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Kentucky Football Signing Day Recap

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The Kentucky Wildcats have signed their 2024 recruiting class.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday was National Signing Day and Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football program were pleasantly surprised to land as much talent as they did, finishing 25th in the high school rankings and standing 7th in the transfer portal rankings. Between elite high school talent and highly sought-out transfers, UK got who they wanted and then some. Here’s a little bit about some of Kentucky’s top signees.

Georgia, QB Brock Vandagriff

Kentucky already got a look at Brock Vandagriff in Kentucky’s 51-13 loss to Georgia. The now redshirt junior threw for 46 yards and a touchdown, completing five out of seven passes against the Wildcats. According to folks close to the Bulldogs program, it was neck-and-neck for the starting job with Carson Beck this past season. Liam Coen got his guy.

Ohio State, RB Chip Trayanum

With 85 total reps this season as the Buckeyes’ backup back, Chip Trayanum ran for 373 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Kentucky has had a great lineage at the RB position (especially as of late), and the signing of Trayanum means that there’s a chance Kentucky adds to their list of great RBs.

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Georgia, LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson

Having Brock Vandagriff has paid dividends in recruiting. All-American Jamon Dumas-Johnson joins Vandagriff on the move from Athens to Lexington. Dumas-Johnson’s 2023 season would end on November 4th as he broke his arm against Missouri. The senior finished this season with 34 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Westerville North HS (OH), Edge Brian Robinson

Brian Robinson has a chance at being an impact contributor immediately for Kentucky. With the departure of Keaten Wade, the four-star recruit will compete for snaps all season long. Robinson has a super high motor and elite hands on top of incredible strength. Just an absolute workhorse.

Lexington Christian Academy (KY), QB Cutter Boley

Cutter Boley will play backup to Brock Vandagriff while being mentored by Beau Allen. Boley has a lot of talent and experience around him as he develops. However, Boley is already a solid player at the QB spot. He knows when to make the right pass and seems to always be on the dot. Can’t ask more from a QB.

Corbin HS (KY), OLB Jacob Smith & DL Jerod Smith

The Smith twins are going to be superstars in the blue and white. If there are any people who were born and raised to play Kentucky football, it’s the Smith twins. Both players have high motors just like Robinson, but they have tremendous footwork as well. It’s clear that Mark Stoops has a certain mold of player he wants on his team. Big, shifty, and overpowering, and the Smith twins are just that.

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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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