April surge has Kentucky inside Top 20 of Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings
· Yahoo Sports
The buzz surrounding Kentucky football entering year one under new head coach Will Stein is palpable on all fronts, especially the recruiting trail.
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It’s early, but the Wildcats are on pace to sign their best recruiting class since the 2022 cycle, when they finished No. 17 in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. As of April 24, UK’s 2027 class sits at No. 19 nationally.
That’s thanks to a huge wave of pledges this month. Lexington Christian Academy three-star tight end Conrad Hart committed on Friday morning. He’s the seventh April commit for the SEC program.
The class now has 12 total commits and now ranks No. 8 in the SEC, ahead of Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn and others. The biggest commit of the Stein era highlights this month’s additions.
Prospect Heights (Ill.) Hersey four-star quarterback Jake Nawrot has seen his stock soar after his junior year. His recruitment moved swiftly, but after making his way to the Bluegrass last month, he didn’t waste much time.
“I loved Coach Stein and Sloan’s offensive scheme and history of developing QBs,” Nawrot told Rivals. “Their offense is very similar to what Hersey runs, which fits well for a pro style QB.”
UK beat out Iowa, Kansas State and Oregon for Nawrot. He’s now the No. 27 overall prospect and No. 2 QB in the updated Rivals300 rankings. Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power is very high on the Midwest gunslinger:
“Nawrot’s a prospect we really like on film, he put a ton of high-difficulty throws on tape as a junior,” Power recently said. “Nawrot has the projectable size at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, he’s a multi-sport athlete with a bunch of fluid movement skills and just looks to be a natural at the position. He blew up as a junior in his first year as a varsity starter. Highly-accurate passer, instinctive, can fit the football into tight windows.”
Two other blue-chippers have joined the class this month. Prattville (Ala.) four-star defensive lineman Elijah Brown is the No. 30 DL and No. 15 recruit in Alabama, while Rocky River (Ohio) four-star safety Tristin Hughes, a former Syracuse commit, is the No. 33 safety and No. 14 player in Ohio.
Hughes pledged while in town for UK’s spring game:
“I’ve been connected with the whole staff, talking to all the coaches and really feeling the love. I have a great bond with the entire staff which makes it feel very special to me,” he told Rivals.
Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage three-star tight end Tank Proctor flipped to the Cats from Auburn on April 16. Cincinnati Anderson three-star EDGE Antwoine Higgins Jr., Mobile (Ala.) Vigor three-star cornerback Miguel Wilson and now Hart have also joined the fold.
Kentucky’s up-to-date class can be seen here. There’s serious momentum in Lexington heading into official visit season.