UK football recruiting notes: Analyst praises QB commitment’s development, but predicts he won’t be a Wildcat

A new prediction from a recruiting analyst who regularly covers University of Kentucky commitment Mac Jones raised eyebrows when it was posted online last week.

After noting Jones’ rapid development at quarterback over the past few months, Rivals.com analyst Rob Cassidy wrote that he didn’t think Jones, who has been committed to the Wildcats since July, would ultimately end up at UK.

Cassidy spoke to the Herald-Leader on Monday, and he reiterated that prediction.

“I don’t think he’s going to Kentucky,” he said.

Cassidy, who has evaluated Jones in person multiple times over the past few weeks, said UK’s coaches recently told the 6-foot-3, 185-pound quarterback from Jacksonville, Fla., that they want him to run some zone-read offense when he gets to college.

That apparently raised red flags for Jones, who was recently bumped up to four-star status and is now considered the No. 15 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2017, according to Rivals.

“He is not thrilled with that,” Cassidy said of UK’s zone-read request. “That’s not his game. So I think he’s going to look around. Obviously, he’s been looking around. He’s going to visit some places, and there are more offers coming for him.

“I think that he’s going to try and find a place that’s going to let him drop back and throw.”

Jones told the Herald-Leader last week that he remains “solid” in his commitment to Kentucky, though he acknowledged that he still plans to visit some other schools that extend scholarship offers during the recruiting process.

Arizona State, Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Rutgers, Washington State and West Virginia are just a few of the programs that have offered Jones, and he’s expected to land more as the spring and summer camp season progresses.

“I think there are more offers coming for him, and I think he will end up going to a school that has not offered yet,” Cassidy said.

Jones told the Herald-Leader that he has built strong, early relationships with new UK offensive coaches Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw, though the zone-read request could be a sticking point moving forward.

Drew Barker, who started the Wildcats’ final two games of the 2015 season, looked comfortable running the read-option as a high school prospect. Stephen Johnson II, who is expected to push Barker for the starting job this fall, is listed as a dual-threat quarterback and excelled at zone-read at the junior-college level.

Jones projects as more of a drop-back, pocket passer.

“He’s doing a lot better as far as his drops, his footwork,” Cassidy said. “He’s always had the arm strength, but he’s just gotten so much more consistent as far as going through his progressions and finding open targets and not trying to force things. It’s just really coming together for him right now.

“Every time I see him, he seems to get a little bit better.”

New commitment

Jamin Davis became UK’s ninth football commitment for the class of 2017 on Monday.

Davis — a 6-foot-3, 205-pound prospect from Ludowici, Ga. — attended the Wildcats’ junior day event Saturday and earned a scholarship offer. UK was the first major program to extend an offer, and the coaching staff is currently recruiting him as an outside linebacker.

He also had early scholarship offers from Georgia State and Tulane. Louisville was among the other programs showing interest.

The major recruiting services have not yet ranked Davis.

Ranking the state

Rivals.com released its class of 2017 player rankings for the state of Kentucky on Monday, and the list included some possible good news for UK’s program.

Coming in at No. 1 in the state is Lafayette offensive tackle Jedrick Wills, who Rivals.com had already ranked as a five-star player and the No. 16 overall prospect in the 2017 class, regardless of position.

Wills has scholarship offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and a host of other major college programs. Rivals.com analyst Woody Wommack predicted Monday that he will ultimately end up at UK.

“Assuming there are no major coaching changes, the Wildcats remain the school to beat,” Wommack said.

Belfry offensive lineman Cole Bentley, who has visited UK multiple times in recent weeks, is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 2 player in the state. He is also considered the No. 25 offensive guard in the class of 2017.

UK commitment Walker Wood — a quarterback who could play a number of positions for the Wildcats — is the state’s No. 3 prospect. Wood also plays for Lafayette.

Bowling Green wide receiver C.J. Hayes and Louisville defensive lineman Sean Cleasant round out the top five.

More from Belfry

UK landed a commitment from Belfry offensive tackle Austin Dotson during Saturday’s junior day event, but he’s not the only player from the in-state powerhouse the Wildcats’ coaching staff has been watching.

Fellow offensive lineman Cole Bentley and defensive tackle Ray Horton are also on UK’s recruiting radar.

“They are very good football players as well,” said Belfry Coach Philip Haywood. “They have been very dominant players for us, too. ... I feel confident that they’ll certainly keep looking at them. I guess it comes back to what colleges need as far as positions.”

Bentley and Horton have both started for Belfry since their freshman seasons, which means they’ve been major parts of a Pirates run that includes three consecutive state championships.

Rivals.com recently ranked the 6-foot-5 Bentley as the No. 25 offensive guard nationally in the class of 2017, and he’s expected to land scholarship offers from “power-five” programs. UK is not expected to take as many offensive linemen in the 2017 class as it has in past years, so it remains unclear whether he will ultimately land an offer from the Wildcats.

“He’s a big, thick kid in the 290 range,” Haywood said. “And he moves very well, too. He creates a tremendous mismatch for people at tight end, so we’ve kind of left him there.” The coach noted that Bentley occasionally takes some snaps on the offensive line.

Horton, a 6-1, 285-pound defensive lineman, plays the 5-technique at Belfry — lining up outside the offensive tackle — though Haywood said he thinks colleges probably like him as an interior defensive tackle. He visited UK for junior day over the weekend.

“He’s exceptionally strong,” Haywood said. “Gosh, this guy, he’s just amazingly strong. He’s got a great first and second step. Nobody’s blocked him in three years, unless they’ve put two or three guys on him.”

Junior day visitors

The new commitment of Belfry’s Austin Dotson wasn’t the only bright spot from UK’s junior day festivities Saturday.

Four-star commitments James Hudson and Michael Warren also made the trip to Lexington after being unable to attend the program’s first junior day event for the class of 2017 in February.

Hudson and Warren — teammates at Toledo Central Catholic in Ohio — are top prospects with considerable interest from other major schools. 247Sports.com ranks Hudson as the No. 6 strongside defensive end in the class. Warren is considered the No. 14 running back nationally.

Recent UK commitment Quinton Bohanna — a defensive tackle from Cordova, Tenn. — was back in Lexington on Saturday after attending last month’s junior day. Georgia linebacker Jamin Davis, who committed to UK on Monday, was also at Saturday’s junior day.

Mac Jones, Walker Wood and Russ Yeast also attended the junior day in February, which leaves three-star running back Bryant Koback as the only UK commitment that has not yet been to one of the two junior day events.

Koback was scheduled to visit this past weekend, but he had a good excuse for missing the trip. The speedy, 5-foot-11 recruit stayed home in Ohio to compete in a track meet and ended up qualifying for the 60-meter dash at the state meet.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 3:25 PM with the headline "UK football recruiting notes: Analyst praises QB commitment’s development, but predicts he won’t be a Wildcat."