Kentucky trying to flip a Tennessee football commitment for the class of 2017

In its continued search for talented wide receivers to fill out the 2017 recruiting class, Kentucky has turned to a player already committed to one of its league rivals.

Jacquez Jones — a 5-foot-11 prospect from Clearwater, Fla. — has been committed to Tennessee since May, but UK quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw was at his house for a recruiting visit Monday night, and Jones told the Herald-Leader that he’ll still consider the Wildcats in the lead up to national signing day in February.

In fact, Jones plans to visit Lexington before making a final college decision.

He said Tuesday morning that he has set up an official visit to UK for the weekend of Jan. 14. He’ll then visit Tennessee the following weekend.

National signing day is Feb. 1.

All of the major recruiting service rank Jones as a three-star recruit, and ESPN pegs him as the No. 75 wide receiver in the class of 2017. He had more than 1,000 yards receiving and 10 TDs for Clearwater High School this season.

Kentucky already has commitments from three wide receivers in the 2017 class: Joshua Ali, Javonte Richardson and Clevan Thomas. The Cats are also targeting several other talented wideouts for next year.

UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow visited four-star wide receiver Danny Davis on Monday night. Hinshaw met Sunday with four-star athlete Bruce Judson, who projects as a do-everything offensive player. Four-star receiver Leroy Henley is expected to visit UK this weekend. Four-star athlete Lynn Bowden and four-star receiver Kevaughn Dingle are also on the Wildcats’ recruiting radar.

Senior Ryan Timmons is the only scholarship wide receiver who is not expected to return to UK next season.

For more on Jacquez Jones and the rest of UK’s recruiting targets, make sure you’re following the Herald-Leader’s Next Cats football blog, which is updated daily with the latest UK recruiting news.

This story was originally published November 29, 2016 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Kentucky trying to flip a Tennessee football commitment for the class of 2017."