Tuesday afternoon Kentucky football recruiting notes

Good afternoon, Big Blue Nation. I’ve got a few tidbits of information from the Kentucky football recruiting world. For those who need a refresher, Mark Stoops currently has 17 class of 2025 commits locked in for the future. We’re talking about one of them below, but there are two additional prospects we’ll discuss who could ultimately find their way to Lexington, too.

Enough chit chat though. Let’s dive into the updates.

Kentucky in the mix for Purdue decommit

Back in March, three-star wide receiver Lebron Hill took an unofficial visit to Kentucky. A couple of days later, he announced an offer from Kentucky wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts. Hill ultimately committed to Louisville in June, only to flip to Purdue that same month following a visit to West Lafayette.

But on Monday, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound prospect out of Indiana announced that he has decommitted from Purdue. The Wildcats have already wiggled back into the mix. Hill tells KSR that he’s “been in contact with Kentucky for a while now” and is working on scheduling an official visit to Lexington. As of right now, UK is the only school he’s in talks with about setting up a visit.

Hill holds over a dozen Divison I offers, including ones from Miami (FL) and Vanderbilt. He announced on Tuesday morning a trio of offers from Marshall, Georgia State, and Akron. Hill is ranked No. 858 overall in the class of 2025 by the On3 Industry Ranking.

DL commit picks up Alabama offer

Georgia product Nicholas Smith has been committed to Kentucky since June. Not long after an official visit to Lexington, Smith pulled the trigger and pledged to the Wildcats. Defensive coordinator Brad White offered him in May and things moved quickly from there. The likes of Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia, and Central Florida were among the schools that also reached out with offers prior to his UK commitment.

At the time (and even to this day), Smith was viewed as an under-the-radar commit. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound defensive lineman is currently ranked No. 1,100 overall in the 2025 class by the On3 Industry Ranking. But he might be about to blow up on the national stage. Smith announced an offer from Alabama on Tuesday morning. It’s the first offer he’s posted since committing to Kentucky.

Nothing appears imminent right now in terms of a visit to Tuscaloosa or a possible flip. Smith tells KSR that no visit has been discussed yet and no other schools have made a serious push as of late. However, an offer from Alabama is always notable, especially when it goes to a recruit not rated all that highly. Smith’s recruitment will be something to monitor between now and Signing Day.

What’s up with Mikkel Skinner?

Four-star tight end Mikkel Skinner decommitted from Cincinnati in September, not long after his stock began to take off. Once an unranked prospect, the South Carolina native is now the No. 398 overall senior in the country by the On3 Industry Ranking. Kentucky quickly established itself as the frontrunner to flip Skinner from Cincinnati in the summer. The Wildcats offered in July and got him on campus a week before he backed off his pledge to the Bearcats.

It was thought that a commitment to UK could come quickly. But then the home state South Carolina Gamecocks decided to enter the mix. Skinner has now taken three gameday visits to the Gamecocks this season alone (four if you count the game he visited in Lexington that saw South Carolina beat Kentucky 31-6). He was also at the Alabama-Georgia game over the weekend but has not announced an offer from either school.

Despite the many trips to Columbia, Skinner has not made a commitment to the Gamecocks. That should be considered good news for Kentucky. On3’s Steve Wiltfong logged an RPM pick in favor of Kentucky back on August 27 and has not backed off that decision. For now, we just have to sit back and wait.