Ryan Montgomery, Gavin Grover highlight this week's Kentucky football visitors
With high schools all across the country currently on spring break, this week is perfect for football recruits to take as many unofficial visits as possible. Kentucky is taking advantage of that, already hosting plenty of prospects this past weekend. But Mark Stoops and the rest of his staff are still on the hunt. Tuesday in particular was huge for the program’s recruiting efforts, as dozens upon dozens of recruits of all ages and sizes were in Lexington to check out spring practice and tour the facilities.
Even more prospects are expected to make the trip to UK throughout the rest of the week. Here’s what we know so far.
Gavin Grover back for another visit
It’s becoming clear that three-star Oletangy (OH) tight end Gavin Grover is near the top of Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting Big Board. The Wildcats were the first program to offer the 6-foot-6, 225-pounder, which happened all the way back in April 2022. Since then, the two sides have remained in constant contact, with Grover first making it to the UK campus for a game visit in October. On Tuesday, Grover returned to Lexington for a more in-depth visit, particularly to reconnect with former Wildcat TE and current quality control assistant CJ Conrad.
Of course, associate head coach Vince Marrow, who also serves as the tight ends coach, is the lead recruiter for Grover, who is up to 20 plus Divison I offers now. Grover knows that Marrow has had success in the past with tight ends from Ohio, and that factor is playing a significant role in Kentucky’s pitch.
Right now, Grover is making the rounds, first visiting Indiana on Saturday before heading to Cincinnati on Monday. Kentucky is near the top of his list and will likely be one of the final contenders once he’s ready to make a decision.
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“I’m definitely going to narrow it down here soon to four to six schools that I really want to focus on,” Grover told KSR+ earlier this month. “Kentucky could possibly be among those schools.”
Withrow High School (OH) well-represented
Cincinnati’s Withrow University High School brought down several players to Lexington to check out spring practice, but the big fish is Terhyon Nichols, a solidified four-star prospect out of the 2024 class. After coming to UK for Junior Day in late January, Nichols was back again on Tuesday for another visit. Kentucky was one of the first big-name programs to offer him, with Coach Marrow extending a scholarship in May 2022. Nichols’ offer sheet is only growing, too, with the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, and several others already on board.
Terhyon Nichols (CB) 5-10, 180 | Withrow (Cincinnati, OH)
’24 4-star: No. 285 overall, No. 24 CB
DeJuan Harris (DB) 6-3, 185 | Withrow (Cincinnati, OH)
Unranked ’24
Quintin Simmons (ATH) 6-0, 170 | Withrow (Cincinnati, OH)
Unranked ’25
Judah Starr (DB) 6-1, 160 | Withrow (Cincinnati, OH)
Unranked ’25
Withrow is loaded with plenty of high-caliber recruits and Kentucky is keeping a close eye on all of them. Class of 2026 WR Chris Henry Jr., the son of former Cincinnati Bengals WR Chris Henry, also suits up for Withrow and is considered one of the best freshmen in the entire country. Kentucky offered Henry Jr. in mid-Jan., which led to him taking a visit for Junior Day a couple of weeks later.
Other visitors/recruiting notes
- Kentucky has its eyes locked on a handful of quarterback prospects from the class of 2025, and one of them intends to visit Kentucky later this week. According to On3’s Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, four-star QB Ryan Montgomery is set to be in Lexington on Thursday, April 30 for his second trip to UK. He first attended Kentucky’s Junior Day in late January. Montgomery is in high demand though. He’ll also visit Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida in the coming weeks. Montgomery’s brother, Luke Montgomery, is an incoming freshman OL at Ohio State.
- Withrow wasn’t the only high school that brought down a caravan of visitors. Cass Tech (MI) brought in around eight of its players to Lexington for a visit, where they made time to chat with a pair of former alums now on the Kentucky roster: rising sophomore DL Deone Walker and incoming freshman LB Khamari Anderson — both former four-star recruits. Cass Tech is once again loaded with top-end talent, including multiple recruits already considered nationally-ranked prospects. Kentucky will be involved with many of them.
- Additionally, 6-foot-7, 275-pound offensive tackle Luke Schultz out of Briarwood Christian (AL) made the trip to check out spring practice. This was the third visit to Lexington for the ’24 recruit, the first two coming during separate game visits in the fall. Schultz holds DI offers from UAB, Jacksonville State, Marshall, and Samford, but is hearing from the likes of Auburn and Arkansas along with the ‘Cats.
- Lastly, four-star class of 2025 cornerback Cortez Thomas announced on Monday that he has earned an offer from Kentucky. He previously picked up scholarships from the likes of Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Louisville. Defensive backs coach Chris Collins was the one who offered Thomas on Kentucky’s behalf. In the most recent On3 player rankings for the ’25 class, which were released earlier this week, Thomas came in ranked No. 120 in the entire country.
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