[LeeCoUKFan]

UK signs top-rated football class in Rivals era
CatsIllustrated.com

Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football have wrapped up signing the school's top-rated recruiting class in the Rivals.com era.

Here are bios of all 21 players who signed with the Wildcats today -- seven players enrolled early -- and stories will follow on CatsIllustrated.com with reaction from the early enrollees and Kentucky coaches.

Stoops is scheduled to meet with reporters at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

This story will be updated with bios of early enrolles.
DORIAN BAKER | WR | 6-3 | 205 |
[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT...102913.JPG]
Hometown: Cleveland Heights, Ohio
High school: Cleveland Heights

UK bio: four-star prospect according to Rivals.com who is a mixture of size and speed at wide receiver … Rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports.com, Scout.com and ESPN.com … Rivals.com ranks him the 16th-best prospect in the state of Ohio and 42nd-best wide receiver in the nation … Had 24 receptions as a senior for 573 yards and six touchdowns … Averaged 23.9 yards per reception his senior year, including a season-long reception of 66 yards … Helped lead his team to the state playoffs two of the last three seasons, including the school's first-ever playoff win his senior season … Team finished with a 10-2 record … Coached by Jeff Rotsky … Chose Kentucky after numerous offers, including Indiana, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Illinois and Vanderbilt.

BLAKE BONE | WR | 6-5 | 200 |
[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT...15-120.JPG]
Hometown: Woodruff, S.C.
High school: Woodruff

UK bio: A four-star recruit by Rivals.com and three-star prospect by 247Sports.com, Scout.com and ESPN.com … Rivals.com ranks him the ninth-best player in the state of South Carolina and the 49th-best wide receiver in the nation … Scout.com's Kerry Fair says of Bone, "Should he continue his rate of growth and improvement we're comfortable saying he'll be a national level recruit … really smooth athlete with good size who will continue to add weight, get stronger and faster. Utilizes his size and body control well" … ESPN.com give him high marks for his hands and catching in traffic … First-team Class AAA all-state as a senior by the High School Sports Report … Had 72 receptions for 1,247 yards and eight touchdowns … Was selected to play in the 2014 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl … Also played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, matching the South Carolina vs. North Carolina all-stars, and caught seven passes for 55 yards … Great junior year featured 65 catches for 1,150 yards and 14 touchdowns … Was named all-state, all-conference and all-county as a sophomore with 60 receptions for 1,057 yards and 10 touchdowns, helping his team to the state title game … Coached by Brian Lane … Also an all-state performer in basketball as a junior as selected by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association … Picked Kentucky after offers from Arkansas, Clemson, Louisville, Ole Miss and South Carolina.

TYMERE DUBOSE | DT | 6-5 | 280 |
[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT...100718.JPG]
Hometown: Youngstown, Ohio
High school: Youngstown Christian

UK bio: A three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Scout.com, 247sports.com and ESPN.com … Ranked as the 40th-best player in the state of Ohio and 33rd-best strongside defensive end in the nation by Rivals.com … Considered the 46th-best defensive end in nation by Scout.com … 247Sports.com gives him high praise for his size and athleticism … Big, physical player that played on the defensive line and at tight end in high school … Second-team Division VII All-Ohio in 2013 by The Associated Press … Still has a lot of upside as he has only played two years of high school football … Coached by Brian Marrow … Also was a star basketball player in high school … Picked Kentucky after offers from Michigan State and West Virginia … Name is pronounced "du-BOSE."

MIKE EDWARDS | DB | 5-11 | 185 |
[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT...6_O100.JPG]
Hometown: Cincinnati
High school: Winton Woods

UK bio: A four-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com … Three-star prospect by 247Sports.com and ESPN.com … Ranked as the 14th-best prospect in the state of Ohio and 25th-best safety in the nation by Rivals.com … Scout.com ranks him the 29th best cornerback in the nation and 256th-best prospect in the country … Explosive athlete who not only played defensive back in high school but also returned punts and kickoffs … Great senior season with six interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 46 tackles to go along with 13.7 yards per punt return including one for a touchdown … Had two interceptions in his team's first round playoff game in 2013, helping the squad advance to the second round … Named first-team Division II All-Ohio as a defensive back … … Had 92 tackles his junior year with five interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns and two fumbles forced … Returned nine kickoffs junior year for 248 yards and one touchdown … Was named special-mention all-state his junior year … Coached by Andre Parker … Had numerous offers but chose Kentucky over Louisville, Missouri, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Vanderbilt.

MATT ELAM | DT | 6-7 | 375 |
[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/888/1510472.jpg]
Alex Holt/Special to Cats Illustrated
Hometown: Elizabethtown, Ky.
High school: John Hardin

UK bio: Big, physical defensive line prospect that is a five-star recruit by 247Sports.com and four prospect by Scout.com and ESPN.com … Rivals.com ranks him the No. 2 prospect in the Commonwealth of Kentucky … 247Sports.com ranks him the No. 13 defensive tackle in the nation and No. 164 prospect in the nation … Scout.com rates him the 11th-best defensive tackle prospect in the nation … Named a MaxPreps 2013 Medium Schools All-American … Named second-team All-USA by USA Today … Won the Paul Hornung Award as the Kentucky Player of the Year as a senior, totaling 85 tackles and four quarterback sacks … First-team all-state by The Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal … Selected to the "Class of the Commonwealth" team by the Lexington Herald-Leader … Played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl … Had 65 tackles as a sophomore with 19 tackles for loss, four sacks and three fumbles forced … Helped lead his high school to the semifinals of the 5A state playoffs his sophomore, junior and senior seasons … Was named first-team all-state by the Associated Press as a sophomore … Coached by Chad Lewis … Picked Kentucky over Alabama and Notre Dame … Numerous offers from Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State, Tennessee and others.

NICO FIRIOS | LB | 6-2 | 200 |
[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT...%20100.JPG]
Hometown: Longwood, Fla.
High school: Lyman

UK bio: Four-star recruit by ESPN.com and three-star prospect by Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247Sports.com … ESPN.com ranks him the 19th-best linebacker in the nation and gives him high grades for diagnosing skills and tackling … Scout.com ranks him the 48th-best outside linebacker prospect in the nation … Scout.com says strength are aggressiveness, lateral movement and tackling technique … Jamie Newberg of Scout.com: "Firios is a tough and physical linebacker that is really good against the run. When things come his way he can fill the hole and make the play. Firios can shed the blocker and get to the ball. He can play sideline to sideline and get to the perimeter … He plays with outstanding instincts and is a good, sound tackler" … Ranked No. 7 in the Orlando Sentinel's 2014 Central Florida Super60 … Named First-Team Class 8A Preseason All-State by FloridaHighSchoolFootball.com … Had 40 tackles his sophomore season with nine tackles for loss, one sack and two fumbles forced … Coached by Jeff Gierke … Had many offers but eventually chose Kentucky over Louisville, Wisconsin and Arizona … Name is pronounced "NEE-ko FEER-ee-ose."

RYAN FLANNIGAN | LB | 6-3 | 230 |
[Image: http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT...%20100.JPG]
Hometown: Missouri City, Texas
Junior college: Blinn College

UK bio: Impressive junior college linebacker with good size and athleticism that has also seen time as a defensive back … Three-star prospect by Rivals.com, 247Sports.com and ESPN.com … No. 90 in Rivals.com juco Top 100 and No. 18 juco inside linebacker … Ranked as the 111th juco prospect by 247Sports.com … Strong freshman year at Blinn with 45 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack … Also played well his sophomore season with 22 tackles with two interceptions, including one for a touchdown … Coached at Blinn by Ronny Feldman … Had a great career at Marshall High School (Missouri City, Texas), earning all-district and all-state honors … Was on the Rivals.com Texas Top 11 and ESPN Top 200 out of high school, ranked as the sixth-best outside linebacker in the state of Texas … Put up amazing numbers his junior and senior years of high school, recording 120 tackles with eight sacks, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown as a junior … Senior year he had 101 tackles with three sacks and two touchdowns … Chose Kentucky after offers from Arizona State, Cincinnati, Houston and Texas Tech.