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  • Horton's transfer another hit to highly touted 2014 class

    by
    Darrell KSR
    Published on 09-28-2016 11:42 PM
    1 Comment Comments
    By LARRY VAUGHT

    Kentucky's highly-touted 2014 football recruiting class has taken another hit -- but what else is new.

    Running back Mikel Horton of Ohio is no longer on the football team but will finish the semester at UK before transferring.

    Horton probably expected to be playing a lot this year after rushing for 318 yards on 82 carries as a sophomore and 306 yards as a freshman. He had played in every game as a freshman and sophomore. His best game came as a sophomore when he rushed for 109 yards on 14 carries and had 19 yards receiving against Tennessee. He also ran 13 times for 44 yards and caught two passes for 46 yards against Louisville last year.

    But Horton faded into nowhere because of the play of Boom Williams, which was expected, and Benny Snell, which was not expected. Williams has rushed for 464 yards this year while Snell has 209 yards and five touchdowns in the last two games. Horton has three carries for 12 yards and it was obvious he was not happy when he played late in the win over New Mexico State and wouldn't accept any congratulations from teammates.

    Kentucky's 2014 signing class had 28 players, including three junior college players no longer on the team. However, eight players had already transferred before Horton. They were Josh Krok, T.V. Williams, Jared Tucker, Jarrett LaRubbio, Darryl Long, Thaddeus Snodgrass, Dorian Hendrix and Nick Richardson.

    How good were they?

    — Thaddeus Snodgrass was a four-star receiver that was ranked higher than any receiver UK had ever signed. He never caught a pass at UK. T.V. Williams was a small, but explosive receiver from Texas who picked UK over Nebraska, Houston, Oregon State and Iowa.

    — Darryl Long was a three-star tight end who redshirted in 2014, played in 10 games last year and transferred before this season started without ever catching a pass. He was a three-star prospect and ranked as the 19th best tight end in the nation.

    — Linebacker Dorian Hendrix was the first verbal commitment in the 2014 class and credited along with quarterback Drew Barker for pulling the class together. He was ranked as the nation's 26th best inside linebacker.

    — Offensive lineman Josh Krok was ranked among the nation's top 40 tackles. Offensive lineman Nick Richardson was a four-star prospect ranked as the nation's 217th best overall prospect by Rivals.com. Jarrett LaRubbio was ranked as the 27th best guard in the country by Rivals.com.

    — Jared Tucker was a three-star defensive back who redshirted in 2014 and played in just three games in 2015 before transferring just before this season started.

    Then there is Horton. He was a consensus four-star player who was considered the No. 3 overall prospect in Ohio and 12th best running back in the nation b Rivals.com.

    So that's nine players out of the 2014 recruiting class who have transferred. Another signee, Lloyd Tubman, was dismissed from school. Quarterback Drew Barker, safety Darius West and receiver Dorian Baker are all out with injuries. All three have played well when healthy.

    So that's 16 members of the 2014 recruiting class who likely will not be available at Alabama Saturday unless Baker comes back after missing the last three games.

    The 2014 class has produced three stars for UK -- Williams, receiver Garrett Johnson and defensive back Mike Edwards. Three more -- defensive lineman Adrian Middleton, offensive lineman Bunchy Stallings and defensive back Kendall Randolph have been solid. Linebacker Nico Firios and defensive lineman Tymere Dubose have not yet played enough to say while receiver Blake Bone and defensive lineman Matt Elam have not matched their signing day hype.

    Maybe just looking at these numbers shows why Kentucky has struggled this season because its best ranked recruiting class just has not lived up to the signing day hype.
    1. Categories:
    2. Football
    Comments 12 Comments
    1. MickintheHam's Avatar
      MickintheHam - 09-28-2016, 08:09 AM
      It will be interesting to see how successful these guys are at their new places. Were they that good? Or, were they disillusioned once they arrived and went through camps and a season or two?
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR - 09-28-2016, 08:29 AM
      That's a great question, Mick. You know, I've been a pretty big fan of the recruiting services ratings of players, in general, as well as the "offer sheet" test. But if they're not succeeding to that level at Kentucky, OR at "New School U.," it certainly makes you think that these particular players weren't the ones so accurately rated. And that may very well be the case, and probably is.

      I think you made the observation some time ago that the ratings often do not consider the character of the recruit, which is at least as equal in importance as the raw abilities. While I'm not trying to demean any of the players who left, that has to be a consideration (and possible explanation, too).
    1. Doc's Avatar
      Doc - 09-28-2016, 08:43 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Darrell KSR View Post
      That's a great question, Mick. You know, I've been a pretty big fan of the recruiting services ratings of players, in general, as well as the "offer sheet" test. But if they're not succeeding to that level at Kentucky, OR at "New School U.," it certainly makes you think that these particular players weren't the ones so accurately rated. And that may very well be the case, and probably is.

      I think you made the observation some time ago that the ratings often do not consider the character of the recruit, which is at least as equal in importance as the raw abilities. While I'm not trying to demean any of the players who left, that has to be a consideration (and possible explanation, too).
      Rankings are usually accurate but not always. Yes, they don't take character into account nor do they consider team needs or how the player fits within a team. Horton got outplayed, plain and simple. On a team without Williams and Snell, odds are he plays a large amount of snaps and puts up good numbers. Team need is my biggest beef with those who look only at recruiting numbers.
    1. Bakert's Avatar
      Bakert - 09-28-2016, 08:51 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Darrell KSR View Post
      I think you made the observation some time ago that the ratings often do not consider the character of the recruit, which is at least as equal in importance as the raw abilities.
      A poster child for that might be Tony Brown at Bama. Came in as the #2 cornerback in the country and while he has amazing talent, other issues have minimized his impact.

      But guess what? He will be playing his first game of the season this Saturday after a four game suspension.
    1. KSRBEvans's Avatar
      KSRBEvans - 09-28-2016, 08:56 AM
      Yahtzee!
    1. ETWNAPPEL's Avatar
      ETWNAPPEL - 09-28-2016, 10:53 AM
      Another factor is the staff's ability to develop players. How much of that is in play here?
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat - 09-28-2016, 11:03 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by KSRBEvans View Post
      Yahtzee!
    1. Doc's Avatar
      Doc - 09-28-2016, 11:56 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by KSRBEvans View Post
      Yahtzee!
      More like "Craps"

    1. catmanjack's Avatar
      catmanjack - 09-28-2016, 06:07 PM
      Was wondering if there was a list showing where these players transferred to.
    1. catmanjack's Avatar
      catmanjack - 09-28-2016, 06:07 PM
      Player development has been poor to very poor under Stoops.
    1. CitizenBBN's Avatar
      CitizenBBN - 09-28-2016, 06:32 PM
      Hey, let's leave the best game of chance in human history out of this.

      The class has had some obvious disappointments, and that's worth questioning, but I think in Horton's case he was simply recruited over. Boom really locked down the primary role, Kemp has had huge moments that earned him time in the past, and Snell is leg churning dynamo who simply took those snaps away.

      Of all the issues with that class this IMO is the most understandable and honestly the one that reflects the least bad on the staff.
    1. Catfan73's Avatar
      Catfan73 - 09-28-2016, 06:49 PM
      I think you have to expect that some highly rated recruits just won't pan out, and some others not so highly coveted will turn out to be pretty good. On a whole though I think the recruiting ratings are a pretty good barometer of talent on a team, but one would have to keep up with all the transfers out (and in) to use them for much. And as Doc said they don't take need into account. Most of the SEC is built around the line of scrimmage.

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