Many pixels have been darkened over the fact that this year is the first year since Rich Brooks took the helm that our football team has had its full compliment of scholarships. I thought it would be interesting to look at the last 4 recruiting classes, and see how UK is faring since Brooks took over in 2002 (statistics compiled from Scout.com):
| Year | 2003 | ||
| Scout ranking | Recruits | TTL | Notes |
| 5-star | 0 | 0 | |
| 4-star | 3 | 12 | Harrell, Woodson, Logan |
| 3-star | 1 | 3 | |
| 2-star | 12 | 24 | |
| 1-star | 0 | 0 | |
| other | 0 | 0 | |
| Average | 2.44 | No OL or DL > 2-star | |
| Year | 2004 | ||
| Scout ranking | Recruits | TTL | Notes |
| 5-star | 0 | 0 | |
| 4-star | 1 | 4 | Micah Jones |
| 3-star | 6 | 18 | |
| 2-star | 15 | 30 | |
| 1-star | 6 | 6 | |
| other | 0 | ||
| Average | 2.07 | 2 OL and 2 DL > 2 stars | |
| Year | 2005 | ||
| Scout ranking | Recruits | TTL | Notes |
| 5-star | 0 | 0 | |
| 4-star | 0 | 0 | |
| 3-star | 4 | 12 | |
| 2-star | 22 | 44 | |
| 1-star | 0 | 0 | |
| other | 0 | 0 | |
| Average | 2.15 | 1 OL > 2 star | |
| Year | 2006 | ||
| Scout ranking | Recruits | TTL | Notes |
| 5-star | 1 | 5 | Micah Johnson |
| 4-star | 2 | 8 | Minton, Johnson |
| 3-star | 10 | 30 | |
| 2-star | 17 | 34 | |
| 1-star | 0 | 0 | |
| other | 0 | 0 | |
| Average | 2.57 | 2 OL and 3 DL > 2 stars | |
| Year | 2007 | ||
| Scout ranking | Recruits | TTL | Notes |
| 5-star | 0 | 0 | |
| 4-star | 0 | 0 | |
| 3-star | 9 | 27 | |
| 2-star | 17 | 34 | |
| 1-star | 1 | 1 | |
| other | 0 | 0 | |
| Average | 2.30 | 4 OL and 2 DL > 2 stars |
In the thread below, many of the comments related to how UK had failed to recruit offensive and defensive lineman at a high level, and as a result, our O- and D-line were often seen as our biggest weaknesses.
But as you can see above, Rich Brooks has begun to address this issue with some success. Our most recent class is the best we have done in four years at recruiting the dogfaces of the sport.
What does this portend for our future? Well, it certainly suggests improvement in our line on an ongoing basis. If we could get our line recruiting anywhere near our skill position recruiting, we may be headed for long-term improvement in our football team.
