UK football gets commitment from LaGrange kicker

By Chip Cosby - ccosby@herald-leader.com

The University of Kentucky went into familiar territory to pick up its second known commitment of the 2010 recruiting class.

LaGrange (Ga.) kicker/punter Joe Mansour gave the UK coaching staff his verbal pledge on Monday night, according to LaGrange Coach Steve Pardue.

The 6-foot-2, 181-pound Mansour recently attended camp at LSU and also attracted interest from Florida. Pardue said Kentucky offered Mansour a scholarship after he put in an impressive performance at UK's camp last month.

"He hit a 52-yard field goal off the ground, and he was impressive in kickoffs and on punts," Pardue said. "Joe's also a tremendous athlete. He ran a 4.44 and 4.48 (40-yard dash) at camps this summer."

Kentucky will lose its No. 1 placekicker, Lones Seiber, to graduation following the 2009 season. UK has one other scholarship kicker, sophomore Ryan Tydlacka, who's expected to focus on punting this fall.

Pardue said Kentucky will give Mansour a look as both a placekicker and punter.

"I think that's the best about him," Pardue said. "He can do both."

UK's other commitment came from Justin Henderson, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound defensive end from Bamberg, S.C. Henderson is listed as a three-star recruit by Scout.com and had scholarship offers from Colorado, Michigan State, Penn State, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.