A guide to Kentucky football recruiting before early signing period

Vince Marrow likes to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd during long drives on the recruiting trail. When day turns to night, he often queues up sermons by Dr. Tony Evans, T. D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer.

In the weeks leading up to college football’s early signing period (Dec. 21-23), Kentucky’s recruiting coordinator deserves to add another song to his road trip playlist: Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere.”

“I’ve been in, man, probably over 30 schools within a week,” Marrow told The Courier Journal on Dec. 14. “I’ve been in Detroit; I’ve been in Cleveland; I’ve been in Pittsburgh; I’ve been in Kentucky … I mean, just all over.”

After watching several members of UK’s incoming class play in state championships to wrap up the 2022 season, Marrow has a good feeling about the recruits who will begin putting pen to paper this week. But another place in the ever-changing landscape of college sports is demanding his attention: the NCAA transfer portal.

Marrow said he approaches the portal the same way NFL front offices handle free agency. It giveth (Will Levis and Wan’Dale Robinson) and, this past Friday, it taketh away (Kiyaunta Goodwin).

Kentucky football recruiting:These players have committed to the Wildcats’ 2023 recruiting class

“I still believe, just like through the (NFL) draft, you build your team through recruiting high school kids,” he said. “You build that culture, and then you bring in guys that you might have recruited before they went somewhere else — and now they want to come back.

“When you’re putting this class together, we’re going to draft (Dec. 21), and then we’re going after the draft and getting four or five unrestricted free agents.”

Kentucky has already made progress on that front, scoring two experienced offensive linemen (Tanner Bowles and Marques Cox) and two defensive backs: Ohio State’s Jantzen Dunn and Cincinnati’s Jonquis “JQ” Hardaway. Another potential acquisition, former Vanderbilt tailback Re’Mahn “Ray” Davis, visited Lexington over the weekend and signs are pointing to him joining the Wildcats.

Kiyaunta Goodwin:Kentucky offensive lineman, former star prospect, enters transfer portal

And then there’s the matter of replacing Levis, a projected first-round NFL draft pick, at quarterback. Reports have tied Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz and NC State’s Devin Leary to the vacancy, but neither player has made a formal announcement; and Marrow on Dec. 14 said there’s still more work to be done.