UK football coaches have huge recruiting weekend planned around Georgia game

A chance to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in six years will be on the line for the Kentucky football team on Saturday night, and the Wildcats’ coaching staff will have several highly touted recruits in town for the occasion.

The Cats are riding a three-game winning streak against Southeastern Conference opponents and could secure their first winning record in league play since 1977 with a victory over Georgia this weekend.

UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow said this week that the on-field success has “most definitely helped” on the recruiting trail.

“They see our success, the turnaround, and they want to be a part of it,” Marrow said.

Kentucky already has 14 commitments for the class of 2017 — only six or so seniors are expected to be added to that group — and the coaching staff has zeroed in on some big names to help fill out the class. Many of those players are expected to be in Lexington on Saturday night.

The Herald-Leader has confirmed that the following high-profile seniors are planning to be at the UK-Georgia game (and many other recruits will join them):

Lynn Bowden: The No. 5 athlete in the class and No. 3 senior from Ohio — according to 247Sports — Bowden visited UK earlier this year and would provide some explosive star power to the Cats’ 2017 class. His other offers include Michigan State and Penn State, but UK has emerged as a possible favorite in recent weeks.

Danny Davis: Another star player out of Ohio, Davis is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 16 wide receiver nationally in the 2017 class. Wisconsin, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan State are among the many schools that have offered the 6-foot-2 playmaker.

Ayinde Eley: A 6-5 linebacker, Eley has been committed to home-state Maryland for more than six months, but Marrow visited with him recently and he remains open to the Wildcats. Scout.com pegs him as a four-star recruit and a Top 250 prospect nationally.

Joshua Paschal: The younger brother of former UK player TraVaughn Paschal has offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and several other major programs, and the Cats have a real shot at his commitment. Rivals ranks the Maryland native as the nation’s No. 8 strongside defensive end.

BJ Sharpe: The highly touted defensive end out of Macon, Ga., will be attending his second UK game this season (he was here in September for the South Carolina game). Sharpe told the Herald-Leader this week that UK and Western Kentucky remain the two favorites in his recruitment.

2018 standouts

In addition to those seniors that UK would like to add to its 2017 recruiting class, several top players from the class of 2018 have confirmed that they will attend Saturday night’s game.

Waggener defensive back Jairus Brents told the Herald-Leader on Thursday that he will be at the game. 247Sports ranks him as the top junior in Kentucky and No. 15 cornerback nationally for 2018.

Fellow Kentucky high school standout Justice Dingle — an outside linebacker at Bowling Green — will also visit UK this weekend. Rivals ranks him as the No. 2 player in the state for 2018.

Ohio teammates Alex Reigelsperger and L’Christian “Blue” Smith have confirmed their plans to be at the game. Reigelsperger — a four-star defensive end — has already visited UK six times. Smith — a 6-5 athlete — is ranked by Rivals as the No. 33 overall junior in the country. Four-star receiver Joseph Scates and three-star linebacker Cameron Hoelscher — also both from Ohio — will attend the game, too.

Four-star defensive lineman D’Andre Litaker — from Murfreesboro, Tenn. — is also planning to visit Kentucky. He already has offers from most of the schools in the SEC.

Commits on campus

Highly touted quarterback Jarren Williams — the Cats’ only commitment so far for 2018 — told the Herald-Leader that he is planning to attend the UK-Georgia game, though a family obligation could alter those plans. A Georgia native, Williams is starting to get some recruiting attention from the home-state Bulldogs and picked up a scholarship offer from South Carolina on Wednesday.

A handful of UK’s 2017 commitments are also expected to be on campus Saturday.

▪  Lafayette Coach Eric Shaw told the Herald-Leader on Thursday that he was unsure if five-star offensive lineman Jedrick Wills would be at the UK-Georgia game (or on any other college campus) this weekend. Wills remains the Wildcats’ top priority in the 2017 class and has attended multiple UK games this season.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 11:12 AM with the headline "UK football coaches have huge recruiting weekend planned around Georgia game."