Your first look at Kentucky’s 2020 football recruiting class
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College football early signing period
The early signing period for college football recruits in 2019 is Dec. 18-20. Click here to read all the coverage from the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com.
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Wednesday marked the start of the early signing period for college football players who intend to enroll at Division I schools.
Below you’ll find a list of every player who signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Kentucky on Wednesday.
R.J. Adams, Offensive Line, 6-3, 320, Fr.-HS, Woodbridge, Va. (Woodbridge): On Tuesday he committed to the Wildcats from a final list of schools that included Alabama, Penn State and North Carolina State. Adams committed to Penn State in April but re-opened his recruitment in September. Rivals considers him to be the 12th best offensive guard in the country and the No. 6 player in Virginia. He’s the No. 16 offensive guard in the composite ranking supplied by 247Sports, which rates him as a three-star prospect. In May he was named an Under Armour All-America game participant.
Beau Allen, Quarterback, 6-2, 203, Fr.-HS, Lexington (Lexington Catholic) — Rivals rates Allen, the son of former UK quarterback Bill Allen, as a four-star prospect and the No. 3 overall player in Kentucky behind Covington Catholic’s Michael Mayer and Frederick Douglass’s Walker Parks, who’ve committed to Notre Dame and Clemson, respectively. The service considers Allen to be the 13th best pro-style quarterback in the class. He finished his high school career with 11,439 passing yards and 127 touchdown passes, both of which would be good for fifth all-time in KHSAA history. He won the high school Paul Hornung Award and is in the running for Kentucky’s 2019 Mr. Football award.
Samuel Anaele, Outside Linebacker, 6-4, 243, Fr.-HS, Deerfield Beach, Fla. (McDougal Technical Institute) — Rivals considers Anaele to be the No. 16 overall player in Florida and the sixth best weakside defensive end in the nation. Both Rivals and 247Sports rate him as a four-star recruit. Anaele’s Nike SPARQ Rating — which measures speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness — was a 92.94, the best among all defensive ends measured in the 2020 class according to ESPN. He will play in the 2020 Under Armour All-America game. Anaele’s other offers included Florida, Oregon and Texas A&M.
Kalil Branham, Wide Receiver, 6-1, 205, Fr.-HS, Columbus, Ohio (Northland) — A four-star prospect and a top-60 wide receiver in the class according to 247Sports’ base rating, Branham committed to the Wildcats in July after de-committing from Michigan in April. Branham has committed to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Miami in January.
Deondre Buford, Offensive Line, 6-4, 273, Fr.-HS, Detroit, Mich. (Martin Luther King) — He’s rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports, as a three-star prospect by Rivals and is considered a top-20 player in Michigan by both services. LSU, Miami (Fla.), Louisville and Tennessee were among Buford’s other offers. He was named to MLive’s Detroit Football Dream Team as a Second Team selection.
Izayah Cummings, Wide Receiver, 6-3, 212, Fr.-HS, Louisville (Male) — Cummings was part of two state finalist teams during his time with the Bulldogs and won a Class 6A title with them as a junior. As a senior, he hit the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time, finishing with 1,110 yards and 12 touchdowns for the 14-1 Bulldogs. Cummings played three varsity seasons, finishing with 1,965 receiving yards and 27 total touchdowns. He is a top-100 receiver nationally, per 247Sports, and is rated as a three-star prospect by that site and Rivals.
Jeremy Flax, Offensive Line, 6-6, 320, So.-JC, Detroit (Independence Community College, Kansas): Flax took an official visit to Kentucky — his last — over the weekend, and picked UK over Texas Tech and Auburn. He came to Independence — previously featured on the Netflix series “Last Chance U” — as a 270-pound defensive end and had no stars or offers and was not an academic qualifier out of high school, according to a post he made on Twitter when he announced his commitment. Rivals rates Flax as a four-star prospect while 247Sports rates him as a three-star recruit. He will have three years of eligibility at UK.
Josaih Hayes, Defensive Line, 6-2, 308, Fr.-HS, Horn Lake, Miss. (Horn Lake): Hayes, who committed on Wednesday, is considered a four-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals. His decision came down to UK, Auburn, Mississippi State, Memphis and Mississippi, to whom he was committed from June until late October. He recorded 81 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks as a senior.
Rickey Hyatt, Defensive Back, 6-1, 195, Fr.-HS, Westerville, Ohio (Westerville Central) — The most recent 2020 player to verbally pledge to the Wildcats — Hyatt committed on Sept. 18 — is a three-star prospect, according to 247Sports and Rivals, both of whom list him as a top-25 prospect in Ohio and a top-50 player at his position. Hyatt picked the Wildcats over Cincinnati, Louisville, Penn State and Purdue, among several others. As a senior he played some offense for Westerville, rushing for 736 yards and nine touchdowns on 117 carries and recording 135 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions.
D’Eryk Jackson, Linebacker, 6-2, 235, Fr.-HS, Dublin, Ga. (West Laurens) — The only player from Georgia who’s headed to Kentucky as part of its 2020 class recorded 51 tackles and an interception as a senior this season for West Laurens, which reached the third round of Georgia’s Class 4A playoffs last month. Both 247Sports and Rivals rate him as a three-star prospect and a top-100 player in Georgia. Jackson committed to Kentucky over Mississippi, Mississippi State and Purdue.
Joshua Jones, Offensive Line, 6-4, 304, Fr.-HS Phenix City, Ala. (Central) — Kentucky’s lone signee from Alabama played for one of the state’s top programs in 2019. The Red Devils finished the regular season with a No. 3 ranking in Class 7A, Alabama’s highest classification, and finished 12-2 after falling in the state championship game. Central rushed for 3,206 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry during Jones’ senior year. He’s committed to play for Alabama in the state’s 33rd annual high school All-Star Game against Mississippi. Jones, a three-star prospect, picked UK over offers from Florida State, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
Jutahn McClain, Running Back, 5-10, 180, Fr.-HS, Fairfield, Ohio (Fairfield) — McClain led his high school to a 9-0 start, its best in school history. He rushed for 1,947 yards and 21 touchdowns on 204 carries as a senior, averaging 8.4 yards per attempt. McClain finished his career with 4,328 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns and was twice named Offensive Athlete of the Year in the Greater Miami Conference. 247Sports rates McClain as a four-star prospect and considers him to be the ninth best player in Ohio.
Octavious Oxendine, Defensive Tackle, 6-3, 296, Fr.-HS, Radcliff (North Hardin) — Rivals rates Oxendine, who announced his decision Wednesday, as a four-star prospect and has him ranked as the 24th best player at his position nationally. 247Sports ranks him as three-star player and as the No. 49 defensive tackle in its composite ranking.
Andru Phillips, Defensive Back, 5-11, 180, Fr.-HS, Mauldin, S.C. (Mauldin) — One of the first players to verbally commit as part of the 2020 class, Phillips is considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports (No. 71 cornerback nationally, No. 15 overall recruit in South Carolina) and Rivals (No. 53 cornerback, No. 6 overall in South Carolina). This month he was named to the South Carolina Class 5A All-State Team by the state’s coaches. Phillips, a Louisville native who committed to the Wildcats over N.C. State, Tennessee and West Virginia, is the son of Carlos Phillips, who played for Jerry Claiborne at UK.
Justin Rogers, Defensive Line, 6-3, 311, Fr.-HS, Oak Park, Mich. (Oak Park) — Rated as a five-star prospect by Rivals, he is the first five-star recruit to sign with Kentucky since Landon Young did so as part of the 2016 class, and is Rivals’ highest-ranked player to ever sign with UK. He’s been given a four-star rating by 247Sports, which ranks him as the third-highest recruit to sign with UK since 2000 (behind offensive tackle Antonio Hall and inside linebacker Micah Johnson). Rogers chose UK over Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan and Tennessee.
Tre’vonn Rybka, Defensive Line, 6-4, 281, Fr.-HS, Dickson, Tenn. (Dickson County) — Rybka took official visits to Oklahoma and Oregon after committing to Kentucky in August but stayed firm with the Wildcats throughout the fall. He’s rated as a four-star prospect, the 10th best player in Tennesee and the nation’s No. 28 defensive tackle by Rivals. 247Sports tabs him as a three-star player and the No. 39 defensive tackle in the class.
Earnest Sanders, Wide Receiver, 6-0, 190, Fr.-HS, Mount Morris, Mich. (Beecher) — A three-star prospect, according to 247Sports and Rivals. He’s a top-100 receiver in the class, per 247Sports, and picked the Wildcats from a list of offers that also included Penn State, Purdue and Washington State. Sanders, an all-state basketball player in Michigan, earlier in his recruitment considered committing to Michigan State because there was a possibility he could play both sports for the Spartans.
Carrington Valentine, Defensive Back, 6-0, 178, Fr.-HS, Cincinnati (Archbishop Moeller) — Virtually a “local” recruit, Valentine joins current UK tight end Brenden Bates, a redshirt freshman, as a Moeller product to end up in Lexington. Valentine committed to Kentucky over Cincinnati, Louisville, Michigan State and Purdue in July. He recorded 32 tackles and broke up five passes this year for the Crusaders. Rivals considers Valentine to be the No. 23 player overall in Ohio and the 69th best cornerback in the country. Rivals and 247Sports both rate him as a three-star recruit.
Joel Williams, Defensive Back, 6-1, 180, Fr.-HS, Baton Rouge, La. (Madison Prep Academy) — He committed to Florida in May but de-committed from the Gators less than a month later after receiving an offer from Alabama. Kentucky came on strong in the subsequent months. He in 247 Sports’ composite rating is considered the No. 13 athlete in the nation, the No. 12 player overall in Louisiana and ranks 304th overall, nationally. Rivals has him as the No. 26 safety in the country and the 14th best player in Louisiana. Both services rate him as a four-star prospect.
John Young, Offensive Line, 6-6, 277, Fr.-HS, Louisville (Christian Academy of Louisville) — 247Sports rates Young as the top Kentuckian in UK’s 2020 class and ranks him as the No. 28 offensive tackle in the country. Young was part of two state championship teams at CAL — the program’s first in 2016 and its second in 2018. The Centurions during Young’s four years on their offensive line rushed for 9,214 yards and 150 touchdowns.
Note: Kentucky also officially announced the addition of Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood on Wednesday.
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 7:33 AM.
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