A week after slaying the dragon of Tennessee that has downed Kentucky for twenty-six straight years, Joker Phillips and company hoped to sway a lot of big-time targets to come play in the SEC and wear blue. One of those prospects was Tallahassee, Florida receiver Raphael Andrades Jr, a three-star prospect on the top recruiting sites, and according to some, Kentucky’s number one target heading into February.
While I did not get a chance to speak with Raphael Andrades, Jr., his father, Andrades Sr, gave his time up to talk about how he thought Kentucky was this past weekend.
“The visit was very professional. It was first class. I personally liked it a lot. But for Raphael Jr., I told him to sleep on it, and to not get caught up in the moment.”
As for what Kentucky may to have to offer Andrades, the first thing that came to mind was playing in the SEC, and the level of competition. The level of competition has definitely gotten stronger with two SEC teams playing in the National Championship in January.
“Kentucky offers a great chance to play early. They are not overloaded with receivers and an opportunity to play early is there. Kentucky has good academics and is a great place to get an education. The graduation rates look very good.”
While the talks about current wide receivers coach Tee Martin leaving UK are looming, the former National Championship quarterback certainly showed no signs of it, as he spent a lot of time talking with the Andrades family.
“He has a lot of expectations. As a (former) quarterback he knows what he wants his receivers to do. You know, he knows the game not only by winning a national championship, but by getting drafted into the league as well.”
While many schools are still trying to capture the signature of the highly-touted receiver, Kentucky seems to be sitting very high, according to his father.
“UK is pretty high up there. We’ll take some other visits to see if they are in the same category as Kentucky.”
Andrades Jr. has an official set for January 20th to visit Arkansas, but for Kentucky, only time will tell if they land the receiver that they are hoping for, a game changer.
