VAUGHT: Knight-Goff just not interested in playing football

By LARRY VAUGHT

When Louisville Butler receiver Jordan Watkins committed to Kentucky I heard about the talent and potential he had to be a big-time playmaker for Kentucky. When he recently de-committed, suddenly I was told by many that UK really didn't have a spot for him and had moved on.

When news broke that freshman linebacker Shawn'Kel Knight-Goff of Louisville Doss had left the UK football team, the scuttlebutt was that UK only signed him because of his "potential" and he was more of a reach than anything in the the 2019 recruiting class.

Obviously I have no idea what is right and wrong. It's just strange how when a player picks a school, he's talented. When he leaves a school or changes his mind, the perception changes to he just wasn't all that good after all.

With Knight-Goff, though, it's a totally different scenario as Kentucky coach Mark Stoops explained Monday after KSR's Matt Jones broke the news Sunday that he was no longer on the team.

"Shawn'Kel checked out a couple, maybe, oh, two or three weeks ago or so," Stoops said. "Told me he was very much not interested in playing football anymore. He said he lost the motivation and the desire to play the game."

Wow. He had not played in a game at UK in his first season and obviously must have felt overwhelmed the time demands or something to "check out" on the program. Stoops said he wasn't sure if he had ever had a player do that before or not.

"I really like him. He's a great person, really good kid, great family, just want him to be successful," Stoops said. "He told me just he wanted to go to school, but I have to try to help motivate him in that area, too.

"But he wasn't interested in pursuing football anymore."