Last Wednesday, the University of Kentucky football team was ranked 11th in the SEC for their recruiting class. Being ranked 11th in the SEC is a big deal for UK’s football considering they usually come in last or second to last in the SEC.
Coming off of what many would consider a subpar season the Wildcats are looking to redeem themselves going into the 2016 – 2017 season. The Wildcats had several three and four-star recruits, including center Drake Jackson who stands at 6-2 302 pounds.
Drake is a four-star recruit and was also one of the most highly recruited center in the country. Born and raised in Lexington, Ky, Jackson played football for Woodford Country high school, was a U.S. Army All-American and was named as the team captain for the West squad. Jackson turned down offers from some of the country’s biggest power houses including the national champions, the University of Alabama. He also turned down offers from University of Florida, Mississippi State University, Ohio State University and LSU. Jackson was also listed on MSN top 100 players to sign. I think everyone would agree that Kentucky made out pretty good with Jackson.
Jackson was not the only big time recruit Kentucky landed.
The Cats also signed offensive tackle, Tate Leavitt, who comes from the popular community college in Kansas, Hutchinson Community College. He helped lead Hutchinson to a winning record and was named all MVL in high school, recording 149 pancakes.
Kentucky may not have been named as the number one recruiting program in the nation but they sure did get some notable recruits for their defense and offense.
Mark Stoop will be heading into his fourth season as the head coach of the UK football team. According to multiple reports, the Cincinnati Bearcats Eddie Gran is high on Stoops list of offensive coordinator to consider. Now that Shannon Dawson is out and Eddie Gran possibly being named as UK’s new offensive coach for next season; it will be interesting to see how the new team and coaches come together this season.
