[LeeCoUKFan]

Firios has "full faith" in UK coaching staff

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Mark Stoops and his cast of assistants were able to gain the trust of Nico Firios and that's why they were able to land the three-star Florida linebacker.

Firios committed to Kentucky via Twitter on Tuesday afternoon and his pledge boosted the Wildcats to the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation.

Cats Illustrated spoke with him about his decision and he said he found the perfect fit in Lexington.

"I picked UK because they really made me feel at home while I was there and the people up in Lexington are just good people," Firios said. "Everywhere I went everyone was so nice and I just loved every bit of it."

The coaches had a big part in his decision too. Chad Scott recruited him and Stoops' resume caught his attention.

"(With) Coach Stoops coming from FSU and turning their defense around, (that) really helped too. And they need linebackers and I just trust the coaching staff to do what they want to do. I have full faith in them," he said.

"I'm really excited to be a part of their first full class and it's shaping up to be the best in the SEC."

Whether the class finishes ranked number one in the SEC, it's shaping up to be in the history of the Kentucky football program, at least in the modern era.

One of the schools he chose UK over was Louisville, another school he had seen and gave some thought to.

"Obviously I picked UK over Louisville," Firios said. "I'm not trying to bash UL at all. All I can say is I felt more comfortable at UK and I felt like that is where I needed to be."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1515013