Jarren Williams among the UK football recruits posting official offers from the Cats | Lexington Herald Leader

Under NCAA rules, August 1 is the first day that college football programs can send out official, written scholarship offers to high school prospects in the rising senior class.

Before that date, offers come only in verbal form.

Several UK commitments and targets in the class of 2018 received their official offers from the Wildcats on Tuesday morning, signaling the team’s seriousness in the recruitment of those players.

Four-star quarterback Jarren Williams — the Cats’ highest-profile commitment for the 2018 class — was one of the players who excitedly tweeted out his UK offer Tuesday.

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“December 20th!! UK is where my heart is truly at... cant wait to get started #blueGrassbound18,” said the tweet accompanying Williams’ offer. The Georgia native is planning to sign early with the Cats — this is the first recruiting cycle with a true early signing period for high school players — and enroll at UK in January so he can go through spring practice with the team in 2018.

Williams has said he is 100 percent committed to Kentucky despite offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana State and others.

The official offer is signed by Mark Stoops and extends the offer of a full scholarship at UK and an invitation for the recipient to take an official visit to the school with his family.

“Keep in mind the NCAA and the SEC have limits on the number of scholarships we can accept each year,” the letter concludes. “Commitments are based on availability at your position. At Kentucky we are looking for student-athletes with high character, work ethic and great attitudes.”

UK currently has 16 commitments for the 2018 class, and that group is ranked No. 19 nationally by Rivals.com.