The University of Kentucky football team has five commitments and the University of Louisville has two included in ESPN.com‘s updated rankings of the nation’s top 300 players in the 2014 class. All seven of those players are rated four-stars.
UK commitments in the rankings
No. 89 Denzel Ware, DE, Crestview, Fla. (No. 9 DE)
No. 160 Drew Barker, QB, Hebron, Ky. (No. 6 QB, pocket passing)
No. 191 Thaddeus Snodgrass, WR, Springfield, Ohio (No. 26 WR)
No. 211 Stanley Williams, RB, Monroe, Ga. (No. 16 RB)
No. 258 Darius West, CB, Lima, Ohio (No. 21 CB)
ESPN.com also ranks Florida linebacker/UK commit Nico Firios (No. 19 ILB) four-stars but outside of the top 300.
U of L commitments in the rankings
No. 250 Isaiah Ford, WR, Jacksonville, Fla. (No. 34 WR)
No. 289 Daniel Gresham, FB, Forth Worth, Texas (No. 1 FB)
Note: U of L’s Gresham was recruiting to play running back, not fullback.
Outside of the top 300, ESPN also has given four-star ratings to U of L commitments DeSean Blair (No. 44 WR), Kavaris Harkless (No. 21 OT) and Michael Johnson (No. 22 safety). Rivals.com, by contrast, has rated only one U of L commitment – Cincinnati safety Nilijah Ballew – four-stars.
UK’s class is ranked No. 14 by ESPN, and U of L is No. 22.
Another note: ESPN.com rates John Hardin defensive tackle Matt Elam – a top target of UK and U of L – four stars and outside the top 300. He is the No. 37 defensive tackle by that site. He is much more highly regarded on 247Sports.com, which gives Elam five-stars and ranks him the nation’s No. 10 player overall.
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