Top JUCO OL commits to Kentucky

The University of Kentucky football team picked up an important recruiting commitment Saturday from highly regarded junior-college offensive tackle Tate Leavitt during his visit to Lexington, bolstering what was already an elite offensive line class for the Wildcats.

The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Leavitt, who attends Hutchinson College in Kansas and is originally from Thornville, Ohio, picked UK over Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri and Texas Tech primarily, but his powerhouse list of scholarship offers also included Alabama, Auburn, Nebraska, TCU, Louisville.

"Getting a guy like Leavitt, who’s more physically mature and has college experience and has a lot of the qualities you want in a Power 5 prospects, is big for them," said 247Sports.com analyst JC Shurburtt, whose site has not yet rated Leavitt. "What they’re doing helps both the immediate future and the long-term future of your program."

Leavitt is UK's 20th commitment in the 2016 class and another top-notch addition to the Wildcats' future offensive line. UK already has high school pledges from four-star U.S. Army All-Americans Drake Jackson and Landon Young on the O-line as well as three-star Ohio lineman Luke Fortner. In addition, Ohio State guard Marcelys Jones, a former high school All-American, is transferring to UK and will be eligible in 2016.

“It’s huge, especially when you’re going to do what Kentucky wants to on offense," said Shurburtt, whose site ranks Jackson the No. 72 overall senior in 2016 and Young No. 98. "The teams that run Kentucky’s style and are successful - (Texas) A&M, Auburn - the tempo teams that are successful against those defensive fronts in the Southeastern Conference usually have a common denominator, and that’s a great offensive line."

"... I thought (Young) was potentially special (as a rising sophomore), and I still do. Drake is probably better now, but not by much. Landon in a couple of years could be an absolute stud, a potential All-American. So you have that to look forward to, plus Drake and now Leavitt. It’s a terrific offensive line class.”

UK's class figures to rise to No. 12 nationally in Rivals.com team rankings once Leavitt is counted. The class is No. 17 in 247's composite rankings.

Leavitt continues UK's success in recruiting players from Ohio, the home state of Stoops and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow. The Cats landed a transfer commitment on Friday from University of Minnesota linebacker DeNiro Laster, also an Ohio native.

Stoops and Marrow have also picked up 27 high school recruits from Ohio in their first four classes, including 11 in 2016.

Jones and recent University of Nebraska transfers Courtney Love and Greg Hart are from Ohio, too.

LIKE THE CATS HQ FACEBOOK PAGE AND SHARE THIS STORY