‘I love my team’: UK football recruits stay positive after heartbreaking loss to Florida

It was another heartbreaker for the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night, and the 28-27 loss to Florida led to a lot of negativity from fans on social media in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

There wasn’t any negativity from UK’s recruits, however, both those at the game and the ones watching at home.

Four-star linebacker DeAndre Square — a highly touted prospect still being actively recruited by major schools — offered some positive thoughts in the minutes after the defeat.

Stanley Garner — a four-star cornerback watching from his home in Florida — said he was “1000%” with the Wildcats after the loss.

Three-star tight end commitment Keaton Upshaw, who was at Kroger Field, tweeted about the game-day environment — “Kentucky is crazy LIT right now” — and echoed Garner’s remarks. Three-star wide receiver Akeem Hayes, a UK commitment watching from home, retweeted fellow Floridian Garner with the message: “#BBN4LIFE”.

Four-star offensive lineman Marquan McCall — the Cats’ top-ranked commitment for the class of 2018 — made the trip from Michigan and posted a photo of Kroger Field during the first half: “Home sweet home,” said the accompanying message.

McCall has said that he’s all-in with his commitment to Kentucky.

His teammate — class of 2020 lineman Justin Rogers, a possible five-star recruit down the road — also traveled to Lexington on Saturday night, and he posted a short video during the second half, “Grove St. Party” blaring over the stadium PA in the background at the moment when the UK crowd was arguably at its rowdiest.

Waggener wide receiver Manny Harper — a preferred walk-on commitment for UK in the class of 2018, and the Cats’ only in-state pledge for next year — posted several photos after the game, including one with Western Hills standout Wandale Robinson, a 2019 recruit who ran for more than 300 yards the night before and was visiting UK for the second time in two weeks.

Harper, too, kept it positive.

This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 1:20 PM with the headline "‘I love my team’: UK football recruits stay positive after heartbreaking loss to Florida."