Kentucky football lands first 2022 commitment from four-star, out-of-state prospect
The University of Kentucky football program’s first commitment of the 2022 recruiting class hails from familiar territory.
Jeremiah Caldwell, a defensive back out of Belleville, Mich., became the Wildcats’ first recruit of the current cycle on Saturday. He announced his commitment via Twitter.
Rivals rates Caldwell, who boasts a 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame, as a four-star prospect while 247Sports has him at three stars with a 4-star composite ranking. His primary recruiter was secondary coach Steve Clinkscale, who has had a string of successes recruiting Michigan over the last few recruiting cycles.
Caldwell’s other reported offers were Central Michigan, Iowa State and Toledo. Rivals considers him the No. 7 prospect in the state and the 24th-best “athlete” in the country, while 247Sports’ composite rating tabs him as the 10th-best player in Michigan and the No. 21 athlete.
Kentucky’s current roster boasts six scholarship players from Michigan, including starting linebacker DeAndre Square and a key reserve in Marquan McCall, the likely front-runner to start at nose guard this fall. Justin Rogers, a five-star prospect in last year’s class and the highest-rated player to sign with the Wildcats during Mark Stoops’ tenure, also hails from Michigan. UK signed only one player from Michigan last year in Maxwell Hairston, a 6-1 defensive back who enrolled this month.
Hairston was among those who sent congratulatory messages to Caldwell following his commitment.
“Congrats bro, let’s work,” Hairston wrote.
The Wildcats’ secondary each of the last two seasons has finished first in average passing yards allowed per game and in the top five for passing touchdowns allowed per game among all Southeastern Conference teams.
Allen Trieu, an analyst for 247Sports, wrote that Caldwell has been “under-recruited” to this point.
“He has excellent length and great ball skills, which can be seen on his receiver tape,” Trieu wrote for the site. “He made a lot of plays this season on both sides of the ball. As far as being a corner, he has shown he can play it at his size. He can still work on pure, straight line speed, but currently can make up for that with his size and ability to play the ball.”
