University of Kentucky football got the commitment of four players, two of them hailing from in-state, over the weekend.
On Saturday, wide receiver and defensive back Jordan Watkins of Butler (Louisville, Kentucky) and offensive lineman Joshua Jones of Central (Phenix City, Alabama) committed to the Wildcats.
The next day, two wide receivers — Izayah Cummings of Male (Louisville, Kentucky) and Earnest Sanders of joined them.
Getting these four commitments boosted Kentucky’s class to No. 29 in the nation, according to 247Sports rankings. The Wildcats are ranked No. 11 in the SEC by the recruiting site.
Here is a brief synopsis of the four players in chronological order of when they announced their commitments on Twitter:
Joshua Jones
Committed🔵⚪️🐯#BBN pic.twitter.com/jW5O6WSGk4
— Joshua Jones (@almightybugg) June 22, 2019
The 6-foot-4.5, 304-pound, three-star lineman committed to Kentucky on Saturday morning.
Jones told 247Sports several things attracted him to the program, including offensive line coach John Schlarman’s propensity to play most of the offensive linemen and the low crime rate in the city.
He also took note of Kentucky’s 10-3 record last year.
“With all of the stuff going on, with Coach Schlarman fighting cancer and for them to overcome that and go 10-3, that is amazing,” Jones told 247Sports. “Imagine if everyone was healthy and they had all of the coaches on the staff. They probably could have done even better than they did, maybe even went and played for the SEC Championship.”
Jordan Watkins
#COMMITTED #BBN pic.twitter.com/fM4Rv8vXXk
— Jordan Watkins ✞ (@jordantwatkins) June 22, 2019
The three-star athlete and No. 9 player in Kentucky chose to remain in-state.
Watkins played five games for Butler last year, catching four passes for 74 yards and a touchdown and getting four tackles, according to the Courier Journal.
He played at DeSales (Louisville, Kentucky) the year before and led the team with 742 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 91 carries, according to the Courier Journal, and posting 10 catches for 175 yards.
Earnest Sanders
#COMITTED #BBN pic.twitter.com/W0SBj18u5r
— 𝓔𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓢𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓘𝓥 🅱️💙 (@erniesands11) June 23, 2019
Sanders, a three-star wide receiver, announced his commitment on Sunday afternoon.
Kentucky has been impressive with its Michigan recruiting, nabbing Sanders and the No. 1 guy in the state, Justin Rogers. The Wildcats are also in the running for four-star Enzo Jennings, according to the Detroit Free Press.
In Sanders, Kentucky gets the No. 16 player in Michigan and the No. 90 wide receiver in the nation, according to the 247Sports composite.
Izayah Cummings
Commitment Video‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/KJBB0BZ2DI
— IC8✨ (@IzayahCummings) June 24, 2019
To close the weekend, in-state three-star wide receiver Izayah Cummings announced his commitment to Kentucky.
Cummings, the No. 7 player in the state, was named to the Courier Journal’s Third Team All-State last year with 41 receptions for 597 yards and 11 touchdowns despite missing five games with a leg injury.
He is listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds.
Cummings and Watkins are the third and fourth players out of the state of Kentucky’s 2020 high school class to commit to the Wildcats.
