Linebacker Trevin Wallace is the highest rated player in UK's 2021 recruiting class after signing with the Wildcats Wednesday. (Lyndsey Gouch/WTOCSports Photo)
Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops is not one to embellish when he talks about players, especially signees before they get on campus or even play a game. That’s why everyone better pay attention to what Stoops said in a release Wednesday after Georgia linebacker Trevin Wallace signed with UK.
“Trevin is as talented an inside linebacker as we have recruited here,” Stoops said. “He jumps off the tape as you watch film. He’s the type of athlete with the potential to make an immediate impact.”
Get the “immediate impact” comment. That’s very, very, very unusual for Stoops to be that bold in assessing any player but the 6-2, 220-pound Wallace is that good. He’s a four-star prospect by all national recruiting analysts and was ranked as the sixth-best player in Georgia in the 2021 recruiting class. He played every down all season at linebacker and had 96 tackles, 12 tackles for loss five quarterback sacks, three forced fumbles, and one interception.
He rushed 78 times for 910 yards and seven touchdowns and had 10 catches for 79 receiving yards. In his final high school game, he ran for 382 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries when he started at quarterback and played every snap on offense, defense, and special teams.
I also like that Wallace is on the track team and participates in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, 110-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, and shot put. That type of versatility is what a dominant high school athlete should have.
He’s also not a big social media person. His latest tweet still had him committed to Boston College months ago before he changed his mind and has now UK over Auburn, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Florida State.
Kentucky took a hit when 2020 leading tackler Jamin Davis opted to put his name into the NFL draft but Wallace — even as a true freshman — could be a playmaker to help and apparently talked with Davis before making his decision. Assistant coach Jon Sumrall gets the credit for persuading Wallace to pick UK just like he did last year when top 200 national recruit Josiah Hayes stunned many by signing with UK and not home-state Mississippi.
Rivals.com has Wallace rated as the nation’s 19th best high school linebacker and his 247Sports composite rating makes him the 15th best player to sign with UK since 2000 when the composite rankings started. He’s the eighth-highest rated recruit to sign with Mark Stoops in his nine years at UK and the highest-rated player in this 2021 signing class.
He was only a three-star prospect as a junior but played in only four games because of injuries.
