Where do things stand with UK football’s 2023 class, search for Will Levis replacement?
It has been more than two months since Kentucky football has added a scholarship commitment to its 2023 recruiting class, but Mark Stoops and company remain active working on the class behind the scenes.
How many high school recruits will be added to the current 15-man class before signing day in December remains in flux.
Kentucky will continue the trend of recent years in boosting its roster by pursuing veteran contributors through the transfer portal. Some of the 10 scholarship seniors on the roster could elect to use the extra year of eligibility granted all players in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
All of those players must fit into an 85-scholarship limit.
“Some of the best recruits that we can have can be guys that return to our team, that are on our team right now,” Stoops said this week. “We will have those meetings as we near the end of the season. Then look to the portal to some. And then, of course, recruit.
“That’s just a moving piece all the time.”
Last year, Kentucky signed its highest-ranked class of the recruiting website era at No. 14 overall, according to the 247Sports Composite, which averages the ratings of the major recruiting services. That recruiting success has paid immediate dividends with eight freshmen already playing in at least four games. Defensive tackle Deone Walker, wide receiver Dane Key and kick returner Barion Brown were named Midseason Freshman All-Americans by 247Sports this week.
There does not appear to be as much immediate impact talent in Kentucky’s 2023 class as of yet.
The group is ranked 37th nationally by the 247Sports Composite with three consensus four-star prospects. There were 11 consensus four-star recruits in the 2022 class.
Kentucky does remain in the running for multiple high-end high school prospects in the class.
Four-star Nashville prep wide receiver Demitrius Bell, who decommitted from Michigan State in August, took an official visit to Kentucky this month. Four-star Alabama prep wide receiver Karmello English, who decommitted from Auburn in September, has already taken one visit to UK and could visit again for a game in November.
Kentucky hosted Florida commitment Ja’Keem Jackson, a four-star cornerback whose older brother is a member of the UK track team, for an official visit last weekend. Three-star Georgia prep running back Jamarion Wilcox also took an official visit for the Kentucky-Mississippi State game weekend.
“I know we had a running back here this weekend, and he loved what he saw, I’m sure,” offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello said, referencing Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez’s 196 rushing yards in the win over Mississippi State. “I like our approach in the building and the way Coach has always recruited. I think he’s recruiting the best men, the right kind of makeup with grit and football IQ that has talent. I think when you do that you’re going to see how they fit into this type of offense.”
Many of the offensive skill position recruits who visit Kentucky have the same question as Wildcats fans: Who will play quarterback for UK next season after likely first-round pick Will Levis makes the jump to the NFL?
Kentucky was unable to overcome the loss of Levis to a foot injury against South Carolina while running a scaled-back version of the offense with redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron at quarterback. Sheron could still develop enough to win the starting job next season. Freshman quarterback Destin Wade has recently received positive reviews from Stoops and Scangarello too.
But Kentucky is almost certain to add a quarterback through the transfer portal after the season, hoping to duplicate the success it found when it signed Levis as a transfer from Penn State.
“The great thing for me is I had a lot of relationships,” Scangarello said. “I don’t want to get into too much of that stuff, but I know a lot of the (quarterbacks) from the time they were 12 years old. There’s a lot of the guys in the country I’ve been able to have relationships with in the NFL that I used to work with.
“Those things will always help you down the road. We’ll see how everything works out.”
While working as quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers, Scangarello also worked as an instructor at the QB Collective, a camp for high-level high school quarterbacks run by Scanagrello’s agent, Richmond Flowers.
Current college quarterbacks Bryce Young (Alabama), D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson), J.T. Daniels (West Virginia) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) are among the program’s alumni. Former Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier, a QB Collective alumnus, has already announced plans to enter the transfer portal. It is likely he is joined by other alumni of the camp when the window to enter the transfer portal opens in December.
“Just because there’s quarterbacks at these other schools committed, when they see what’s happening at Kentucky and they see the growth of Will Levis and they see the efficiency and see what’s happening there, he’s going to get to have his pick of quarterbacks,” Flowers recently told the Herald-Leader. “If their goal is to make it to the NFL, it’s a very strong case that you’d want to sign there.
“Ultimately, when you look at the hiring trends in the NFL, they’re hiring people that know what Rich does. Rich is maybe the most experienced zone-scheme quarterbacks coach with coordinator experience in the NFL and college right now.”
Kentucky’s transfer portal class could get an early start before the end of the season.
The Wildcats hosted former South Warren defensive lineman Jacob Lacey for a visit over the weekend. A three-year contributor at Notre Dame, Lacey announced plans this month to redshirt this season and transfer in order to maintain two years of eligibility at his next school.
The bulk of the transfer portal work will not start until December though. By then, potential targets will know if Kentucky was able to build on the momentum of its Mississippi State win with a strong second half of the season to reach a high-profile bowl game.
With 25 freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on the offensive and defensive depth charts, Kentucky should be able to sell a strong nucleus of returning talent to potential transfers. The performance of freshmen like Brown, Walker and Key could be a valuable selling point to the remaining high school recruits Kentucky is pursuing as evidence coaches will showcase players who prove worthy of early snaps.
If Kentucky stumbles down the stretch, the recruiting pitch to the remaining high school targets and future transfer options becomes more difficult. Kentucky’s ability to land a high-profile replacement for Levis could also be key in convincing its own young offensive playmakers not to look elsewhere in the portal.
No wonder then, coaches are spending the team’s bye week worried about the present more than the future.
“I’m excited about the guys that are going to be here next year,” Scangarello said. “I’m excited about the guys that are here that are young and are only going to get better and better. I’m excited about who knows what will happen in the future at quarterback.
“There’s a lot of things that will happen along the way. We’re just focused on this moment, this week. It’s a huge game. I like where we’re trending, but it’s going to be a huge challenge.”
Next game
No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee
When: Oct. 29, 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 5-2 (2-2 SEC), Tennessee 6-0 (3-0)
Series: Tennessee leads 82-26-9
Last meeting: Tennessee won 45-42 on Nov. 6, 2021, in Lexington.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 7:51 AM.