UK football team adds top-100 recruit to its class of 2017

The University of Kentucky football program added another player to its recruiting class of 2017 on Sunday with the pick-up of four-star wide receiver Javonte Richardson, one of the most talented prospects to commit to the Wildcats under Coach Mark Stoops.

Richardson — a 6-foot-4 prospect from Maple Heights, Ohio — was one of several high-profile recruits hosted by UK over the weekend. He committed to the Cats over scholarship offers from several major programs, including Michigan, and substantial interest from Michigan State and Ohio State.

Rivals.com ranks Richardson as the No. 84 overall prospect in the class of 2017 and the No. 2 player from Ohio, making him the highest-ranked out-of-state player to pick UK in the Stoops era. Scout.com and 247Sports also consider him a four-star recruit.

According to the Rivals.com rankings, UK has landed only two other top-100 players since 2003: Micah Johnson (2006) and Landon Young (2016). The Wildcats are also in the mix for Lafayette offensive tackle Jedrick Wills, who is ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in the class of 2017.

Though Rivals.com lists Richardson as an “athlete” — and some recruiting services consider him a defensive back — UK recruited him as a wide receiver. He joins Russ Yeast as the second wide receiver in the Wildcats’ class of 2017.

UK assistant coach Vince Marrow took the lead on the recruitment of Richardson, who is the program’s 10th commitment for 2017 and the fourth from Ohio. Yeast also lived in Ohio at the time of his pledge but has since moved to Indiana.

Richardson’s commitment came amid a major recruiting weekend for UK, which also hosted uncommitted Ohio standouts Tyrell Ajian and Alex King, as well as four-star Georgia offensive tackle Tony Gray, four-star commitment Michael Warren and five-star signee Young, who attended Saturday’s open practice at Commonwealth Stadium.

UK’s class is now ranked No. 8 nationally and No. 2 in the Southeastern Conference behind Alabama, according to the 247Sports team rankings for 2017.

This story was originally published March 27, 2016 at 7:39 PM with the headline "UK football team adds top-100 recruit to its class of 2017."