Class of 2017 wide receiver Isaiah Epps commits to Kentucky after visit

Mark Stoops and the UK football team picked up their fourth commitment of the week Thursday night, a pledge from under-the-radar wide receiver Isaiah Epps.

Epps — a 6-foot-3, 185-pound prospect from Jenks, Okla. — took his official visit to Kentucky this past weekend along with several other recruiting targets. He joins defensive lineman Joshua Paschal, offensive lineman Sebastien Dolcine and defensive back Lonnie Johnson as the fourth player from the class of 2017 to commit to the Cats since Monday.

UK extended a scholarship offer to Epps just last week, and he immediately arranged for the trip to Lexington. He is the fourth wide receiver from the 2017 class to commit to UK, joining Joshua Ali, Javonte Richardson and Clevan Thomas.

The Wildcats now have a total of 20 commitments for next year. The Cats’ class will now be ranked No. 23 nationally by Rivals.com, jumping Southern Cal, Washington and Oklahoma State with Epps’ commitment.

Epps told the Herald-Leader that he called UK’s coaches before posting his commitment to Twitter, and he spoke with Stoops, offensive coordinator Eddie Gran and offensive assistants Darin Hinshaw and Lamar Thomas. “They were super pumped,” Epps said.

“I feel like it was great fit, so far as me on campus and fitting into the offense,” he said. “Also I could tell how much the coaches cared for the players and knew that was a place I had to be.”

Epps is a bit of an under-the-radar recruit nationally. Rivals.com is the only major recruiting service that has given him a star ranking — he’s a three-star prospect, according to that website —though he has scholarship offers from Illinois, Kansas State, Western Michigan and several other programs.

As a senior this fall, Epps had 59 catches for 1,209 yards and 12 touchdowns.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Class of 2017 wide receiver Isaiah Epps commits to Kentucky after visit."