UK football has a top-20 national recruiting class for 2018. Who else are Cats targeting?

Kentucky already has a top-20 nationally ranked football recruiting class for next year, and Coach Mark Stoops and company are still looking to add several more players to the group.

The Next Cats recruiting page that tracks the Wildcats’ top remaining targets for the class of 2018 was updated Sunday afternoon with a few additions, as well as new info capsules on UK’s recruiting efforts at each position group.

So far, the Cats have 18 commitments for 2018, and their class is ranked 17th nationally by Rivals.com, 18th by 247Sports and 19th by Scout.com. This is expected to be a full signing class, so another seven or so players likely will join that group in the coming months.

Current top targets include the Ohio trio of wide receiver Meechi Harris, linebacker Chris Oats and tight end/defensive end Leonard Taylor, three prospects who are thought to have Kentucky very high on their lists. (Oats and Taylor are both four-star recruits).

UK already has five 2018 commitments from Florida, and several other players from the Sunshine State are still on the recruiting radar, including four-star wide receiver Dominick Watt, three-star offensive lineman Nick Lewis and three-star receiver/defensive back Joe Wilkins Jr.

The state of Kentucky’s top uncommitted recruit — Waggener defensive back Jairus Brents — also remains a Wildcats’ target, though he doesn’t appear to be close to a college decision. (His teammate, two-star wide receiver Manny Harper, committed to the Cats as a preferred walk-on earlier this month and will be visiting Lexington for the UK-Florida game Saturday).

In all, the updated Next Cats page for 2018 has bio info, star rankings and links to national recruiting player pages for 21 players still on UK’s radar. That information is also available for the 18 prospects already committed to the Cats for next year.

Be sure to check out that page — as well as the Next Cats football homepage — for the latest on Kentucky’s recruiting efforts.

This story was originally published September 17, 2017 at 2:54 PM with the headline "UK football has a top-20 national recruiting class for 2018. Who else are Cats targeting?."