Cincinnati star could have played at Michigan like his NFL father. He chose UK.
Until Tuesday morning, Kentucky’s 2022 recruiting class lacked something that has been a staple under Mark Stoops: an Ohio player.
Josh Kattus, a tight end out of Cincinnati, changed that with his commitment during an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio. He became the ninth commit in UK’s 2022 class, which prior to his announcement was ranked in the top 15 nationally and in the upper half of the Southeastern Conference.
Kattus during the segment cited relationships with Kentucky’s staff, particularly recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow and graduate assistant C.J. Conrad, as a primary motivator behind his decision. He said he recently got to visit campus.
“At the end of the day it checked off all my boxes,” Kattus said.
Both 247Sports and Rivals rate Kattus, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound junior, as a three-star prospect. Cincinnati was believed to be his closest runner-up, and his other offers included Arkansas, Louisville and Michigan. Rivals considers him to be the No. 26 player in Ohio while 247Sports has him as its No. 32 Buckeye and ranked as the No. 64 tight end in the country.
Kattus’ father, Eric Kattus, was a standout tight end for Michigan in the mid-1980s. He caught eight touchdown passes, all from current Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, en route to an All-Big Ten selection his senior season, after which he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. Eric played in 83 games over seven NFL seasons.
Josh Kattus plays for Cincinnati Moeller, a perennial power in the area that’s coached by former Eastern Kentucky head coach Mark Elder, and was named to the Greater Catholic League First Team as a junior. He also plays basketball for the Crusaders.
He’s the second Moeller tight end to sign with the Wildcats during Stoops’ tenure. Brenden Bates, a junior who has played in 21 games over his career, was considered a top-20 tight end in the country when he signed with the Wildcats in the 2018 recruiting cycle.
Another Buckeye?
Kentucky might not have to wait long for another Ohio star to jump aboard in 2022.
Alex Afari, an athlete at Lakota West High School in West Chester, is announcing his commitment on May 7. Kentucky, the first Power Five program to extend an offer, is considered to be the leader in his recruitment. Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Virginia are the other finalists for Afari, considered a four-star athlete by Rivals and tabbed as a top-40 athlete in the nation.
Afari, who’s likely to play defensive back in college, recently told 247Sports that he has known UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow since seventh grade and that he was able to visit campus multiple times prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former UK stars John Conner and George Asafo-Adjei, the latter of whom was a marquee signee as part of Stoops’ first major recruiting class in 2014, played at Lakota West.
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 10:35 AM.
