Meet UK’s 2022 signees: Stats, facts and highlights from the newest Wildcats
This story will be updated throughout Wednesday as signings become official.
Wednesday marked the start of the early signing period for college football players who intend to enroll at Division I schools in the next school year.
Below you’ll find a list of every player who signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Kentucky as part of the 2022 class, in alphabetical order, along with some additional facts about them.
Alex Afari
Defensive back
6-foot-2, 195 pounds
West Chester, Ohio (Lakota West)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: Michigan State attempted late to flip Afari, who’s been committed to Kentucky since May, and who’s considered a top-40 player at cornerback. Defensive backfield mate Jyaire Brown committed to Ohio State but Afari couldn’t be lured to the Big Ten. “I’ve been wanting to play against the best because I know I’m one of the best,” Afari said during his recruitment. “It’s definitely a blessing to go play in the SEC.”
Ja’Kobi Albert
Defensive back
6-foot, 180 pounds
Fairfield, Ala. (Fairfield Prep)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: An Auburn commit until Tuesday, Albert was linked to Kentucky for several days prior to signing with the Wildcats on Wednesday. He was a two-way standout for Fairfield, finishing with 11 touchdowns and 520 yards on 27 receptions on offense while recording 31 tackles and four interceptions on defense. It’s possible that he could move to receiver at Kentucky.
Jordan Anthony
Athlete
5-foot-9, 160 pounds
Tylertown, Miss. (Tylertown)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: Anthony ran a time of 10.21 seconds to win the 100-meter dash at The Outdoor Nationals Presented by Nike in July, and was runner-up by eight-hundredths of a second in the 200 at the same event. Recently, defensive backs for Team Mississippi — which played Team Alabama over the weekend — said he was the fastest player on the squad. Anthony suffered a hip fracture that limited him for part of his final high school season, which ended in the third round of the playoffs. Doctors attributed the fracture to a growth spurt; in a recent YouTube interview he says he was 5-7 when he committed to Kentucky but is now a quarter-inch shy of 5-10. He’s said that he plans on running for UK’s track-and-field team, and doesn’t plan to enroll early at UK.
Grant Bingham
Offensive lineman
6-foot-6, 302 pounds
Paintsville, Ky. (Johnson Central)
247Sports: 4-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: Michigan and Notre Dame were among the top eight schools Bingham liked before he ultimately committed to UK in April. He is the fifth in-state offensive lineman rated four stars or higher to sign with Kentucky during Mark Stoops’ tenure. Bingham played at the varsity level in all four of his seasons with the Golden Eagles, three of which ended in the Class 4A state finals. He was a sophomore on the Johnson Central team that upset Boyle County, 21-20, for the 2019 championship. In his high school career, the o-line helped generate more than 20,000 yards of offense (18,138 rushing, 3,326 passing).
Barion Brown
Wide receiver
6-foot, 175 pounds
Nashville, Tenn. (Pearl-Cohn)
247Sports: 4-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: Brown last week was recognized as Tennessee’s Class 4A Mr. Football winner, beating fellow SEC recruit Kaydin Pope (Mississippi State) for the honor. He played a myriad of positions for the Firebirds, including quarterback and defensive back, and racked up 897 yards and 10 touchdowns on 59 carries and 303 yards and three TDs on 22 receptions over the course of the regular season. Brown will play in the All-American Bowl, which will air on NBC on Jan. 8. Fellow UK signees Kiyaunta Goodwin and Keaten Wade also will play in the game.
Tomiwa Durojaiye
Defensive lineman
6-foot-4, 255 pounds
Middletown, Del. (Middletown)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: Perhaps the most under-the-radar prospect in Kentucky’s recruiting class, Durojaiye committed in August after receiving an offer from the Wildcats in June. Last week he was named Defensive Player of the Year in Delaware’s Class 3A division. His recruitment didn’t really pick up until the spring, but by the summer he had 22 reported scholarship offers, and chose the Wildcats from a final five consisting of Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.
Tyreese Fearbry
Defensive lineman
6-foot-5, 225 pounds
Pittsburgh, Pa. (Perry Traditional)
247Sports: 4-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: The highest-rated defensive player signing with the Cats as part of the 2022 class is also the highest-rated edge rusher to sign with them in the internet recruiting era. Fearbry at one time was committed to Penn State but changed his mind in August, and eventually chose UK over the Nittany Lions, Pittsburgh and Auburn.
Nikolas Hall
Offensive lineman
6-foot-6, 310 pounds
Austin, Texas (Akins)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: The son of former All-SEC Wildcat Antonio Hall became the first player in his high school’s history to sign with an SEC school and the first to sign with an FBS school straight out of the prep ranks. He’s only the second player from Texas to sign with UK during Mark Stoops’ tenure (T.V. Williams, 2014).
Quentel Jones
Defensive lineman
6-foot-3, 320 pounds
Fort Valley, Ga. (Peach County)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: A late commit to the class — he chose the Cats last Thursday over offers from several other SEC schools, including Tennessee and Mississippi State — came courtesy of outgoing inside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall, who was recently named Troy’s head coach. He took an official visit to UK the first weekend of December.
Josh Kattus
Tight end
6-foot-4, 235 pounds
Cincinnati, Ohio (Archbishop Moeller)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: One of two commits from Moeller in the class, along with receiver Brandon White, Kattus is the second tight end from Moeller to come to UK during Stoops’ tenure, following in the footsteps of Brenden Bates, who signed as part of the 2018 class. Kattus was named to the All-Ohio Second Team offense after recording 42 catches for 553 yards and one touchdown, building on a junior season that saw him reel in 23 balls for 288 yards and four TDs. Moeller Coach Mark Elder described him as a “dominating blocker.”
Dane Key
Wide receiver
6-foot-2, 190 pounds
Lexington, Ky. (Frederick Douglass)
247Sports: 4-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: Key played in two state championship games for the Broncos, and ended his senior season with 959 yards and nine touchdowns on just 53 receptions. He was one of 11 finalists named for the Kentucky Football Coaches Association’s Mr. Football award. Key, the son of former UK star Donte Key, committed to the Wildcats over offers from Michigan, Oregon and South Carolina.
Tashawn Manning
Offensive lineman
6-foot-4, 340 pounds
Apopka, Fla. (Auburn)
247Sports: 3-star (2016 class)
Rivals: 3-star (2016 class)
Notes: A cancer diagnosis midway through his senior year of high school prevented Manning from enrolling at Auburn until January 2017. He arrived there as a defensive line recruit but eventually earned the starting nod at left guard for the entirety of the 2020 season. A reserve through most of 2021, Pro Football Focus graded him as the Tigers’ top run blocker during the most recent campaign. The transfer will have one year of eligibility at Kentucky.
Elijah Reed
Defensive back
6-foot-3
185 pounds
Louisville, Ky. (Pleasure Ridge Park)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: Reed was among several Kentucky football stars who opted to return for an additional year of high school eligibility under Kentucky Senate Bill 128, and it paid off; after having no FBS offers following the 2020-21 school year, he committed to UK in November over reported offers from Utah, Illinois, Purdue and West Virginia. The Utes for a while were thought to be the leader for Reed, who’s a friend and training partner of five-star offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin.
Tayvion Robinson
Wide receiver
5-foot-10, 187 pounds
Virginia Beach, Va. (Virginia Tech)
247Sports: 4-tar (2019 class)
Rivals: 4-star (2019 class)
Notes: A former top-200 player in the 2019 recruiting class, Robinson entered the transfer portal on Dec. 2 and by the next weekend was committed to the Wildcats. In three seasons with Virginia Tech, he racked up 1,555 yards and nine touchdowns, and was the Hokies’ leading receiver in 2020. Robinson, who played against Kentucky in the 2019 Belk Bowl, will have up to two years of eligibility remaining in Lexington.
Jackson Smith
Place-kicker
5-foot-11, 170 pounds
Danville, Ky. (Boyle County)
247Sports: 2-star
Rivals: 2-star
Notes: The first scholarship place-kicker signed as part of a Wildcats recruiting class since Chance Poore (2018). As a senior, Smith connected on seven field-goal attempts and scored 72 extra points for the Rebels, with whom he won state championships in 2020 and 2021. His only other reported offer was from Eastern Kentucky.
Andre Stewart
Defensive back
6-foot, 169 pounds
Kennesaw, Ga. (North Cobb)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: Committed to Kentucky in March but continued to receive interest down the stretch, including from Tennessee and Michigan, where former UK secondary coach Steve Clinkscale is now an assistant. Considered the No. 59 cornerback in the nation and No. 57 player from Georgia by Rivals.
Destin Wade
Athlete
6-foot-3, 205 pounds
Spring Hill, Tenn. (Summit)
247Sports: 4-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: He’ll come to Kentucky initially as a quarterback, the only high school player at the position that UK intends to sign as part of the 2022 class. Wade threw for 18 touchdowns and 1,436 yards on 79-for-136 passing with just two interceptions, and rushed for 31 TDs and 2,312 yards on 197 carries during his final season at Summit, which ended in the school’s second straight finals appearance (it won with him as its quarterback in 2020; he rushed for two TDs and threw another in that victory). Last week he was named Mr. Football in Tennessee’s Class 6A division, beating his twin brother Keaten and Georgia running back commit Jordan James for the honor.
Keaten Wade
Outside linebacker
6-foot-4, 223 pounds
Spring Hill, Tenn. (Summit)
247Sports: 4-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: Wade is the twin brother of Destin and rated as a top-25 outside linebacker in the country by both 247Sports and Rivals. Limited as a junior due to a foot injury, Wade bounced back in his final go-around at Summit; he recorded 119 total tackles, 26.5 of them for a loss, and ended the season with eight sacks. He also had two interceptions returned for an average of 49.5 yards, recovered six fumbles (four of them forced by him) and blocked a punt. He and another expected signee, Tyreese Fearbry, are the two highest-rated pass rushers signed by UK as part of the same class and are among the top 20 recruits signed by the school in the internet era.
Deone Walker
Defensive lineman
6-foot-7, 354 pounds
Detroit, Mich. (Cass Technical)
247Sports: 4-star
Rivals: 4-star
Notes: Uncommitted until the start of the early signing period, Walker took his official visit to UK on Dec. 10, two days after taking one to Michigan, the school most experts picked for his signature. His primary recruiter was offensive line coach Eric Wolford. Both 247Sports and Rivals rank him as a top-30 defensive tackle in the class. He had 43 tackles (15 for a loss) and six sacks in seven games as a senior. Alabama, Georgia and Missouri were other strong suitors.
Brandon White
Wide receiver
5-foot-9, 165 pounds
Cincinnati, Ohio (Archbishop Moeller)
247Sports: 3-star
Rivals: 3-star
Notes: A groin injury limited White through most of his junior and senior seasons, but his long-term potential as a speedy, combustible weapon outweighs concerns about his durability. “He had a couple really explosive days for us but was unfortunately dinged up these last couple of years for us,” said Moeller head coach Mark Elder. He’s averaged a team-best 22.7 yards per catch (318 on 14 grabs) and scored three touchdowns in seven games played as a senior.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 7:08 AM.
