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Kentucky Football Weekly Commitment Recap

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UK Athletics

The dice are hot as Kentucky has made a huge splash this week to improve the 2023 roster.

Adding top transfers and great high school players to improve a recruiting class that seemed bleak just a few weeks ago. Once outside the top 50, Kentucky’s recruiting class is now up to No. 39 via 247Sports and No. 6 in the transfer portal.

With that said, the staff isn’t done either, but let’s check out the players that have committed to Kentucky this past week.

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Note: Rankings from 247Sports.

Khamari Anderson (Tight End, Detroit, MI)

High School Ranking: ★★★, No. 24 TE, No. 454 Overall

Anderson is a monster that comes from a UK pipeline in the making, Cass Tech in Detroit, who produced Deandre Square and Deone Walker. Anderson is a 6’4 230 pound tight end ranked as the 25th tight end in the class of 2023.

With a 6-foot-4, 225 frame, Anderson can be great in the Kentucky offense helping to be elite in the passing game. With Liam Coen and his playcalling, Kentucky’s offense will warrant fantastic tight end play, and that’s what he brings to a talented position group already.

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Max DeGraff (Kicker, Lexington, KY)

High School Ranking: N/A

Coming out of Lexington Catholic, DeGraff is the 65th-rated kicker in the 2023 class with a 4.5-star rating, according to Kohl’s Kicking – a training academy that specializes in kicking.

Kohl’s Kicking notes that DeGraff is smooth with his leg swing and has improving power, which could help the special teams unit after the struggles they had this past season. He joins punter Carter Schwartz from Trinity High School in Louisville as the second kicking prospect for the Wildcats in the class.

Lincoln Billiter (Tight End, Pikeville, KY)

High School Ranking: N/A

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Playing both tight end and linebacker for Shelby Valley this season, Billiter committed to the Wildcats over Louisville, EKU, and other programs including Harvard and Yale.

Along with his 6-foot-4, 260-pound frame, Billiter brings a very physical skill set to Kentucky as a tight end to help us in the blocking game, especially during goal-line situations.

Marques Cox (Left Tackle, Northern Illinois)

High School Ranking (2018): ★★★, No. 119 OT, No. 1306 overall
Transfer Ranking: ★★★, No. 51 OT

With a 6-foot-6, 310-pound frame, Marques Cox has the size to play in the SEC. Originally from Illinois, Cox a 3-star prospect out of high school in 2018. He is a fantastic tackle for Northern Illinois who had his season cut short against Kentucky in their game in September.

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Last season, PFF awarded Cox a 66.8 overall grade but an 88.8 in pass blocking this year. For reference, the top overall tackle graded at 85.6 in pass blocking. In addition, per PFF data, the left tackle has given up just three sacks in his career on 1,052 pass snaps

Given their struggles on the offensive line in 2022, Cox is a huge addition for the Wildcats and will likely be a day 1 starter that will help try to rebuild the Big Blue Wall.

JQ Hardaway (Cornerback, Cincinnati)

High School Ranking (2022): ★★★★, No. 27 Safety, No. 340 overall
Transfer Ranking: ★★★★, No. 3 CB

Originally a recruit in the 2022 class, Hardaway was a 4-star recruit that committed to Cincinnati over multiple SEC schools. In his only season at Cincy, he played 95 defensive snaps getting 7 tackles and 2 tackles for loss.

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With the loss of Carrington Valentine to the NFL Draft, Hardaway was a key get for the Wildcats to help fill the gap of the NFL prospect. Hardaway brings a lot of size at corner at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds, and is a great get for an SEC defense.

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Four-Star Commit Andrew Purcell Talks About Why He Chose Kentucky, “They Truly Care About Me as a Person”

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2024 four-star Kentucky football commit Andrew Purcell talks about why he chose Kentucky and what he is brining to the team.
UK Athletics

With Kentucky Football coming off an excruciating one-point loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, let’s look ahead to some recruiting. The 2025 Recruiting Class is already taking place for Mark Stoops and company.  The class is currently sitting at #25 in the country and #11 in the conference.   

This past week Kentucky Insider had the opportunity to sit down with four-star ATH/CB Andrew Purcell. Andrew attends Enterprise High School located in Enterprise, AL. He is ranked as the 25th-best ATH in the Country.  

Purcell was also on campus this past weekend for an official visit and in attendance for the showdown against Georgia. 

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Andrew Purcell comes in at just 5-foot9, 185 Pounds. However, he is very explosive with huge, big play ability. He is a dual sport athlete who is a successful basketball player and track runner. He attributes a lot of this to his incredible athleticism on the field.  

Purcell had offers from many Blue Blood programs such as Georgia, Miami, Clemson, and Florida among many others. When asked about what separated Kentucky from these other programs, Purcell said “Just the communication part, my connection with the Coaching Staff. They contacted me daily and that really separated them.”  

This is a common statement from many recruits on Mark Stoops and the rest of the coaching staff. When asked about his lead recruiter he said that Defensive Backs coach, Chris Collins was primarily the guy whom he remained in close contact with.  

There were many factors going into his ultimate decision to attend the University of Kentucky. However, when asked what made the decision much easier, he said, “I just loved everything about the school. They didn’t just care about #4, but they truly cared about me as a person.”  

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Purcell also described himself as a “hard worker” and with these qualities, it will be hard for the Big Blue Nation not to enjoy getting to see him on the field.  

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Four-Star Safety, Top 200 Recruit Martels Carter Jr. Commits to Kentucky

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2025 Four-star safety Martels Carter Jr commits to Kentucky Wildcats over Auburn, Colorado, and Louisville.
UK Athletics

YAHTZEE!

The Kentucky Wildcats have added the top-ranked player in the state and one of the top safeties in the country to their 2025 recruiting class.

On Saturday, Martels Carter Jr. announced his commitment to the Wildcats!

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“BBN I’M HOME”

A unanimous 4-star prospect and top 20 safety nationally, Carter chose the Cats over finalists Auburn Tigers, Colorado Buffalo, and Louisville. He also held offers from some of the biggest programs in the sport, including Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, and Oregon among others.

Originally from Chattanooga, TN, Carter moved to Paducah last summer where he starred for Paducah Tilghman High School, helping them to an undefeated regular season and a deep run in the 4A state playoffs, falling in the semifinals.

While it’s okay to celebrate his commitment, it will still be a battle until signing day. Auburn is seen as Kentucky’s biggest threat with Carter planning multiple visits, and he also has a family connection to Deion Sander’s Colorado program.

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That said, he will almost certainly take an official visit to Kentucky this fall. Vince Marrow has made Carter a priority of this class and will do everything in his power to retain the talented defensive back.

Carter makes the sixth commitment for Kentucky’s 2025 class, to go along with two talented offensive players and fellow four-star recruits Quintin Simmons Jr (WR) and Marquise Davis (RB).

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Cutter Boley Opens up on Playing for Kentucky, “This Is Where My Heart’s Always Been”

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Four-star quarterback prospect Cutter Boley signing with Kentucky football.
© Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

With the early National Signing Day for the class of 2024 being over, Kentucky’s newest signed quarterback Cutter Boley discusses why he committed to play at Kentucky.

“Just growing up in the state, you know, I’ve grown up a fan I feel like this is where my heart’s always been, and just the offense that Liam Coen runs and the job coach (Mark) Stoops does as head coach is phenomenal and I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else,” Boley tells Kentucky Insider.

Kentucky needed to get some quarterbacks after three players either graduated or transferred with Devin Leary graduating, Destin Wade transferring to Colorado, and Kaiya Sheron electing to transfer as well.

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Kentucky was able to load up in the quarterback room by landing the Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, Georgia Southern transfer Beau Allen, and then signing Boley in the class of 2024. Boley is ready to compete against them and he recognizes their talent.

“I couldn’t be any more excited to learn from them. They’re two really good quarterbacks, like I said, and they’ll have countless things to teach me from the places they’ve been and the offense that they’ve been in,” Boley tells us. “I just can’t wait to learn the things they know and just be able to work and get to work with them.”

One of the reasons why Boley committed to Kentucky is due to him having a connection since he has lived here his whole life.

“Just growing up in the state, you know, I’ve grown up a fan I feel like this is where my heart’s always been, and just the offense that Liam Coen runs and the job coach (Mark) Stoops does as head coach is phenomenal and I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else,” said Boley.

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As for finally signing his National Letter of Intent, Boley feels relieved to have it finished.

“It’s definitely a relief to finally put the pen to paper and make it official,” said Boley. “It’s been a long time coming so I couldn’t be any more excited about my decision and where I’m going to be for the next four years.”

What Boley is most focused on is how the offense is run, as at this time he feels like his play style is made to play professionally.

“I’m really hoping to develop into that pro-style quarterback, but I feel like I’m definitely a pro-style quarterback right now, but really develop into just being able to play in that offense at a very high level and get really comfortable in the offense, and I just want to develop all parts of my game and really be a quarterback that the NFL looks for and that type of quarterback they want to have,” Boley tells us.

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With Kentucky having a chance to develop within instead of the transfer route, fans will have a chance to see a quarterback finally develop into potentially starting in the future.

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