The Kentucky Wildcats pulled a stunner on the recruiting trail Wednesday.
Cleveland (Ohio) Cleveland Heights four-star running back Marquise Davis committed to the team. The Rivals250 prospect immediately becomes one of the top players in the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class. Davis had close to 30 scholarship offers from around the country.
Davis is the sixth commitment of the class for Kentucky and the second running back joining three-star Isaiah West.
WHAT THE WILDCATS ARE GETTING
The Cleveland Heights star is a running back that can do a little bit of everything. That’ll make him a very useful piece in the Wildcats’ offense. At 6-foot-1, 195-pounds, he’s a physical runner that looks the part of a four-star running back.
Davis was very productive as a junior racking up 2,228 rushing yards in 13 games with 8.8 yards per carry and 35 touchdowns. He’s also a two-way player for his high school and had 63 tackles showing that he’s a physical player.
He was just at the Under Armour camp in Ohio where we were able to see him in person. Even though he told Rivals after the camp that he needed to work on his route running, he showed a good ability to create separation and catch the football in one-on-ones.
Davis has the potential to be a three-down back in the SEC.
WHY THIS IS BIG FOR KENTUCKY
When Rivals spoke with Davis after the camp last Sunday he did say that Kentucky was among the schools that stood out to him. Michigan was one of the other schools he named and it was thought the Wolverines held a big edge in his recruitment. It’s a huge win for Vince Morrow and running backs coach Jay Boulware.
Davis was searching for a place that would make him better as a man and a football player. He liked the way that Kentucky utilizes its running backs in a similar way that teams do in the NFL.
The other thing that can’t be overlooked is Kentucky plucking a running back out of Big Ten country that some major competition wanted. Davis took recent visits to Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri so the team also kept him away from an SEC opponent.
