[LeeCoUKFan]

Marrow, recruits give Stalker ties to UK

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

With a long list of commitments on board, the Kentucky football program is in pretty good shape when it comes to the Class of 2014.

Now it's time to start looking ahead.

The process is starting earlier than ever and Class of 2015 prospects are picking up offers every week.

C.J. Stalker has emerged as one of the Wildcats' top rising junior linebacker targets and he already has an offer from UK. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound linebacker from West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West doesn't have any other offers but coaches from Oklahoma, Stanford, Arkansas, Michigan, Georgia and Tennessee, among others, stopped by in the spring.

Regardless of who offers, Kentucky is going to be tough to beat.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to a (Kentucky) camp but I think I am visiting within the next few weeks," Stalker said. "They've recruited a couple of other players from West. I talked to coach (Vince) Marrow and the offensive line coach a few times. They've said I'm a good-looking kid. They talked to me and asked me different stuff about football and saw me run at track practice.

"(Marrow) stopped in the one day I got my offer. Mikel (Horton) was down there. I've talked to him a couple of times over the past month. I like coach Marrow a lot. I really do like him."

Marrow isn't the only selling point for Kentucky as far as Stalker is concerned. He's a big one, but there are other reasons the junior linebacker likes UK.

"Mikel seems like he really, really likes it down there," he said. "Same with Jarrett LaRubbio. It really helped with those guys committed. It brings them up extremely high on my board as far as the schools recruiting me go.

"I'd really like to play in the SEC somewhere."

Stalker recently ran the 40-yard dash in 4.74 seconds, his best time yet.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1517493