Ben Duncum with UK coach Mark Stoops, defensive line coach Anwar Stewart, defensive coordinator Brad White and his family on his official visit this month to UK. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky got a future weapon for defensive line coach Anwar Stewart when Austin, Texas, edge rusher Ben Duncum verbally committed to the Wildcats Wednesday.
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Duncum is a three-star recruit who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.84 seconds and has an 81-inch wingspan. The Lake Travis High School standout had 65 tackles, 20 quarterback hurries, 15 tackles for loss, 4 quarterback sacks and two fumble recoveries last season.
Duncum picked Kentucky over Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Wisconsin and others and is a top 100 defensive lineman in his recruiting class based on the 247Sports ratings.
“Kentucky was the best fit for me, and they have lots of opportunities and plans for me,” Ben Duncum tells A Sea of Blue. “I was ready to commit the second night after talking with all the players (on his recent visit). They are a great group of guys, but I wanted to wait until a little later to make sure all the meetings went well.”
He also said that defensive coordinator Brad White told him early in his recruitment that he was No. 1 on UK’s recruiting list — and showed him proof of that.
Duncum told Lee Anne Herring Olvedo of UK Wildcats Wire that the opportunity to play early and the defensive scheme were key factors in where he would play his college football. After his visit, he also told her about UK showing him proof he was their No 1 defensive line target.
“I think the staff and opportunity they have for me is why I chose them; I fit very well into their scheme,” Duncum told Olvedo after his commitment. “I’m excited to be a game changer for UK. I want to come in and be part of bringing Kentucky back to a winning season.”
He is the third player from Texas in the 2026 recruiting class to commit to UK, joining receiver Davis McCray and cornerback Isaiah McMillian.
Kentucky now has 11 commitments in the 2026 class — Georgia receiver Dallas Dickerson committed on Tuesday. Other commits are cornerback Jordan Crutchfield, safety Messiah Tilson, receiver Prince Jean, tackle Cameron Miller, linebacker Max Mohring, running back Delvecchio “Deuce” Alston II and tight end Lincoln Watkins.
2 Responses
Notice that Stoops has had lot of commitments since Vince left. We were setting on one commitment for a long time.
I’m starting to think it was time for Marrow to move on anyway. It actually seems like we are doing a better job on the recruiting trail without him. Don’t be fooled there isn’t much of a difference between a low 4* and a high 3*. In fact you might get a smaller ego from the 3* guy. In football more than any other sport if every single player on the field isn’t on the same page it won’t work. It only takes one missed assignment to ruin the team. I think this staff are going after guys who want to redshirt there first year and get bigger and more sec ready. Plus we need to make Texas a big part of our recruiting. Ohio Texas and the north east we should dominate. We also need to keep the pipeline in Kentucky. This year is pretty much over for the state Louisville has already picked through it. We need to get started on next year already. We have to win the state of Kentucky in recruiting. We dominated recruiting in Kentucky the last 7-8 years. The 2024 class and 2025 class we dominated the state of Kentucky so we have plenty of home state kids now its time to go after the best of the best.