When you are a KY football coach you have to come to the realization that it is a tough job. Regardless of where you play football you simply don’t win without talent and recruiting is the lifeblood of every program. There is no other football conference as competitive as the SEC and the state of KY produces fewer D1 prospects then every other state that comprises the SEC conference. KY simply isn’t at a point where it can lure the best of the best HS talent to play for the Cats and there isn’t much home grown talent to pick from.Therefore, just like the Oakland As and in the movie Money Ball, KY coaches have to find a non-traditional way to get it done on the recruiting trail. The trick is finding under valued talent that can get the job done. When Joker was hired the first thing he did was build his staff with recruiters and coaches that had contacts with HS coaches they could trust. The key is to get on kids early and get them to February. We won’t know the full results for several years, but overall this was one of the deeper classes in KY history and very well could have been our best class in decades. This is the first blog breaking down the recruits in a little more detail and in-depth perspective about their recruitment.
The most important position on the football field is quarterback and KY signed two kids they really wanted. Both do different things but they both add important pieces to the puzzle.
Patrick Towles 6’5 242 LBS 4 star QB
Towles brings everything you want to the position of QB. He is big, he is mobile and he has both a powerful and accurate arm. He also brings all of the intangibles. He has great leadership skills as shown by the fact he was the first recruit to fax in his LOI. He is a winner as shown by his multiple state championships and he has the pedigree, his grandfather is HOF pitcher and US Senator Jim Bunning. The kid simply has everything you could possible want in a scholarship athlete.
About his recruitment-Towles father and uncle graduated from the University of KY and he grew up a lifelong UK fan. Former UK QB J. Lorenzen coached him and there was very little doubt that he would be a wildcat. His recruitment ended early and Towles never waivered, not when UK struggled and not when other high profile teams like Arkansas came calling. This kid bleeds blue but Joker and Sanders proved they were worthy of his trust and commitment.
When will we see him? Like any first year college athlete it would be best to have him redshirt but I don’t think that will happen. Joker wants Towles to be the face of the program and frankly he has the physical skills and maturity to handle the position as a FR. What he doesn’t have is the experience of playing in a highly competitive HS conference. It will be a huge adjustment in complexity and speed so it will take time to adjust. Nonetheless, UK has some questions at QB both in terms of performance and health. Add in the fact that UK’s line is highly suspect at the OT position and its very likely we will see the need for more then one QB play. Preferable or not, I think Towles sees the field next year even though he has to wait until fall camp to get his first practice.
Jalen Whitlow 6’3 210 LBS QB/ATH
Whitlow solves a huge need for KY addig a legit running QB who can run and execute the Wildcat package. KY simply has to have the right fit and outside of Roark, UK really didn’t have anyone that could run the package the way UK needed it run. Whitlow gives KY that type of talent. Similar to Towels, Whitlow brings all the leadership skills you could want in a QB. He is intelligent, he works like no other and he instantly is one of the most explosive athletes on the team.
About his recruitment-Although Whitlow committed late UK had followed him for about a year. Sometimes when you are a school like KY you have to be sneaky with your recruitment. KY loved this kid all along but didn’t want to show our hand early and while some other positions had to be filled first UK was in a battle with Ole Miss and Arkansas State to secure his signature. Malzahn went so far as to have Cam Newton to call him to discuss how playing for him would benefit his development. I’m not sure the Ark State coach factored in, however, that Tee Martin coached Cam Newton and in the end Newton had to sing his praises as well.
When will we see him? I think we see him the first game as long as he develops. KY needs to be able to run some wildcat package and Whitlow can do it and I think he can do it well. He is talented enough to play some WR as well but expect to see UK get him worked in early focusing on the wildcat package similar to what you saw from M. Roark in the TN game. Hopefully when the same results.
questions surrounding Kentucky's game versus Tennessee this Saturday. Like, will this be Joker Phillips last game as head coach of Kentucky? Will Maxwell Smith start after being injured Saturday at Georgia. And most importantly, will this be the year that the streak finally ends.
are of success on the field while wearing the Blue and White jersey. Couch compiled enough passing yards and touchdowns to be ranked third in UK history at the quarterback spot. His talent earned him a number one pick in the NFL draft to the Cleveland Browns.
chool. The four star quarterback was UK's highest rated qb since Tim Couch. Morgan Newton had the fan base a buzzing. During his freshman year, he won 5 of 8 games after Mike Hartline went down. He led UK when they knocked off Auburn on the road and to the Music City Bowl. In his sophomore season he got to play in UK's bowl game against Pitt.
think back 4-5 years to remember that KY’s recruiting was basically on life support.
LSU Tigers. The Wildcats will need to be at their best if they hope to knock off the number one team in the nation.
essee. The Gators beat the Vols 33-23 in the Swamp. They have also knocked off UAB and Florida Atlantic.
e Cardinals invade Lexington tomorrow night. Kentucky will try to hand Louisville their fifth straight loss in the series between the two rivalries with a victory in front of their home crowd. Both teams have played two games so let's look at how the two teams will match up Saturday. 
