Kentucky adds four-star tight end Mikkel Skinner to 2025 football recruiting class
A three-month lull in commitments ended for Kentucky football’s 2025 recruiting class with an uptick in activity in October.
The Wildcats added Ohio prep offensive lineman Jayden Clark on Oct. 1. They flipped Alabama prep running back Dyllon Williams from Missouri on Oct. 14 then flipped Boyle County star Montavian Quisenberry from West Virginia on Oct. 16. South Carolina prep tight end Mikkel Skinner then committed on Oct. 23. The commitments come as UK coach Mark Stoops and his staff are casting a wider net in expectation of expanding rosters in 2025.
The 247Sports Composite now ranks Kentucky’s 2025 class 16th nationally and eighth in the Southeastern Conference.
Bookmark this page to follow along with Kentucky’s high school class throughout the 2025 recruiting cycle. It will be updated with each new commitment.
Kentucky football 2025 recruiting class
WR DEJERRIAN MILLER
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Cardinal Ritter College Prep (Saint Louis, Missouri)
Commitment date: Nov. 26, 2024
Miller’s commitment eased the sting of losing wide receiver pledge Ja’kayden Ferguson to a decommitment two weeks earlier and represented a payoff for safeties coach Frank Buffano’s years of work trying to establish recruiting momentum in the Saint Louis area. While the 247Sports Composite rates him as a three-star prospect, Rivals does have him as a four star. He picked UK over reported finalists Ole Miss and Tennessee, but it is unclear how much those programs were still prioritizing him.
TE MIKKEL SKINNER
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
High school: Riverside (Greer, South Carolina)
Commitment date: Oct. 23, 2024
A former Cincinnati commitment, Skinner reopened his recruitment amid increased interest from Kentucky in September. Just a few weeks later, he picked the Wildcats over finalists South Carolina, Georgia and Ohio State (though 247Sports reported he did not have committable offers from Georgia or Ohio State). UK’s top four tight ends all have remaining eligibility, but offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan’s scheme has made heavy use of multiple tight end sets.
ATH MONTAVIAN QUISENBERRY
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Boyle County (Danville)
Commitment date: Oct. 16, 2024
UK first offered Quisenberry in October 2022, but did not seem to be prioritizing him by the time he committed to West Virginia in June 2024. A stellar start to his senior season was apparently enough for UK to overlook concerns about his size (he is listed at 5-foot-8 by Rivals). Quisenberry flipped his commitment from West Virginia to UK during a week Stoops needed some good news after a home loss to Vanderbilt.
DB DYLLON WILLIAMS
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Demopolis (Demopolis, Alabama)
Commitment date: Oct. 14, 2024
For the second recruiting cycle in a row, Kentucky flipped a safety who was initially pledged to Missouri. Last year it was Cam Dooley, who is playing on special teams as a freshman. This year, it was Williams, who committed to UK just more than a month after taking an official visit to Lexington. Safeties coach Frank Buffano led his recruitment.
OL JAYDEN CLARK
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Northmont (Clayton, Ohio)
Commitment date: Oct. 1, 2024
Offensive line coach Eric Wolford continued his rebuild of a unit that has come under fire this season with a pledge from Clark, a friend and former teammate of top-rated pledge Cedric Works. At the time of Clark’s commitment, 247Sports acknowledge he was likely in line for a recruiting ratings bump due to a strong start to his senior season after missing all of the 2023 season with an injury.
OL JERMIEL ATKINS
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Trotwood-Madison (Dayton, Ohio)
Commitment date: July 4, 2024
Kentucky landed its fourth offensive lineman in the 2025 class. The 6-foot-8 Atkins is the third of that group who stands 6-6 or taller, an ongoing theme for the Wildcats, whose current roster boasts five o-linemen who meet that standard — 6-6 Ben Christman, 6-6 Courtland Ford, 6-6 Gerald Mincey, 6-6 Dylan Ray and 6-8 Malachi Wood. Atkins chose UK over offers from Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Michigan.
DL KALEN EDWARDS
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
High school: Dyersburg (Tennessee)
Commitment date: July 3, 2024
Edwards, who stands 6-4, 330 pounds, committed to UK after taking an official visit to the Wildcats in late June. He chose Kentucky over Auburn, Louisville, Miami and Memphis after decommitting from Auburn in March. He was the third defensive lineman to commit to Kentucky in the class of 2025 but the first to project as a potential nose tackle. At the time of his commitment, 247Sports ranked Edwards the No. 38 defensive lineman nationally and the No. 10 overall prospect in Tennessee.
DL JAVEON CAMPBELL
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
High school: Western Hills (Frankfort)
Commitment date: July 2, 2024
Campbell committed to UK after taking spring official visits to Alabama, Auburn and Miami. He was the second defensive lineman to commit to Kentucky in the class of 2025. Listed at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds by 247Sports, Campbell is a fast riser, having played only one season of high school football yet ranking as the No. 1 prospect in Kentucky on the day he committed to the Wildcats.
OL BRYAN AUGUSTE
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Monarch (Pompano Beach, Florida)
Commitment date: June 27, 2024
Auguste committed to UK after taking spring official visits to Kentucky, Boston College and Syracuse. He was the third offensive lineman to commit to UK since the return of offensive line coach Eric Wolford. Listed at 6-foot-6, 305 pounds by 247Sports, Auguste projects to play tackle in college.
EDGE CEDRIC WORKS
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
High school: Northmont (Clayton, Ohio)
Commitment date: June 27, 2024
The fifth consensus four-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite to commit to UK, Works made his decision after spring official visits to Florida, Penn State and Kentucky. 247Sports’ in-house ratings peg Works as the best commitment in Kentucky’s 2025 class, but he is rated third highest in the class by the 247Sports Composite, which averages the ratings of the major recruiting sites.
DB DEMARCUS GARDNER
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Cedartown (Cedartown, Georgia)
Commitment date: June 22, 2024
The second commitment of the day for Kentucky, Gardner flipped his pledge from UCF to Kentucky after a visit to Lexington. Minnesota was the only other Power 4 program to have offered Gardner a scholarship at the time of his commitment.
WR PRESTON BOWMAN
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Pickerington North (Pickerington, Ohio)
Commitment date: June 22, 2024
Kentucky was the first Division I program to offer Bowman a scholarship in June 2022, but the Wildcats have changed offensive coordinators twice since then. UK reissued its offer to Bowman on June 12, and he committed 10 days later after taking his official visit to Lexington. That commitment came one month after Bowman reported an offer from defending national champion Michigan. One day after committing to UK, Bowman reported an offer from Ohio State.
DL NICHOLAS SMITH
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Walnut Grove (Monroe, Georgia)
Commitment date: June 21, 2024
Smith follows the blueprint of many of Kentucky’s most successful deep south defensive recruits. Listed at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds by 247Sports, Smith has room to grow. UK was one of just two SEC programs to extend a scholarship offer at the time of his commitment. Mississippi State was the other.
DB ANDREW PURCELL
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Enterprise (Enterprise, Alabama)
Commitment date: June 17, 2024
Purcell committed to Kentucky shortly after taking a June official visit to Lexington. He had visited Georgia and Miami earlier in the spring and also reported offers from Clemson and Florida. Purcell was recruited to UK by defensive backs coach Chris Collins.
OT DARRIN STREY
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Paw Paw (Paw Paw, Michigan)
Commitment date: June 9, 2024
Offensive line coach Eric Wolford’s last stint at Kentucky saw him help the Wildcats land massive defensive lineman and future first-round draft prospect Deone Walker from Michigan. He will hope for another repeat of that magic, this time on the offensive line, with a commitment from Strey. The 6-foot-7 Strey is the second offensive lineman to commit to UK since Wolford’s return to Lexington.
DB MARTELS CARTER
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
High school: Paducah Tilghman (Paducah)
Commitment date: May 25, 2024.
Carter became one of the top players in the state when he moved to Paducah from Chattanooga, Tennessee, prior to the 2023-24 high school year. Carter has been a frequent visitor to UK since the Wildcats began recruiting him. As a junior, Carter totaled 44 tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and three interceptions while helping Paducah Tilghman reach the 4A semifinals.
QB BRENNEN WARD
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
High school: Gahanna Lincoln (Columbus, Ohio)
Commitment date: March 7, 2024
Ward picked Kentucky over reported Power Five scholarship offers from Boston College, Virginia, Missouri, Indiana and Syracuse. Kentucky was his first Division I offer in May 2022. Recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow continued to recruit him through two offensive coordinator changes. Ward became the first quarterback to commit to Kentucky after the hire of offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan.
WR QUINTIN SIMMONS
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
High school: Withrow (Cincinnati)
Commitment date: Feb. 5, 2024
Kentucky will hope Simmons’ commitment sent a strong message for the future of the offense since he pledged to the Wildcats just two days after offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s departure to the NFL was made official. Simmons picked UK over finalists Michigan, Penn State, West Virginia, Syracuse and Cincinnati. He comes from the same high school that produced four-star 2024 UK defensive back signee Terhyon Nichols.
QB STONE SAUNDERS
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
High school: Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania).
Commitment date: Aug. 4, 2023
The 2025 class started with a splash with a pledge from Saunders, the son of a former NFL strength and conditioning coach. At the time of Saunders’ commitment, the 247Sports Composite ranked him as the No. 20 quarterback in the 2025 class. Saunders committed to UK while Coen was still offensive coordinator but stuck with that pledge after Coen returned to the NFL.
This story was originally published March 8, 2024 at 7:09 AM.