Successful Juco Class Could be a Key to the Season

This could be the most successful Juco class of football players that UK has had since they have been tapping into the ranks. They are being counted on by many to bolster us on the defensive side of the ball, as well as at the WR spot. Both Chris Matthews and DeQuin Evans are in the Top 20 of all Juco’s and Crawford ranks in the Top 100. Here is a rundown of the kids.

2009- 2-4 Stars From the JUCO RANKS!

Chris Matthews WR 6-5 210 4 STAR ****
Mark Crawford DT 6-1 305 3 STAR ***
DeQuin Evans DE 6-2 275 4 STAR ****

 
Chris Matthews is the highest rated juco signed by UK this year and perhaps ever. He has a measured skill set that exceeds anything we’ve seen in the Juco Ranks for some time. I don’t think it will take a long time for him to develop, since unlike Stevie Johnson, he is not coming into a great receiving corps to start the season.

Has great hands, and just outruns people catching the football. He is going to make the UK QB job much easier. Caught 80 balls last year and is the second rated Juco WR by Rivals, behind Halo Carpenter…., AND, from a raw athletic standpoint…, How many 6’5 210lb receivers will UK have this year who run 4.4 forties?

My hunch is that Matthews locks down one wide spot, and will be very good in short order. Randall Cobb will play the slot, and the other WR spot goes to Lanxter.

We received an interesting quote  from Los Angeles Harbor College Coach Brett Peabody about Chris, “Chris is probably the best junior-college wide receiver in the country,” Peabody said. “He lives up to the saying that ‘big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.’ He can beat you short, he can beat you deep, he can beat you across the middle.”

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Mark Crawford was one of the nation’s top 100 junior college prospects at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College after making 41 tackles and getting 6.5 quarterback sacks last year. He only played two years of high school football in Indianapolis, one reason he redshirted his first year at Coffeyville. Certainly UK is not taking this Juco out of desperation like they were a few years ago when they were coming through the probation.

By all accounts Crawford is looking good and making strides at the DT position: “I am adjusting real well. It is a new experience with coach Petri teaching me how to play better and teaching me stuff I never knew in junior high or high school.”

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 DeQuin Evans: Defensive Ends are sorely needed, a known fact, and “DE”, as I’ll be calling Dequin Evans, needs to hit the ground running. Watch him on film and you see what amounts to a man among boys. Now granted that wasn’t SEC competition, but the film says a lot about what type of player we are getting. Simply stated, I don’t think we have seen a Defensive Juco player who looked any better than DE did on film.

Making up the loss of a Jeremy Jarmon may be a daunting task,  therefore this makes it even more important that someone from our stable of players at the Defensive End position step up and make a big splash there. DE  has all the tools. Evans (6-2, 275) is rated the No. 15 junior college prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, as well as one of our 4 Star athletes. He was a teammate of Chris Matthews. Did I mention he ran a 4.6 forty according to Scout…That is truly smoking for a man his size! GBB!!!

UK BIG 7 set to make Waves This Year in SEC Football

Here are 7 players that methinks might be difference makers for this year’s UK squad, in no particular order, except for the #1 slot. I’m sure you have your own 7, more or less, so feel free to add or subtract….:)

7. Danny Trevathan: From his coach Chuck Smith, “Trevathan is athletic, fast, and physical. He looks to be a future star. He’s not started a game yet, but once he gets a taste of SEC play and progresses like I think he will, he has a chance to be one of the great linebackers at Kentucky.” Danny runs very fast and hits very hard, two attributes that a LB must have. Danny returned a kick 31 yards in Spring Game…A linebacker!

6. Winston Guy: A physical specimen who said that he really did not understand what it took to be an SEC type player when he arrived on campus last fall. Rich Brooks has called Guy the most talented defensive back he’s signed at Kentucky. Guy looked the part this spring at free safety. He is doing the work now and the possibilities are there for him to be one of the “Greats” at UK before he is done. Has that rare combination of size, 200+ lbs, and speed 4.4 forty… Back at his natural position at Safety he should make big waves this year.

5. Micah Johnson: Micah was Coach Brooks first high-profile recruit at UK. A bigger hitter at the middle spot you will not find. Just a man-child waiting for his draft numbers to go up. Had 11 tackles in the spring game.

4. Chris Matthews: Some of us like the outrageous numbers he has put up, not only catching a football, but his raw athletic ability. Has great hands, and just outruns people catching the football. He is going to make the UK QB job much easier. Caught 80 balls last year and is the second rated Juco WR by Rivals, behind Halo Carpenter…., AND, from a raw athletic standpoint…, How many 6’5 210lb receivers will UK have this year who run 4.4 forties? Nuff Said.

3. Dequin Evans: I had Jeremy Jarmon here, before it has been ruled that he is ineligible to play this year. This makes it even more important that someone from our stable of players at the Defensive End postion step up and make a big splash at that spot. Dequin has all the tools. Evans (6-2, 275) is rated the No. 15 junior college prospect in the nation by Rivals.com as well as one of our 4 Star athletes. He was a teammate of Chris Matthews. Did I mention he ran a 4.6 forty according to Scout…That is truly smoking for a man his size!

2. Randall Cobb: Talk about Mr. Everything, what can you say about him that has not been said? Joker says “If he is on the bus, you got a chance”. Look for him to excite the fans once again this year, as we break out the “Wildcat Package” and snap a few balls toward Randall. Remember he has a gun for a left arm, and out there in the flats he can see exactly where he is throwing.

1. Trevard Lindley: The quiet man. He lets his game speak for itself. Probably would have been selected before Jeremy and Micah in the NFL draft, he choose to come back for his senior season. Coach Rich Brooks says he is one that you can just “leave on an island” out in coverage and not worry about him.

JUCO RECRUITS PROJECT AS STARTERS

It is a rare thing when Juco come into a major college program such as UK’s and compete right away. You could ask Stevie Johnson, now a Pro, about the “learning curve” for SEC football. Knowing the difficulty adjusting to the level of play of a league like the SEC, most experts suggest that the Jucos don’t usually contribute until their Senior Year, hence the penchant of most schools to skip the Juco ranks. UK, however, is in a position of great need at the DT and WR spots and just happened to land two of the finest JUCO’s in the land

As it turns out, two of the last recruits that Rich Brooks and Co. Landed turned out to be the two highest rated kids in the entire UK recruiting class according to Rivals. They each land 4 Stars as does Ryan Mossakowski, AND with ratings of 5.9 to Ryan’s 5.8 are actually rated higher…but both rating falls into a range that includes the top 300 players in the country, with only the 5 star “franchise player” rating being higher….

The ratings are configured thusly using only twenty –five, 5 Star players around the country and 300-4 star prospects:

RATINGS 5.8 – 6.0

“All-American Candidate; high-major prospect; considered one of the nation’s top 300 prospects; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team”

Who are these young Juco lads that we signed and why are they so highly rated?

Dequin Evans (6-2, 275) is rated the No. 15 junior college prospect in the nation by Rivals.com and is a teammate of UK’s other 4 Star Recruit, Wide Out Chris Matthews 6’5” 210 4.5 Forty. Here is a tumbnail on both players:

DE DeQuin Evans- 6’2, 260, 4.6 40-

Evans is a talented Junior College defensive end, who if he manages to grasp the defense, should start opposite Jeremy Jarmon to open the season. At 6’2, 270 pounds and running a 4.6 40, Evans has all the pieces to be a force opposite Jarmon and DT Corey Peters who will both demand full focus from opposing offensive lines. His game is solid, the one concern is he is a JUCO who wasn’t able to enroll in January. That is a huge hindrance to the long and short term success of most junior college transfers. DeQuin looks to be a can’t miss prospect, but B.J. Parsons and Ernie Pelayo where also can’t miss prospects for the ‘Cats in the trenches. When you enroll late and miss that first spring practice of your playing career, sometimes that’s a mistake a JUCO player never gets over. With freshmen, it might slow them down, they might not fully understand the system, or the speed and effort needed every single snap in the SEC to be successful until late in their redshirt freshmen or true sophomore year. The same learning curve with a JUCO player would lead them to not understanding what it takes to win until they’ve already spent their eligibility. Evans has the tools, if he can come in and learn quickly, he could be a very productive member of what looks to be a stout defense in 2009. He should start his first year on campus, and should be considered the leader for the position ahead of Collins Ukwu and Donte Rumph.

Evans ended up deciding between Kentucky and Louisville. He also had scholarship offers from major Pac-10 and Big 12 schools, turning down offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Washington State, Oregon State, Kansas and Kansas State.*

^*kyink.com

Scout- 4* Rivals- 4*

WR Chris Matthews- 6’5, 210, 4.5 40-

Matthews is a big, physical WR that can catch in traffic, as well as posing a threat down the field. He also possesses very good speed. As a JUCO, he has shown he can run good routes and has good technique. With the well-documented struggles of UK’s WR corps in 2008, the ‘Cats need an impact guy. Can Matthews break the JUCO jinx and be that guy? In two years at junior college, he had 124 receptions for 1,935 yards and 19 touchdowns. As fans, we should remain cautiously optimistic with Chris. Had he been able to enroll in January, his chances of breaking out in his first year would have increased.

Signs with UK over offers from Washington and Oregon.

ESPN- Doesn’t Rank JUCO’s

Scout- 3*

Rivals- 4*

^kyink.com

I expect these two Juco lads will be counted on extensively next season as UK unfolds it’s Pro-Style Offense with Morgan Newton**, at the QB spot ( SEC games), throwing to Randall Cobb, the aforementioned Chris Matthews, Cyrus Lanxter, Aaron Boyd, Maurice Grinter, Terrell Mitchell and many more…

**Morgan is rated a 4 Star by Scout and a 3 by Rivals.

Signing day thoughts

Signing day is a couple of days behind us and I have some thoughts on our recruiting this year. Brooks and co did very well in filling our needs. Sure a couple of 5 star players would have helped our final recruiting rankings but the JUCO players we got will help us a lot. Chris Matthews is the #2 WR in JUCO football and we need help there badly. With both Ryan Mossakowski and Morgan Newton signing we filled another need QB.

Getting recruits from Texas as well as Georgia helps us now if coach can get his foot in the door with the Polynesians in Hawaii and on the west coast we could be looking at top 25 classes every year.

HS
Brian Adams, ATH Cumming, Ga.
Jordan Aumiller, TE Danville
Justin Bean, WR Tupelo, Miss.
Mister Cobble, DT Louisville
Jonathan George, RB Lincoln, Ala.
Qua Huzzie, LB LaGrange, Ga.
Tristian Johnson, DE LaGrange, Ga.
A. Kendrick, TE/WR Katy, Texas
LaRod King, WR Radcliff
Patrick Ligon, DE, Memphis, Tenn.
Demetri Merritt, LB LaGrange, Ga.
Kevin Mitchell, OL Douglasville, Ga.
Terrell Mitchell, TE Powder Springs, Ga.
Ryan Mosby, LB Rockwall, Texas
Ryan Mossakowski, QB Frisco, Texas
Martavius Neloms, DB Memphis, Tenn.
Morgan Newton, QB Carmel, Ind.
Donte Rumph, DE St. Matthews, S.C.
Donald Russell, RB Plm Bch Gardens, Fla.
Samuel Simpson, OL Lexington
Dakotah Tyler, RB Indianapolis
Jarvis Walker, LB Metairie, La.
Myron Walker, DT Metairie, La.
Larry Warford, OL Richmond
Ridge Wilson, LB Louisville

JC
Mark Crawford, DT Indianapolis
DeQuin Evans, DE Long Beach, Calif.
Chris Matthews, WR Los Angeles