How Ohio blue chips have performed at Kentucky

One of the first orders of business for Mark Stoops when he took over the Kentucky football program was to get into Ohio and sign some prospects from one of the most talent-rich states in the country. Stoops quickly hired Vince Marrow and created a plan to recruit the Buckeye State.

That led to a ton of recruiting wins over the years.

When landing four-star recruits, the best chance UK had to sign players of this caliber out of their own state was by recruiting Ohio. Marrow led the charge and signed eight blue-chip recruits (top-300) from Ohio over 13 recruiting cycles. The Cats could add a ninth on Sunday when Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller quarterback Matt Ponatoski makes his decision.

Just how have Ohio blue-chips performed at Kentucky? We’re taking a closer look. Using the Rivals Industry Ranking, Ponatoski will be the first four-star quarterback to join the program but other positions on both offense and defense have had success in Lexington.

Kentucky’s Ohio blue chips

Darius West (4-star, No. 266 overall): The Lima (Ohio) Central Catholic safety was one of many Ohio recruiting wins in the 2014 cycle along with Mike Edwards and Dorian Baker. West developed into playmaking safety on the 2018 defense who ended his UK career with 24 starts, 189 tackles, and four interceptions.

Lynn Bowden (4-star, No. 241 overall): The four-star recruit out of Youngstown spent three seasons in the Kentucky program from 2018-20 before becoming a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Bowden finished his career with 114 receptions and two punt return touchdowns, but made his biggest impact when UK moved him to full-time quarterback in 2019. Bowden rushed for 1,468 yards and 13 touchdowns in a eight-game run and won the Paul Hornung Award along with receiving consensus first-team All-American honors.

Darian Kinnard (4-star, No. 249 overall): The Knoxville native played at Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius and was a strong recruiting win for Kentucky in the 2018 cycle. Kinnard would spend four seasons at Kentucky before becoming a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The offensive tackle started games as a true freshman and earned consensus All-American honors as a senior. Kinnard was a stalwart for UK at right tackle for multiple years.

Chris Oats (4-star, No. 271 overall): The Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods product signed with UK in the 2018 cycle and immediately played a role as a true freshman. Oats recorded 73 tackles over two seasons and was well on his way to potential stardom before a medical issue forced the talented off-ball linebacker to retire from football.

Michael Drennen II (4-star, No. 253 overall): Kentucky secured a commitment from the Dublin (Ohio) Coffman skill talent prospect in the 2020 cycle but Drennen would spend just three seasons with the SEC program before transferring to Toledo. The prospect played both running back and wide receiver at UK but could never find a permanent positional home.

Alex Afari Jr. (4-star, No. 248 overall): Kentucky beat out Cincinnati for the top-250 recruit out of West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West. Afari earned three starts as a true freshman playing a hybrid linebacker/nickel position through his first two years on campus. UK moved Afari to off-ball linebacker in 2024 and is expected to open the season as a starter in 2025. Afari has played in 38 career games and has recorded 132 tackles through three seasons in the program.

Brian Robinson (4-star, No. 128 overall): After winning a highly competitive recruitment against Michigan and Penn State, Robinson enrolled at Kentucky in 2024 and took a redshirt year. The second-year player will compete for a rotation spot on the defensive line this season.

Terhyon Nichols (4-star, No. 208 overall): The Cincinnati native played in eight games as a true freshman and made some competitive plays in coverage against SEC competition. Nichols could become a full-time starter as a sophomore.

A strong hit rate

Kentucky has had some recruiting misses in Ohio but they simply have not occurred when the Cats are signing top-300 prospects out of the Buckeye State. Michael Drennen II was the only player to leave the program. Lynn Bowden Jr. and Darian Kinnard both became college stars and draft picks after carving out immediate roles as rookies. Chris Oats, Alex Afari Jr., and Terhyon Nichols were also productive first-year players who put themselves in position to be a starter in year two.

The program’s track record is strong here. Matt Ponatoski will be the first quarterback in this group but the recent trends tell us that Ohio blue chips are a safe bet to become good players at Kentucky.

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