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The Kentucky Wildcats continue to flex their muscles when it comes to in-state recruiting, as 3-star 2022 defensive back Elijah Reed announced his commitment to the program on Friday morning.
First, I would like to thank God for blessing me with the opportunity to continue playing the sport I love. I want to thank my family, PRP and all of my coaches for believing in me through this process. Huge thanks to @Aspirationsgym for taking a chance on me#BBN#TurnMeUp pic.twitter.com/TefBhmmtTV
— Elijah Reed (@E_Reed2022) November 12, 2021
Reed chose UK over offers from Utah, Purdue, Illinois, and West Virginia.
He is currently ranked as a top-130 corner in the country, according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings. They also list him as the 13th-best player in the state of Kentucky.
Mark Stoops and his staff extended an offer in late July, and the momentum continued to grow that Lexington would be the landing spot. After a visit to campus this past weekend, it seems that trip sealed the deal.
At 6-foot-3 and 180 lbs, Reed plays for Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville. Playing corner for his high school team, he recently moved to the position after playing wide receiver for the Panthers up until this season.
He spoke with Nick Roush of KSR earlier this summer after receiving his offer and had this to say about his position move to the secondary:
“It feels a lot more natural at corner, to be honest,” Reed said. “I can be me at corner. At receiver you gotta stick to some stuff, you gotta do things a certain way. I can kind of do me at corner. That was the biggest thing switching to corner.”
Reed is a good athlete, that posses the length that Coach Stoops likes to have in the secondary. On top of those two physical traits when you watch his tape you will see the IQ come into play as well. He shows great instincts when it comes to ball skills in pass coverage, but is also a player who isn’t afraid to come down and set the edge in the run game.
With his commitment, the Kentucky-Aspirations Gym pipeline continues to grow, as Reed trains there alongside other Kentucky commit Kiyaunta Goodwin.
It also continues the success this staff has had with in-state recruiting. In the class of 2022, Reed becomes the fifth commitment from the state joining Dane Key, Grant Bingham, Treyveon Longmire, and Jackson Smith.
Welcome to the BBN Elijah!
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