[LeeCoUKFan]

Ohio lineman LaRubbio picks UK

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Liberty Township (Ohio) Lakota East offensive guard Jarrett LaRubbio verbally committed to Kentucky on Saturday morning. He is the first offensive lineman to commit to the Wildcats from the Class of 2014.

"I've been thinking about it for a little while now and I went to take a visit today," LaRubbio told Cats Illustrated on Saturday. "This morning I talked to coach (Mark) Stoops, coach (Vince) Marrow and coach (John) Schlarman and told them."

The coaches were a big factor in LaRubbio's choice.

"It was just me feeling comfortable with the coaches," he said. "We're all from Youngstown and have a lot of similarities. I felt really comfortable with them and also it's a good chance to play in the SEC.

"They're expecting me to come in and compete to play right away."

It's a big commitment for Kentucky on a number of levels. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound lineman is ranked the No. 16 guard in the nation, and his 5.7 Rivals Rating is indicative of a prospect that just missed out on four-star status.

Nebraska, North Carolina, NC State, Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt and Washington were among the other schools that had offered.

"It came down to Pitt, NC State and Kentucky, and then it was just NC State and Kentucky. I ended up choosing Kentucky," he said.

LaRubbio was planning to visit Wisconsin in early June but he will no longer take that trip or any other trips. He is solidly committed to UK.

The near four-star lineman said he's now close to 280 pounds, and cited his "physicality and toughness" as attributes that define him as a player.

LaRubbio added that he is getting to know lots of UK's other recruits and they have expressed how excited they are to have him on board.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1509250