, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M are also looking at him. The home state Auburn Tigers have offered him too, along with his brother, 2024 four-star WR Cameron Coleman, who UK has not offered at this time.
Juan Minaya (OT) 6-6, 330 | Paramus Catholic (Paramus, NJ)
3-star: No. 529 overall, No. 33 OT
- The UK staff dipped heavily into New Jersey this week on the recruiting trail, most notably with Juan Minaya, who earned an offer on Wednesday from wide receivers coach Scott Woodward, who is familiar with that area and has recruited out of there in the past. Minaya has been hearing from plenty of high-profile schools, including the likes of Ole Miss, Penn State, and Michigan State, with Florida jumping in with a scholarship on Friday. He’s already visited Penn State multiple times and has been building a steady relationship with the Nittany Lions, but now Kentucky will try to get involved, as well.
Nyier Daniels (OT) 6-7, 370 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, NJ)
3-star: No. 541 overall, No. 35 OT
- Another New Jersey guy, Nyier Daniels picked up his Kentucky offer on Wednesday from Coach Woodward. Auburn offered the rising prospect on Wednesday, as well. It’s been a busy month of January for Daniels as the likes of Florida State, South Carolina, Cincinnati, and Georgia have all reached out with scholarships. Louisville and Florida also offered him back in November. Penn State is another school prioritizing Daniels, having offered him in may 2022 (just his second from a DI program).
Kevon Gray (CB) 6-1, 170 | Creekside (Atlanta, GA)
3-star: No. 633 overall, No. 61 CB
- Shortly before Missouri offered Kevon Gray on Thursday evening, Kentucky reached out earlier that morning with an offer of its own. Louisville and Colorado both offered Gray last January before those program’s respective head coaching changes, with Pittsburgh and Boston College also extending offers this past fall.
Tionne Gray (DL) 6-6, 295 | Hazelwood Central (Saint Louis, MO)
3-star
- Tionne Gray might be one of the hottest recruits in the country right now. After entering 2023 with just four DI offers (Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas), his popularity exploded in January as he hauled in scholarships from the likes of Oregon, Washington, UNLV, Kentucky, Louisville, Iowa, and Tennessee. UK safeties coach Frank Buffano was the one who reached out with an offer on Wednesday. Gray will take a visit to Arkansas this weekend.
Caleb Brewer (IOL) 6-4, 280 | Wyomissing (Reading, PA)
3-star
- Much like Tionne Gray, 2023 has treated Caleb Brewer quite nicely. The Pennslyvania product has received offers from South Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and Kentucky to begin the new year. Once again, it was Coach Woodward who reached out. Brewer holds previous offers from the likes of Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Tennessee, along with several others.
Benedict Umeh (EDGE) 6-5, 240 | Avon Old Farms (Toronto, ON)
Luke Reynolds (TE) 6-4, 215 | Chesire Academy (Westford, MA)
James Nesta (LB) 6-5, 205 | William Amos Hough (Cornelius, NC)
Cole Mullins (LB) 6-4, 240 | Mill Creek (Hoschton, GA)
Jay’Quan Bostic (S) 6-3, 175 | Taft (Cincinnati, OH)
Ryan Jostes (OT) 6-6, 260 | Washington (Washington, MO)
Chase Couch (DE) 6-4, 230 | Lexington Christian Academy (Lexington, KY)
- He’s not a ranked prospect, but Chase Couch is one to keep a close eye on. The son of former Kentucky QB Tim Couch, Chase picked up his first DI scholarship from Coach Marrow on Friday afternoon. The junior LCA product camped at UK over the summer.
Class of 2025
De’zie Jones (WR) 5-11, 175 | DePaul Catholic (Wayne, NJ)
4-star
- Don’t be shocked if De’zie Jones is a nationally-ranked recruit in the very near future. On3’s own rankings already consider him a four-star sophomore as he holds offers from the likes of Minnesota, Illinois, West Virginia, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Penn State, and a few others. Kentucky got into the mix on Wednesday with Coach Woodward once again diving into the New Jersey area. Nearby Rutgers is also heavily involved. Jones registered over 1,000 receiving yards as a sophomore at DePaul Catholic.
Eugene Hilton Jr. (WR) 5-10, 170 | Zionsville (Zionsville, IN)
- Although he’s currently unranked, Eugene Hilton (who is the son of former NFL four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton) is steadily raising his stock. Kentucky offered him on Thursday, the first SEC school to do so. He was also offered by Jeff Brohm back in October before Brohm moved from head coach at Purdue to Louisville, but Hilton has yet to announce an offer from Louisville at this time. FIU, which is where Hilton’s father played before getting drafted in 2012, reached out with a scholarship on Friday morning.
Paul Nelson (LB) 6-2, 205 | Princeton (Cincinnati, OH)
Kole Briehler (DL) 6-3, 240 | Hun School (Pennington, NJ)
Quintin Simmons (ATH) 6-1, 155 | Withrow (Cincinnati, OH)
Quincy Porter (ATH) 6-3, 190 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, NJ)
Naim Jackson (EDGE) 6-4, 245 | La Salle (Cincinnati, OH)
Tayvon Smith (WR) 6-6, 190 | Taft (Cincinnati, OH)
Shiren Mabry (LB) 6-3, 185 | KIPP Columbus (Columbus, OH)
Alex Payne (OT) 6-6, 265 | Gainesville (Gainesville, FL)
Class of 2026
Chris Henry Jr. (WR) 6-3, 170 | Withrow (Cincinnati, OH)
- The son of former Cincinnati Bengals WR Chris Henry, who tragically died in 2009, Chris Henry Jr. is a budding freshman star following in his father’s athletic footsteps. Coach Marrow reached out on Kentucky’s behalf with an offer last Friday, which was followed up by offers from Purdue and UMass on Tuesday. Although he’s just a high school freshman, Henry earned scholarships from the likes of Tennessee, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Miami (FL), Penn State, and Ohio State in 2022. The Buckeyes will be all over him if he continues on his current trajectory.
New walk-on additions for 2023
Nicholas Pearson (OT) 6-4, 280 | Blessed Trinity Catholic (Roswell, GA)
- After visiting Kentucky last week, senior offensive tackle Nicholas Pearson committed to the Wildcats on Tuesday as a preferred walk-on with his main recruiter being graduate assistant Drake Jackson, who is now in year two on the staff following a successful playing career at UK. Pearson earned his PWO offer from Jackson back in December. The Georgia product chose the ‘Cats over the likes of Maryland, Charlotte, and Stetson
Braiden Myers (OL) 6-4, 280 | Southwestern (Somerset, KY)
- A homegrown prospect out of Southwestern High School in Somerset, senior offensive lineman Braiden Myers will join Pearson as a PWO on the Big Blue Wall. He visited UK back in October with Jackson also serving as his primary recruiter. Myers held a pair of offers from Cumberlands and Austin Peay but elected to play in the SEC where he can work his way into a full-time scholarship.
Max Ishmael (OL) 6-4, 305 | Lexington Christian Academy (Lexington, KY)
- The third and final PWO who announced his commitment to UK was Max Ishmael, who made his decision on Thursday. Ishmael is another product within close proximity of the program, playing for Lexington Christian Academy. He spent the 2022 season blocking for LCA QB Cutter Boley, who is widely considered one of the top sophomore QB prospects in the country and is high on Kentucky’s radar. The most important note we should make with this trio of PWO additions to the Big Blue Wall is how Drake Jackson appears to be taking on a larger role in the recruiting department.
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