4-star DT Octavious Oxendine picks UK over Tennessee

The Kentucky Wildcats have added another major recruit to their 2020 class on the defensive side of the ball.

On National Signing Day, Octavious Oxendine announced his commitment to the Wildcats.

A four-star defensive tackle out of North Hardin High School in Radcliff (KY), Oxendine was down to the Wildcats, Tennessee Volunteers, North Carolina Tar Heels and Purdue Boilermakers. He also held offers from the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns and Penn State Nittany Lions.

The 6-3, 296-pound Oxendine is ranked 24th among defensive tackles and fourth in the state of Kentucky for the 2020 class via Rivals. He named First-Team All-Star for 2019 by MaxPreps.

Many believed that it is going to either be Kentucky or Tennessee when decision day rolled around, so it was not only a major win for the Wildcats in getting his commitment, but also beating out one of their SEC East rivals, especially after the Vols beat the Wildcats for four-star defensive end Tyler Baron.

It was also imperative for Kentucky to continue its strong level of recruiting in the Bluegrass, something they would have struggled to do in 2020 had Oxendine went elsewhere. That’s because the top two in-state recruits — four-star tight end Michael Mayer (Notre Dame) and four-star offensive tackle Walker Parks (Clemson) — ultimately went elsewhere.

In the end, Kentucky wound up getting the third (Beau Allen), fourth (Oxendine) and fifth-ranked (John Young) recruits from the Bluegrass while also landing four/five-star recruits from Michigan (Justin Rogers), Virginia (RJ Adams), Ohio (Jutahn McClain), Florida (Sam Anaele) and Mississippi (Josiah Hayes).

In addition, getting Oxendine should lock up a top-25 class for Kentucky in 2020 that could go even higher depending on what four-star recruits Joel Williams, Michael Drennen and Vito Tisdale do.

The addition of Oxendine also gives Kentucky arguably the best defensive-line haul of any college in America, as he joins Rogers, Anaele, Hayes and four-star defensive tackle Tre’vonn Rybka. That’s just an absurd amount of talent, and it should help Kentucky not only continue to have winning seasons, but also compete for an SEC East crown.

Check out some highlights of the newest Wildcat in action:

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