[LeeCoUKFan]

Cats offer athlete committed to South Florida

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Kentucky and South Florida went head to head for multiple recruits in the last recruiting cycle and that was just in the last couple of months before Signing Day.

The Wildcats and Bulls are continuing their growing recruiting rivalry into the early stages of the Class of 2014. Running back Jarvis Stewart is committed to USF and Kentucky continues to recruit him.

The Cats are also now recruiting Immokalee (Fla.) athlete Jimmy Bayes, a four-star prospect who committed to Willie Taggart's program in January.

Kentucky just offered Bayes over the weekend and in spite of his relatively lean, 6-foot-3, 198-pound frame, the Cats see him as a linebacker.

"Coach Jimmy (Brumbaugh) is the one who offered me and we've been talking for like a week and a half," he said, noting that he has also been in contact with D.J. Eliot. "They've told me they didn't sign any linebackers last year, this past Signing Day, and they said they want a linebacker like myself who's good in space. I can get to the edge so nothing gets past me. They want an athletic player to make it tougher for the offense. I'm a fast, long player and it's hard to run around me."

Linebacker is a big priority for Kentucky in this recruiting class and Dorian Hendrix is already committed. Not every school is recruiting Bayes as a receiver. For example, Arkansas is recruiting him as a wide receiver. Others see him potentially as a safety.

Kentucky is an intriguing option for Bayes.

"I'm interested in Kentucky because they didn't sign (any) linebackers so I know they're in need. It's in the SEC, too. That's big," he said.

"My commitment to USF is pretty much a soft commit right now. I'm respecting it but I'm still listening to other schools. I'm not trying to be arrogant because you never know what might come to you."

Kentucky's staff has some experience recruiting Immokalee. Mark Stoops and Eliot recruited the school heavily when they were at Florida State and from last year's class Kentucky tried to get involved with Mackensie and Mackenro Alexander.

Bayes told Cats Illustrated he plans to visit Florida State and Miami in the near future. Kentucky could be on tap after that.

"I might take a trip to Kentucky in the near future, probably over the summer," he said.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1490421