TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: Stoops finishes his recruiting with a bang!

This is topic Stoops finishes his recruiting with a bang! in forum UK / NCAA Football at TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://www.thecatsdomain.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=009118

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 01-30-2014, 02:37 PM:

Great year of recruiting for Stoops and his staff. It will take a little time to get all these young recruits including Elam acclimated to SEC football but we should see improvement in a year and hopefully keep improving from that point on.

Mark Stoops saved the biggest for last.

The University of Kentucky football coach landed a signature recruiting victory on Thursday from massive John Hardin High School defensive tackle Matt Elam, who committed to the rebuilding, home-state Wildcats instead of national powerhouse Alabama.

The 6-foot-6, 380-pound Elam, whose size and mobility made him a target of many of the nation’s best teams, is UK’s 28th commitment in a 2014 class that Stoops has said will have 28 signees.

Elam was the Cats’ top defensive priority since at least last spring, and his commitment puts a cap on what is quite possibly the school’s best recruiting class ever.

Elam is a major prize, rated five stars and the nation’s No. 21 overall prospect by 247Sports.com – the first UK commitment to be rated five stars by a major recruiting website since Fort Campbell linebacker Micah Johnson in 2006. Elam is rated four stars by ESPN.com and Scout.com and three stars by Rivals.com.

Elam, who is UK’s third U.S. Army All-American since Stoops was hired, figures to compete for playing time immediately as the Cats seek to replace departed senior tackles Donte Rumph and Mister Cobble.

Elam’s commitment is further evidence of UK’s recruiting prowess under Stoops, whose class is No. 13 nationally and has 10 four-star pledges, according to Rivals.com.

After a 2-10 season, the notion that the Cats could win a head-to-head recruiting battle with a juggernaut such as Alabama seems somewhat preposterous, especially considering that Alabama also made Elam a major priority from start to finish. He took an official visit to Tuscaloosa this month, and the Tide sent three assistant coaches to visit him Thursday morning before his announcement.

But the Cats pulled it off, just as they did last year in beating out Southern California for four-star Trinity High defensive end Jason Hatcher. Elam was also strongly recruited by Notre Dame, Ohio State, Louisville and Tennessee.

He made multiple visits to UK’s campus and developed close friendships with many members of UK’s recruiting class, a factor the Cats hoped would help sway Elam their way.

Link