Stoops, Marrow Land Top Football Recruiting Class in Kentucky History

Wednesday was National Signing Day, the day when players sign their National Letters of Intent to play their college football for a particular school. Through Wednesday evening, Kentucky had signed 21 players and had a recruiting class that ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Still, there was one huge piece, literally, that was missing from the class.

That issue was resolved on Thursday when five-star offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin put pen to paper and signed with the Cats.

Goodwin was the number one player in the state of Indiana this season. He was the number two offensive tackle and No. 13 player overall in the nation, as ranked by 247Sports.

After waiting 24 hours to get the official paperwork on Goodwin, UK head coach Mark Stoops was excited to welcome him to the UK family.

“We are happy to welcome Kiyaunta, the big fellow, into our organization,” Stoops said on Thursday. “As I told him last night, welcome to the program but it feels like you’ve been a part of it for nearly a year now, or more. We’ve recruited and known Kiyaunta since he was in eighth grade. We’ve known him for a long time. Terrific young man. Unbelievable football player and we’re excited to add him to our program.”

Goodwin had committed to UK a few months ago but a few other schools made late runs at him, trying to pry him away from the Cats. Asked whether he was nervous about losing Goodwin, Stoops was honest.

“I wouldn’t say nervous,” Stoops said. “It’s just constant work. We got it done.”

Goodwin is a 6-8, 340-pound offensive lineman. But for Stoops, it wasn’t just his size.

“Number one, it’s very rare to see a human being move at that size,” Stoops said. “He is unbelievably athletic for his size. He can move his feet, he can do a lot of things and that’s rare for someone his size.”

Stoops knows that Goodwin was a highly-coveted prospect.

“This is a young man who could truly play anywhere in the United States,” Stoops said. “Any college in the country would take his signature today.”

Stoops does not rule out Goodwin playing as a true freshman.

“I would never put it past him,” Stoops said. “Yes, he has that ability.”

The class is not only Goodwin. There are plenty of talented pieces that make up this group. Stoops touched on a number of them on Thursday.

Alex Afari, DB –”Alex Afari, we had people going to extreme lengths right down to the wire to try to get him away from us, and Alex has been committed to us for some time. He’s a DB, a big corner that can also be very versatile, playing in that medium position that we know is so important for us and could play safety. He’s a guy that’s a five-position player in my eyes, just a terrific football player.”

Kobi Albert, DB – “Kobi we just mentioned, one of the best athletes we’ve recruited, can play multiple positions.”

Grant Bingham, OL – “A guy from right here in Kentucky, Paintsville, big, physical guy, highly recruited, four-star guy, terrific player, is going to help us.”

Barion Brown, WR – “Barion Brown, as high as a five-star with certain people, extremely explosive. Hopefully he comes in and helps us right away.”

Tyreese Fearbry, DE – “Tyreese Fearby out of Pittsburgh, great outside linebacker, that length that we were talking about that with needed.”

Zah Frazier, Juco DB – “Zah Frazier, big-time length, 6’3″ corner, junior college player, one of the top junior college players in the country that we needed. I wanted that size at corner.”

Dane Key, WR – “Dane Key is a terrific football player. He’s also very mature. He’s very intelligent, works extremely hard.”

Destin Wade, ATH/QB and Keaten Wade, LB – “Destin Wade, a quarterback, but a terrific player. Him and his brother Keaten, two terrific players out of Tennessee. Took their team to the state championship game, top players in Tennessee, terrific people, great leaders. Going to be unbelievable fits for us.”

Deone Walker, DT – “Deone Walker as I mentioned was a big, big get. Coach Wolford did a great job going into Detroit and keeping that streak alive and continuing to recruit and beat some terrific teams on him, and we felt good but never really secure. It was a battle all the way to the end, and Coach Wolf did a tremendous job with him.”

Stoops knows that all of his staff’s hard work has paid off with this tremendous class.

“It’s always a battle and a fight,” Stoops said. “To the best of my recollection, we’ve never been ranked in the SEC. I’ve never been ranked ahead of ninth.”

It’s also a historic class for Kentucky.

“By national experts, it’s my understanding that this is the best class the University of Kentucky has ever signed,” Stoops said. “That’s the way we understand it.”

The 2022 signing class continues the elevation of the Kentucky program, one that Stoops has overseen since his arrival in Lexington.