Perception vs. Reality

One thing that continues to amaze me is the fact UK has so many early commitments for the 2011 class. This time last year, UK only had one commitment (Justin Henderson) and now they have nine. There has been a lot of talk about the 2011 class being small, therefore I'm impressed with the staff's recruiting approach.

So far into the recruiting process there appears to be more offers on the table than in the past. The staff is doing a great job of getting recruits to commit early. Outside of a handful, players should really consider making their decision early or run the risk of an offer not being on the table later in the process.

Sometimes coaches inform players of their needs and tell them where they fall into their recruiting plans. As an example, one offensive line recruit told me the staff wants to sign three offensive linemen in the next class and he was still in the "evaluation process". As we know now, the Cats have one offensive line commit (Darrian Miller) and have a ton of offers on the table. An example was Spencer Shuey (LB) in 2009. He visited Kentucky and wanted to commit to the Cats, but Rich Brooks told him they didn't have room for him. Things worked out great for Shuey, he ended up signing with Clemson.

The staff is selling playing time, a brand, and being part of something special to recruits. It appears recruits are buying what the staff is selling. What Joker Phillips has accomplished in less than a year is simply amazing. Recruiting is "Perception vs. Reality" and the reality is the Cats are running out of scholarships for 2011.