Andy Lyons
Kentucky Foodball: National Signing Day 2013
Welcome to National Signing Day 2013, Kentucky Wildcats fans.
Kentucky Foodball: National Signing Day 2013
Live10 Total Updates since February 6, 2013
- Important 10
- Updates 7
- Articles 4
- All Updates 10
4 months ago Article 48 comments
Kentucky Football: How Good Is The 2013 Wildcats Class?
People have been asking about ratings for this year's Kentucky football recruiting class, so we looked up all the ratings to give the Big Blue Nation a better feel.
4 months ago Update 43 comments
Kentucky Football: Update 4 - Jason Hatcher and Jojo Kemp Now Wildcats
Well, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, it's been a busy day for Mark Stoops & Co. Today, they have taken 22 National Letters of Intent from 22 outstanding young men. The last two to sign were arguably the two most coveted: Jojo Kemp and Jason Hatcher. Here's the update:
| Signed Letter of Intent Received | |||||||||
| Name | Pos | Where they are from | Ht | Wt | 40 | Stars | Rrating | Committed | |
| 1 | Blake McClain | DB | Winter Park, FL Winter Park | 5'11" | 181 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 6/27/12 | |
| 2 | Jaleel Hytchye | DB | Cincinnati, OH La Salle | 5'11" | 165 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/5/13 |
| 3 | Jeff Badet | WR | Orlando, FL Freedom | 5'11" | 160 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 2/1/13 | |
| 4 | Justin Day | OL | Aiken, SC South Aiken | 6'8" | 285 | 5.3 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/29/12 |
| 5 | Kyle Meadows | OL | West Chester, OH Lakota West | 6'5" | 270 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/12/13 | |
| 6 | Marcus McWilson | DB | Youngstown, OH Cardinal Mooney | 6'0" | 195 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 1/28/13 | |
| 7 | Nate Willis | DB | Yuma, AZ Arizona Western C.C. | 6'0" | 180 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/16/13 |
| 8 | Nick Haynes | OL | Niceville, FL Niceville | 6'4" | 294 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 2/3/13 | |
| 9 | Ramsey Meyers | OL | Orange Park, FL Ridgeview | 6'3" | 290 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 10 | Reese Phillips | QB | Signal Mountain, TN Signal Mountain | 6'3" | 210 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/6/12 | |
| 11 | Regie Meant | DT | Cape Coral, FL Baker | 6'5" | 271 | 2 stars | 5.3 | 1/15/13 | |
| 12 | Ryan Timmons | WR | Frankfort, KY Franklin County | 5'10" | 186 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/5/13 | |
| 13 | Steven Borden | TE | Waxahachie, TX Kilgore J.C. | 6'3" | 250 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 12/19/12 | |
| 14 | Za'Darius Smith | DE | Scooba, MS East Mississippi C.C. | 6'5" | 252 | 4.7 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 12/19/12 |
| 15 | Alvonte Bell | DE | Miramar, FL Everglades | 6'6" | 228 | 4.9 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 6/5/12 |
| 16 | Austin MacGinnis | K | Prattville, AL Prattville | 5'11" | 170 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 17 | Jacob Hyde | DT | Manchester, KY Clay County | 6'2" | 313 | 5.6 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 3/1/12 |
| 18 | Javess Blue | WR | El Dorado, KS Butler County C.C. | 6'1" | 195 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/13/13 | |
| Verbal Commitments – Awaiting Letters of Intent | |||||||||
| 19 | Alex Montgomery | WR | Weston, FL Cypress Bay | 6'1" | 180 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/28/13 | |
| 20 | Jojo Kemp | RB | Deland, FL Deland | 5'10" | 189 | 4.7 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/1/13 |
| 21 | Khalid Thomas | ATH | Tallahassee, FL Godby | 5'10" | 175 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 7/8/12 | |
| 22 | Jason Hatcher | DE | Louisville, KY Trinity | 6'2” | 240 | 4.82 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 02/06/13 |
| Abreviations you may not know | |||||||||
| Rrating = Rivals Rating | |||||||||
| ATH = Athlete – player who could be a number of positions | |||||||||
| Highlighted players = LOI received | |||||||||
All signed, sealed, and delivered. No defections and 1 addition -- Hatcher wasn't on the original list, but he's the biggest prize of the bunch, ratings-wise.
In case you're wondering what Hatcher did to Kentucky's class, it will move them inside the top 25 nationally. Without him, they were at #28 on Rivals' team ratings.
This is a huge day for Kentucky football, the best recruiting class in my memory. Go, 'Cats
4 months ago Update 21 comments
Kentucky Wildcats Football: National Signing Day Update - Javess Blue And More
Here is the latest signing update for National Signing Day. If you're reading this in the story stream, be sure to click on the title to be able to see the players who have committed in this update:
| Name | Pos | Where they are from | Ht | Wt | 40 | Stars | Rrating | Committed | |
| 1 | Blake McClain | DB | Winter Park, FL Winter Park | 5'11" | 181 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 6/27/12 | |
| 2 | Jaleel Hytchye | DB | Cincinnati, OH La Salle | 5'11" | 165 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/5/13 |
| 3 | Jeff Badet | WR | Orlando, FL Freedom | 5'11" | 160 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 2/1/13 | |
| 4 | Justin Day | OL | Aiken, SC South Aiken | 6'8" | 285 | 5.3 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/29/12 |
| 5 | Kyle Meadows | OL | West Chester, OH Lakota West | 6'5" | 270 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/12/13 | |
| 6 | Marcus McWilson | DB | Youngstown, OH Cardinal Mooney | 6'0" | 195 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 1/28/13 | |
| 7 | Nate Willis | DB | Yuma, AZ Arizona Western C.C. | 6'0" | 180 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/16/13 |
| 8 | Nick Haynes | OL | Niceville, FL Niceville | 6'4" | 294 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 2/3/13 | |
| 9 | Ramsey Meyers | OL | Orange Park, FL Ridgeview | 6'3" | 290 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 10 | Reese Phillips | QB | Signal Mountain, TN Signal Mountain | 6'3" | 210 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/6/12 | |
| 11 | Regie Meant | DT | Cape Coral, FL Baker | 6'5" | 271 | 2 stars | 5.3 | 1/15/13 | |
| 12 | Ryan Timmons | WR | Frankfort, KY Franklin County | 5'10" | 186 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/5/13 | |
| 13 | Steven Borden | TE | Waxahachie, TX Kilgore J.C. | 6'3" | 250 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 12/19/12 | |
| 14 | Za'Darius Smith | DE | Scooba, MS East Mississippi C.C. | 6'5" | 252 | 4.7 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 12/19/12 |
| Verbal Commitments – Awaiting Letters of Intent | |||||||||
| 15 | Alex Montgomery | WR | Weston, FL Cypress Bay | 6'1" | 180 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/28/13 | |
| 16 | Alvonte Bell | DE | Miramar, FL Everglades | 6'6" | 228 | 4.9 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 6/5/12 |
| 17 | Austin MacGinnis | K | Prattville, AL Prattville | 5'11" | 170 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 18 | Jacob Hyde | DT | Manchester, KY Clay County | 6'2" | 313 | 5.6 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 3/1/12 |
| 19 | Javess Blue | WR | El Dorado, KS Butler County C.C. | 6'1" | 195 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/13/13 | |
| 20 | Jojo Kemp | RB | Deland, FL Deland | 5'10" | 189 | 4.7 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/1/13 |
| 21 | Khalid Thomas | ATH | Tallahassee, FL Godby | 5'10" | 175 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 7/8/12 | |
| Abreviations you may not know | |||||||||
| Rrating = Rivals Rating | |||||||||
| ATH = Athlete – player who could be a number of positions | |||||||||
| Highlighted players = LOI received | |||||||||
Three players left. Go, 'Cats!
4 months ago Update 0 comments
Kentucky Football: Javess Blue, Playmaker
Javess Blue has come a long way from Butler County Community College in Kansas, and boy, does his name fit his college choice perfectly.
Blue is a multidimensional player who can return punts and kickoffs as well as run routes and catch passes. He had 65 catches for 1064 yards and 12 touchdowns for Butler County CC last year, and was ranked the #78 JUCO prospect in America by Rivals.com. West Virgina, Arizona St, Mississippi St. and Texas A&M where among the schools vying for Blue's services.
Blue is at Kentucky because of UK running backs coach Chad Scott, a former UK tailback himself who was with UK offensive coordinator Neal Brown at Texas Tech in the same position. Chad Scott stuck with Blue despite shaky academics, helped place him at Butler County CC and continued to recruit him, according to Larry Vaught.
Blue is the perfect example of relationship recruiting, and not giving up on a player who has some difficulty or other that keeps him from being an easy target. That relationship showed up in spades when former Texas Tech head coach, Tommy Tuberville left for Cincinnati while Blue was visiting the Red Raiders:
"The reports that he (Tuberville) was at a meal with recruits and just left, they are true because Javess was at that meal. Javess really got turned off by Tuberville during that visit," Hanes said. "Luckily, it all worked out at Kentucky. As soon as they (Brown and Scott) landed there, one of the first calls Chad made was to us. He wanted to make the deal work out with Javess.
Tuberville's rudeness was Kentucky's gain, and now Blue is officially a Wildcat.
More stories on Javess Blue, and used as sources for this article:
4 months ago Update 0 comments
Ryan Timmons Makes It Official
If you want to win at football in Kentucky, and you are the flagship university, you have a mandate as a football coach. Sign the best that Kentucky has to offer. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ryan Timmons.
Last year, while playing at Franklin County, Timmons was a hoss. He rushed for 1306 yards and 25 TD's and caught 33 passes for another 1004 yards and 16 more TD's.
Oh, and by the way, he returned 3 kickoffs for a TD.
Timmons is fast, durable, and has something you cannot teach to a player. He has a nose for the endzone. Scorers are the same in both football and basketball. They want the ball when the game is on the line. That's Ryan Timmons. At his announcement yesterday, he was emotional and you could tell that this is a sincere type of kid who will do whatever it takes to make his mark, and he has grades to go with it. He was a 4.0 student his senior year at Franklin County.
This is another recruit that you can build a program around folks. Timmons is 5'10" 189lbs, and should be able to make an immediate impact in Neil Brown's offensive scheme.
Welcome aboard Ryan, you couldn't have come at a better time.
4 months ago Update 0 comments
Kentucky Football: Commitment Update -- Ryan Timmons And More To UK
Here's the latest update list. Note that if you are viewing this from the story stream, you need to click on the title to get the fully highlighted version:
| Signed Letter of Intent Received | |||||||||
| Name | Pos | Where they are from | Ht | Wt | 40 | Stars | Rrating | Committed | |
| 1 | Jaleel Hytchye | DB | Cincinnati, OH La Salle | 5'11" | 165 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/5/13 |
| 2 | Jeff Badet | WR | Orlando, FL Freedom | 5'11" | 160 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 2/1/13 | |
| 3 | Justin Day | OL | Aiken, SC South Aiken | 6'8" | 285 | 5.3 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/29/12 |
| 4 | Kyle Meadows | OL | West Chester, OH Lakota West | 6'5" | 270 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/12/13 | |
| 5 | Marcus McWilson | DB | Youngstown, OH Cardinal Mooney | 6'0" | 195 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 1/28/13 | |
| 6 | Ramsey Meyers | OL | Orange Park, FL Ridgeview | 6'3" | 290 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 7 | Reese Phillips | QB | Signal Mountain, TN Signal Mountain | 6'3" | 210 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/6/12 | |
| 8 | Regie Meant | DT | Cape Coral, FL Baker | 6'5" | 271 | 2 stars | 5.3 | 1/15/13 | |
| 9 | Steven Borden | TE | Waxahachie, TX Kilgore J.C. | 6'3" | 250 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 12/19/12 | |
| 10 | Za'Darius Smith | DE | Scooba, MS East Mississippi C.C. | 6'5" | 252 | 4.7 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 12/19/12 |
| Verbal Commitments – Awaiting Letters of Intent | |||||||||
| 17 | Alex Montgomery | WR | Weston, FL Cypress Bay | 6'1" | 180 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/28/13 | |
| 4 | Alvonte Bell | DE | Miramar, FL Everglades | 6'6" | 228 | 4.9 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 6/5/12 |
| 11 | Austin MacGinnis | K | Prattville, AL Prattville | 5'11" | 170 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 12 | Blake McClain | DB | Winter Park, FL Winter Park | 5'11" | 181 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 6/27/12 | |
| 8 | Jacob Hyde | DT | Manchester, KY Clay County | 6'2" | 313 | 5.6 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 3/1/12 |
| 5 | Javess Blue | WR | El Dorado, KS Butler County C.C. | 6'1" | 195 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/13/13 | |
| 10 | Jojo Kemp | RB | Deland, FL Deland | 5'10" | 189 | 4.7 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/1/13 |
| 19 | Khalid Thomas | ATH | Tallahassee, FL Godby | 5'10" | 175 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 7/8/12 | |
| 21 | Nate Willis | DB | Yuma, AZ Arizona Western C.C. | 6'0" | 180 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/16/13 |
| 7 | Nick Haynes | OL | Niceville, FL Niceville | 6'4" | 294 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 2/3/13 | |
| 20 | Ryan Timmons | WR | Frankfort, KY Franklin County | 5'10" | 186 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/5/13 | |
| Abreviations you may not know | |||||||||
| Rrating = Rivals Rating | |||||||||
| ATH = Athlete – player who could be a number of positions | |||||||||
| Highlighted players = LOI received | |||||||||
Ryan Timmons, the fast Franklin County wide receiver who committed to us yesterday verbally, highlights this group.
4 months ago Update 0 comments
Kentucky Football: Marcus McWilson: Opening The Ohio Pipeline
Marcus McWilson represents the first in what should become a long line of Ohio players heading down to the Bluegrass and becoming Wildcats. He is a 6'0" 195lb safety out of Mark Stoops alma mater Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. Rivals ranks him as the 18th safety, 196th nationally overall, and 10th in Ohio overall.
He is going to be a huge part of the defense that Stoops is trying to build. He was originally a Nebraska signee and decomitted when Vince Marrow signed on to the Kentucky staff.
This kid is the kind of hard hitting, no nonsense type of safety that UK has desperately needed the last few years. The secondary is going to have to be lightning quick and able to wrap up a one on one tackle.
Welcome to the Big Blue Nation, Marcus. We are so glad to have you aboard. Now go tackle someone!!
4 months ago Update 135 comments
Kentucky Football: National Signing Day Update: Jaleel Hytchye, Marcus McWilson And More
Here's your first update. Highlighted players mean we have received their Letter of Intent (note: If you're viewing this in the storystream, click on the title to get a proper view):
| Signed Letter of Intent Received | |||||||||
| Name | Pos | Where they are from | Ht | Wt | 40 | Stars | Rrating | Committed | |
| 1 | Steven Borden | TE | Waxahachie, TX Kilgore J.C. | 6'3" | 250 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 12/19/12 | |
| 2 | Za'Darius Smith | DE | Scooba, MS East Mississippi C.C. | 6'5" | 252 | 4.7 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 12/19/12 |
| Verbal Commitments – Awaiting Letters of Intent | |||||||||
| 3 | Jeff Badet | WR | Orlando, FL Freedom | 5'11" | 160 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 2/1/13 | |
| 4 | Alvonte Bell | DE | Miramar, FL Everglades | 6'6" | 228 | 4.9 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 6/5/12 |
| 5 | Javess Blue | WR | El Dorado, KS Butler County C.C. | 6'1" | 195 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/13/13 | |
| 6 | Justin Day | OL | Aiken, SC South Aiken | 6'8" | 285 | 5.3 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/29/12 |
| 7 | Nick Haynes | OL | Niceville, FL Niceville | 6'4" | 294 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 2/3/13 | |
| 8 | Jacob Hyde | DT | Manchester, KY Clay County | 6'2" | 313 | 5.6 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 3/1/12 |
| 9 | Jaleel Hytchye | DB | Cincinnati, OH La Salle | 5'11" | 165 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/5/13 |
| 10 | Jojo Kemp | RB | Deland, FL Deland | 5'10" | 189 | 4.7 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/1/13 |
| 11 | Austin MacGinnis | K | Prattville, AL Prattville | 5'11" | 170 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 12 | Blake McClain | DB | Winter Park, FL Winter Park | 5'11" | 181 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 6/27/12 | |
| 13 | Marcus McWilson | DB | Youngstown, OH Cardinal Mooney | 6'0" | 195 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 1/28/13 | |
| 14 | Kyle Meadows | OL | West Chester, OH Lakota West | 6'5" | 270 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/12/13 | |
| 15 | Regie Meant | DT | Cape Coral, FL Baker | 6'5" | 271 | 2 stars | 5.3 | 1/15/13 | |
| 16 | Ramsey Meyers | OL | Orange Park, FL Ridgeview | 6'3" | 290 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/23/12 | |
| 17 | Alex Montgomery | WR | Weston, FL Cypress Bay | 6'1" | 180 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 1/28/13 | |
| 18 | Reese Phillips | QB | Signal Mountain, TN Signal Mountain | 6'3" | 210 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 6/6/12 | |
| 19 | Khalid Thomas | ATH | Tallahassee, FL Godby | 5'10" | 175 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 7/8/12 | |
| 20 | Ryan Timmons | WR | Frankfort, KY Franklin County | 5'10" | 186 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 2/5/13 | |
| 21 | Nate Willis | DB | Yuma, AZ Arizona Western C.C. | 6'0" | 180 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/16/13 |
| Abreviations you may not know | |||||||||
| Rrating = Rivals Rating | |||||||||
| ATH = Athlete – player who could be a number of positions | |||||||||
| Highlighted players = LOI received | |||||||||
More coming in all the time, we'll update you again shortly.
4 months ago Article 27 comments
Kentucky Football: National Signing Day Open Thread
What? A NSD Open Thread? For Kentucky? That's right sports fans of The Big Blue Nation. Kentucky is right in the middle of what may become the best recruiting class in the recent history of the program.
4 months ago Article 1 comment
Kentucky Wildcats Football: Welcome to National Signing Day
Today is the day we find out exactly how well the efforts of Mark Stoops & Co. will actually pay off.
4 months ago Article 7 comments
Kentucky Wildcats Football: Signing Day Primer
The Cats wait to hear from two big prospects on on the eve of National Signing Day.
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4 months ago -CatinTheLou Read More