Deone Walker picked UK over Michigan and Georgia. (Rivals.com Photo)
Kentucky landed 11 players that were rated four-star or five-star signees Wednesday on national signing day and two of the last-minute additions were four-star defensive lineman Deone Walker of Michigan and four-star athlete Kobi Albert of Alabama.
Walker could have picked Georgia, Michigan or a lot of other schools. He is the No. 11 player in Michigan and No. 23 defensive tackle in the nation in the Rivals.com rankings. The 6-7, 356-pound Walker has the size and athleticism elite defensive linemen must have in the SEC.
Albert ranks among the top 20 “athletes” in the 2022 recruiting class. He is the No. 12 prospect in Alabama and played both receiver and defensive back. He had verbally committed to Auburn before flipping to UK.
I wondered which signee was bigger for UK football, so I asked CBSSports NFL draft writer and UK football recruiting writer for Cats Pause/247Sports which was the biggest.
“I think it is bigger getting Walker because it is more difficult to find quality players of his size,” said Edwards. “Kentucky knows what they are up against every time they take the field against other SEC teams.
“Fans have seen the discrepancy between UK and other teams when they did not have that size on their side. I like Albert’s game but there is a new wide receiver or defensive back that enters the transfer portal every day.”
True. Skills players are valuable and needed to win but finding a player with Walker’s size is not easy to do.
“Each situation says a lot about the state of Kentucky football. Albert is a very talented player. When his primary recruiter, (linebacker coach) Jon Sumrall, left, most believed that his recruitment was over from UK’s standpoint,” Edwards said. “For them to lean on their reputation and cultivate other relationships in such a short amount of time tells you how much trust recruits place in them.
“As for Walker, Steve Clinkscale went in and stole some quality players for UK in the past. When he left for Michigan, it seemed obvious that Walker would follow suit. (Offensive line coach) Eric Wolford carried on that message of family values and brought in the rest of the staff to hammer that home.
“It was a sound strategy and just another example of how UK’s actions are meeting its words.”
4 Responses
Great recruits, I say Walker will be a load, in time, at the nose tackle position with his size. This is turning out to be the best UK football class ever. The coaches deserve credit for this great accomplishment. Yeah, UK is well on it’s way to becoming a solid football school with this kind of class. It is not just about basketball all the time now. That is so good to see as a long time UK football fan. Go Cats!!!
I’m stoked about this years class I’ve been a UK fan for over 20 years and now I feel like we have a good chance of winning the east in a couple of years or so. Very thankful for coach Stoops, he knows what he’s doing, and for everybody who complains about UK football can just suck it up and follow another team. BOOOOUUHH!!!!!!
I am with you Ricky
I am a season ticket holder for 25 years now, I have never been more excited for a recruiting class than this one…..that 25 years and a dime won’t get me a cup of coffee. Go Big Blue.