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UK, Phillips pull down respectable recruiting class

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By Brian Rickerd
February 4, 2010

LEXINGTON – A couple of weeks ago some publications rated Joker Phillips’ first recruiting class as the UK football coach 12th and last among Southeastern Conference schools.


But as Phillips said several times on signing day Wednesday, recruiting is a never-ending battle, and it appears a last minute rush by Phillips and his staff has made the outlook for his first class considerably brighter. The list probably falls somewhere between good to very good. It’s ranked 49th in the nation by one recruiting service, though still near the bottom of the SEC.


Phillips announced the signing of 26 players Wednesday, and as many as a half dozen of those committed only in the last 24 to 48 hours.


Two of the big name, late signees were two of the few top quality in-state kids this time around – Louisville Central linebacker Tim Patterson (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) and Simon Kenton running back Miles Simpson (6-2, 210). UK withstood a late rush by the hometown Louisville Cardinals and new coach Charley Strong to get Patterson, who’s rated the No. 1 prospect in the state by Rivals.com and SuperPrep.


Simpson was hush-hush about his future until finally signing with Kentucky on Wednesday, choosing the Wildcats over Illinois and Indiana.


“When I was introduced as head coach we talked about how important recruiting would be in the next month that we had, and I also introduced Operation Win, and the first phase of that is recruiting,” Phillips said Wednesday. “We just finished up a strong 2010 class. And a lot of things happened in the last 24 to 48 hours, so we feel good about it and how it ended up.


“We filled not only some things we were looking for, but we added some size and speed and athleticism. We’ve added to the overall team speed and size with this class.”


Central’s Patterson is a rangy linebacker with good height and sub-4.7 speed in the 40. He made 92 tackles as a senior but missed the state playoffs with an injury.


“This guy can really deliver a blow, always seems to be in the right position at the right time, takes great angles to get there, and once he gets there, look out,” says recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of Patterson.


Simpson, meanwhile, put up some eye-popping numbers at Simon Kenton. A smooth, powerful runner, he notched 2,227 yards and scored 41 touchdowns as a senior.


“He’s a dominating high school back whose talent screams big time,” Lemming says of Simpson.


“He’s the big back type of back we feel you have to have in the SEC,’’ Phillips said of Simpson. “He can catch the ball out of the backfield, and he can also get his shoulders down and punish people.”


Simpson is one of four running backs Kentucky signed that scream big time promise.


Phillips and his staff also went into Miami, Fla., and got highly touted runner Brandon Gainer, a 5-11, 200 pounder. ESPN.com rates Gainer the 15th best running back in the country – a four star prospect. He rushed for 1,644 yards as a junior and over 1,000 as a senior.


“He has good size, quickness and durability,” Lemming says of Gainer.


Said Phillips: “He’s a big, physical back who can hold up in this league for 12, 13 games.”


But there are at least two other running backs who show great promise in this class – Raymond Sanders, one of three signess from Stephenson High in Stone Mountain, Ga., and Jerrell Priester, an “athlete” from Ulmer, S.C.


Sanders is just 5-8, 175 pounds. Phillips admits when he first met Sanders, he groaned at Sanders’ smallish size.


“Then I saw him play on ESPN before our Auburn game, and I was getting pats on the back from all these other college coaches, saying, ‘Man, you got yourself a steal!’” Phillips said, calling Sanders a cross between Mark Higgs and Derrick Locke.


“Randy has big legs, a big rear end, and the big quads you have to have to be a tailback in this league,” Phillips added. “And he has a Wesley Woodyard kind of attitude. He’s the kind of guy who can change your team for the better.”


Priester, meanwhile, is listed not by position, but as “athlete’’ on UK’s signing list. Priester is also smallish at 5-9, 170, but is blazing fast. He was second in the state of South Carolina in the 100 meters last spring. His 40 time is listed as 4.31. He rushed for 1,300 yards as a senior, averaging more than 10 yards a carry. Priester could also play defensive back at UK.


Another notable on the signing list is Alex Smith, a prototype tight end prospect from Lakota West High in Cincinnati. Smith is 6-5, 255 pounds. He’s already a great blocker, and he’s also a good receiver, with good speed and good hands. When Phillips officially took the UK job a month ago, his first visit was to Smith.


“I went into his home and he started bringing out his Kentucky gear, and asked me to sign it,” Phillips said, smiling. “He’s always wanted to come to Kentucky and play either football or basketball.


Phillips said he signed the UK gear with a message attached.


“I wrote, ‘Live out your dream. I am,’” Phillips said.


There are numerous other prospect for 2010 who could turn out great (“We wouldn’t sign them if we didn’t think they could contribute,” Phillips said.), but the last one I’ll mention for now is placer kicker/punter Joe Mansour from LaGrange, Ga.

Earlier this past football season when fans were grumbling about Kentucky’s kicking game, then coach Rich Brooks said at one point, “I can’t talk about recruiting now, but next year our kicking problem will be SOLVED.”


He was referring to Mansour, who is a first-team All America among medium size high schools. Mansour kicked field goals of 59, 56 and 52 yards this past season.


“His 59-yarder would have been good from 69,” Phillips said.


Mansour also punts for an average of 42.7 yards per try, and he a good, all around athlete with 4.4 speed.


“So I’m just alerting everybody you might see some fakes,” Phillips said. “He’s as fast as a lot of our wide receivers, so we’ll be creative with him because there are some other things he can do for us.”


Notably absent from this recruiting class for UK are wide receivers and quarterbacks. The Wildcats have good depth at both of those spots for now.


“Next year we’ll go heavy (in recruiting) on the offensive line,” Phillips said. “We’re always trying to get defensive linemen, corners will be a high priority and a couple of wide receivers, and we’ll try to find a quarterback in this next class, also.”




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