There are 149 four star players. 43 have committed, leaving 106 still on the board. Kentucky, obviously, is not recruiting all of them mainly due to geography. Our recruiting west of the Mississippi River has been limited - actually almost nonexistent. I'm okay with that because there are enough great players scattered throughout the southern states and for us, Ohio. Why go to California when you can go to Florida? The logistics are better in Florida. I maintain that Florida produces better players than the West Coast anyway.
Who in the ESPN Top 150 list has received some form of offer from our Cayuts? What you see below are the UK offers from the list. I've also included the ratings from the other services and I've used 247 Sports to determine the favorites for each player.
The highest ranked player with a UK offer is #14 Lorenzo Carter (DE) from Norcross, GA. He's an Alabama lean. All the other services show Carter as a 5 star. Here's the list of those who hold a UK offer.
#19 Jalen Tabor (CB) from Washington, DC is a consensus 4 star. Kentucky is not among his favorites.
#23 Jamal Adams (S) from Lewisville, TX is another consensus 4 star and is former UK player George Adams' son. This is a battle between Texas and Texas A&M.
#32 Kalvarez Bessent (CB) from Kingsland, GA is a consensus 4 star who is currently committed to Alabama.
#42 Dante Swayer (DE) from Suwanee, GA is a consensus 4 star. This is a battle between Alabama and Georgia.
#43 Johnnie Dixon (WR) from Palm Beach Gardens, FL is also a Rivals and 247 Sports 4 star. Scout has him at 3 stars. He considering offers from Alabama, Florida, Miami and Ohio St.
#51 Marshon Lattimore (ATH) from Cleveland, Ohio is a consensus 4 star. He's an Ohio St. lean.
#55 Alex Bars (OT) from Nashville, TN is a consensus 4 star. He doesn't have Kentucky as a school of interest.
#59 Clifton Garrett (LB) from Plainfield, IL is also a Scout and Rivals 4 star. 247 Sports lists him as a 5 Star. He doesn't list UK as a school of interest.
#74 Tre' Williams (LB) from Mobile, AL is a consensus 4 star. This is a battle between Auburn and Alabama.
#75 Corey Holmes (WR) from Ft. Lauderdale, FL is another consensus 4 star who was just offered by Kentucky. His favorites, however, do not include the Cats.
#80 Denzel Ware (DE) from Opp, AL is a consensus 4 star who de-committed from Kentucky. He's still waiting on that committable offer from Florida. Rivals and ESPN say he has no offer while 247 Sports says he has. I am assuming Kentucky's offer hasn't been pulled.
#82 D.J. Smith (CB) from Marietta, GA is a consensus 4 star and is a Tennessee lean.
#83 Kevin Crosby (TE/Ath) from Bamberg, SC is also a Rivals and 247 Sports 4 star. Scout has him at 3 stars and MaxPreps has him as a 5 star. He's a South Carolina lean.
#84 Ja'Von Harrison (ATH) from Lakeland, Fl. UK just offered this consensus 4 star even though he's committed to Virginia Tech.
#85 Artavis Scott (WR) from Tarpon Springs, FL is a consensus 4 star and has a long list of favorites. Unfortunately, UK isn't on that list.
#92 Ronnie Clark (ATH) from Calera, AL is also a consensus 4 star who is the object of a battle between Auburn and Alabama for his services.
#94 Thomas Holley (DT) from Brooklyn, NY is also a Scout and 247 Sports 4 star. Rivals lists him as a 3 star. UK just offered. He currently has no favorites.
#95 Shaun Hamilton (LB) from Montgomery, AL is also a Rivals and 247 Sports 4 star. Scout lists him as a 3 star. He has committed to Alabama.
#96 Drake Harris (WR) from Grand Rapids, MI is a consensus 4 star who de-committed from Michigan St and has committed to Michigan.
#99 Demarre Kitt (WR) from Tyrone, GA is a consensus 4 star who is the object of a battle between Ohio St. and Clemson.
#101 Bryce Dixon (TE) from Ventura, CA is a consensus 4 star. His favorites are Ohio St., Texas A&M and UCLA.
#104 Jacob Pugh (LB) from Tallahassee, FL is a consensus 4 star who is a Florida St. lean.
#106 Delvin Purifoy (LB) from Pensacola, FL is a consensus 4 star who was offered by Kentucky after he committed to Florida St.
#110 Wesley Green (CB) from Lithonia, GA is a consensus 4 star. He is a Clemson lean.
#111 Justin Thornton (DE) from Prichard, AL is a consensus 4 star who is an LSU lean.
#113 Isaiah Wynn (OG) from St. Petersburg, FL is also a Scout and 247 Sports 4 star. Rivals lists him as a 3 star. UK is not one of his five favorites.
#124 Josh Malone (WR) from Gallatin, TN is a consensus 4 star. He has a long list of favorites, but Kentucky isn't on it. He's projected to be a Tennessee commitment.
#140 Alex Bookser (OT) from Pittsburgh, PA is also a Scout and 247 sports 4 star. Rivals has him as a 3 star. Bookser currently has no favorites.
#141 Drew Barker (QB) from Hebron, KY is a consensus 4 star. This is a dog fight between Kentucky and South Carolina.
#143 Anthony Moten (DT) from Ft. Lauderdale, FL is a consensus 4 star who has committed to Florida.
#144 Nicholas Ruffin (ATH) from Atlanta, GA is also a Scout and 247 Sports 4 star and a Rivals 3 star. He is an Alabama lean.
The one thing that should pop for you is that Kentucky is not really in the hunt for any of these players except for Drew Barker. My opinion is this is because Kentucky has consistently been at or near the bottom in the SEC for so long. It doesn't help Stoops that UK's record was 2-10 last year. The other thing is that these are players that Kentucky would not have even offered in the past.
That being said, Kentucky is making noise at the next (ESPN) level down with the players still on the ESPN Watch List. Some of those, like Thaddeus Snodgrass, are consensus 4 star players. Another thing to remember is that this list is ESPN's opinion and it carries more weight than it should simply because it is ESPN.