UK football program loses one commitment, gains another in a matter of hours

Just a few hours after losing its top-ranked commitment in the 2019 class, the UK football team added another recruit in the same position group.

Three-star defensive back Jalen Geiger announced his commitment to Kentucky on Sunday afternoon, following the decommitment of four-star defensive back Keontra Smith earlier in the day.

Geiger — a 6-foot-1 cornerback from Columbia, S.C. — landed a UK scholarship offer last month and had additional offers from North Carolina, Virginia, Boston College, Cincinnati and others, with growing interest from several more top programs. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 140 cornerback nationally in the 2019 class.

Smith originally committed to UK last June and was one of the top-100 national recruits in the 247Sports rankings at the time, picking the Cats over reported scholarship offers from Auburn, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Oregon, Louisville and others.

UK’s roster also features five players from Smith’s high school — Chaminade-Madonna in the Miami area — but it was clear from the beginning that his commitment would be tough to keep.

Smith visited Miami’s campus several times this spring, and he finally made it official Sunday morning.

He was UK’s only four-star recruit and top-250 national prospect for the 2019 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, which pegged Smith as the No. 220 overall player and No. 13 safety in the class.

The Cats’ 2019 class now consists of Geiger, three-star defensive back Moses Douglass, three-star linebacker KD McDaniel, and three-star offensive lineman Eli Cox.

This story was originally published May 13, 2018 at 10:34 AM with the headline "UK football program loses one commitment, gains another in a matter of hours."