Football Cats Add Key Pieces on National Signing Day
The Kentucky football program signed 21 high school players on Wednesday, a class that has been rated in the top 25 in the nation by some recruiting services.
Despite the fact that this was the earliest signing day in recent memory, UK head coach Mark Stoops was pleased with the group that UK signed on Wednesday.
“This is obviously the earliest we’ve had this press conference and signed a class, and everything went very smooth,” Stoops said. “So maybe we’ve been missing out for a lot of years. Things went very smooth and we have 20 signees right now that I’m very excited about. We went to 12 different states. We signed 12 offensive players and nine defensive players.”
UK signed seven four-star players (according to 247 Sports), as well as 12 three-star players.
Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back from Paducah Tilghman High School, is one of those four-star players and he’s someone Stoops really likes already.
“He’s a guy I believe he can play, and play early,” Stoops said. “Just I like his instincts, his demeanor. You know, I like his athleticism. He is a guy that I have on my mind that could come in and play.”
Another four-star player that has already impressed the UK coaches is tight end Mikkel Skinner from Greer, South Carolina. Skinner is another player that Stoops believes can have an early impact.
“Mikkel is different, I would say,” Stoops said. “He’s a different build, different skillset. He’s a guy that is a great mismatch. He’s the type of player that could line up as wide receiver. It’s important to be able to be multiple that way. You know, where you could have a guy that if you could put a defense in conflict, whether it’s 11 or 12 personnel, and he have kind of fits that mold. We’ll see where his body goes, but he’s a very athletic guy.”
Kentucky signed two quarterbacks in the class. Stone Saunders from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Brennen Ward from Columbus, Ohio, will join the UK quarterback room in January. Stoops believes that the two bring different skills to the position.
“Stone, there is so much film on him. He’s thrown for so many yards. He should break the record, probably break the all-time yards in Pennsylvania. I think he already has the touchdowns,” Stoops said. “So he’s just got so much good film out there. Just a ball player, you know, and so he’s just a guy just doesn’t take long to put on the film and like the way he plays ball. Obviously throwing for that many yards and touchdowns you see he can distribute the football.
“Brennan came into camp and we watched in person,” Stoops said. “No disrespect, I don’t mean this in a bad way, but probably didn’t play on as good of a team. Was impressive with his skillset in person.”
UK also did a solid job in the Commonwealth, signing five players from the state, including Montavin Quisenberry, the winner of the Paul Hornung Award for being the best high school football player in Kentucky in 2024.
Overall, Kentucky signed a solid class that should help the Cats bounce back from a subpar season. There seem to be contributors at a number of positions, and some could be on the field sooner rather than later.
