3/14/2010Louisville has also offered Zach West a scholarship for 2011 this weekend. Two big offers for West in one weekend. Many are starting to wonder how long before UK offers.
3/13/2010
Zach West has received an offer from Penn State to go along with offers from Troy and Liberty. Clearly Penn State is the biggest offer to date for the Offensive Lineman from Lexington. Both UK and Louisville are recruiting West as well, but have not extended offers. Last weekend West visited Louisville and has already taken a visit to UK.
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteWith O-line being a priority for the next class, and West being from Lexington, I would assume that we really want him. With Penn St offering he is obviously a high D-1 prospect. Do you think that Joker is slow playing this one or perhaps still in the evaluation phase? Where would you put our chances with West? I am not sure if you have spoken with him yet or not.
Thanks for all you do,
James
Zach is a very good player with a huge upside. I don't know why the Cats haven't offered. He grew up a UK fan and has family ties to UK. They are his to lose, but I question how they are handling his recruitment.
ReplyDeleteThey should sign Darrian Miller, Zach West and Nick Martin and call it done (for OL). Of course, that is my opinion.
I think the OL is priority #1 in this class, with the DL being priority 1B. Whatever position is next is so distant it isn't even worth talking about. Maybe WR, I guess. Why we haven't offered this kid is beyond me. I guess this is one time we just have to trust that Joker & Co know what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement here with everyone else. I would also like for us to add Kiaro Holts to the mix and actually sign 4 O-linemen.
ReplyDeleteWR would be next for me. I would like to see us sign 2 here, but this one may take a while.
#3 on my list would be DT. I would like for us to sign Kris Harley (he and Kiaro would essentially be a package deal, Both are rated #7 at their positions by Rivals and they both blow their opponents away exactly like Martin) and at least one more DT. That said, I am not sure that we will get Harley and Holts.
The answer to all of these questions is more apparent if one recognizes everything UK's staff is doing to fill their 2011 recruiting class.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, of course, that UK's staff intends to sign three or four high-upside OL prospects in 2011. They already have a verbal commitment from Darrian Miller, a Lexingtonian projected as a LT. They have already offered scholarships to Nick Martin, Kairo Holts, Antonio Richardson, Mitch Smothers, Nathan Gutekunst, and Brandon Shell. They believe they will sign several of these prospects.
UK's staff has an ongoing dialog with Zach West. West knows he is in line for a UK scholarship offer and may very well have an opportunity to play for the Cats if that is his goal. But if that is what he wants, he will have to wait.
It says a lot about West that Penn State has offered him a scholarship. West is a very good football player with a nice frame and all-state credentials, so Penn State's interest isn't a surprise.
There are thousands of uncommitted D-1 prospects around the eastern part of the country, and UK's staff is doing their best to sign the ones who fit their system best. Nobody outworks this staff. For years, though, there has been a well-known tendency for many internet-based UK fans to assume UK's staff doesn't know what they are doing. That really puzzles me. One might think four-straight bowl invitations would turn the annual skeptics in a supportive direction, but these questions continue to arise whenever a local favorite (John Cole or Roy Philon, for instance) doesn't receive an immediate scharship offer from UK's staff.
West's situation is a case in point. This new offer from Penn State will prompt some fans to abruptly question why UK's staff wasn't the first to offer West. But in view of Darrian Miller's verbal, critics can't compain that Joker isn't recruiting Lexingtonians. They also can't suggest that Joker isn't going after the best prospects, since all of the OL prospect currently sporting UK scholarship offers have high performance ceilings and are rated as high or higher than West.
West may or may not end up at UK or Penn State. UK's staff may or may not sign Nick Martin, Kairo Holts, Antonio Richardson, and/or Mitch Smothers. A year from now, we will know. But in the meantime, with Mike Summers now on Joker's staff, I have no doubt that each and every OL prospect on UK's board has been thoroughly evaluated and ranked. And I see no reason to doubt that Joker is recruiting the prospect who will fit his SEC schemes best.
BTW, WR is easily the highest priority in UK's 2011 class. But the OL and DL are always priorities, as well.
I trust the staff 100%, but I feel you have to protect your back yard. UK is actively recruiting West and will continue. However, I think the Penn State offer may change their mindset.
ReplyDeleteUK's staff has been recruiting Zach West for a year, and I agree they will continue. Everything you say is true. It is far too early to guess where West will sign, and that still primarily depends on what Zach wants to do.
ReplyDeleteI think UK's staff is already covering their back yard well. Darrian Miller's and Jon Davis' verbals illustrates this. They recently took Terrell Combs as a transfer, as well. But as we know, their 2011 class will be somewhat limited by the number of available scholarships. They think they have a pretty good shot to sign Nick Martin and Kairo Holts, both of whom have visited Lexington and indicated a strong interest in UK to the staff. The interesting factor here is that Martin and Holts appear to be at least as enthusiastic as West.
The Penn State offer probably will (and should) have an effect on West's thinking, but it won't change UK's board. Our staff has already evaluated these prospects thoroughly, and they are offering scholarships on the basis of their evaluations. I would just point out again that Mike Summers is as good as they come at breaking down film and evaluating OL talent.
Bottom line....West is a legitimate D-1 prospect with a nice frame and considerable athletic upside. Barring injury, he will be a good D-1 football player somewhere. At this point, I would not understate the possibility that he could become a Cat. But I am also pleased with UK's recruiting board, and with Joker's emphasis on recruiting. Besides Joker and Chuck Smith, five other current UK coaches are former D-1 recruiting coordinators. (If I recall correctly, you have discussed this here on your website on a couple of occasions.) As you have stressed here many times, this staff knows what they are doing. If they feel they should pursue Martin, Holts, Richardson, Smothers, Gutekunst, and Shell as their A-list, that's good enough for me.
With all of that said, you are obviously right to point out West's attractiveness as a D-1 prospect. Frankly, your website is doing the best job on the internet today of informing UK fans about legitimate recruiting issues.
Awesome stuff guys! Great reads...love the football talk!
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