Who has had the most hype of any incoming UK football player and ended up being a bust ?

Littlecreek10 said:

Micah Johnson from Fort Campbell. Wasn’t he ranked as one of the top defensive players in the country coming out of HS? I remember that Brooks wanted to move him to DE because he got so big (muscular) and lost some speed that affected his pass coverage. He balked at moving positions.

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Are you kidding me? He didn't become the NFL start that many thought be had a pretty successful UK career.

notFromhere said:

Good grab. I was going to post the same thing.

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I think part of that was coaching failure. Gotta realize the skill set the kid has, then find ways for him to be successful. That's what good coaching does.

seccats04 said:

You're welcome. I had to do some digging myself as I remembered his last name was Gatewood but couldn't remember the first name. And it was only a few years ago that he started here so that's how bad he was. He reminded me of Morgan Newton. Both highly rated, similar build but slow processing, mechanical movements in the pocket and not the type of athlete we were told we were getting.

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Some of that was coaching failure.

Battle_Cat said:

There was a WR recruit from one of the Lexington schools, I dont think he was more than a 4 star, but I cant even recall his name. He was one of the fastest WR's I ever saw, but good Lord he could literally not catch ANYTHING. He had freak speed, but no YAC because no C's lol.

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Coaches deserved some blame for that. Gotta find ways for a kid to be successful rather than trying to force a kid into a box.

Battle_Cat said:

There was a WR recruit from one of the Lexington schools, I dont think he was more than a 4 star, but I cant even recall his name. He was one of the fastest WR's I ever saw, but good Lord he could literally not catch ANYTHING. He had freak speed, but no YAC because no C's lol.

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John Logan?

Antigwa. said:

John Logan?

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Define bust but not as big a bust as Aaron Boyd .

Antigwa. said:

John Logan?

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I played against John in high school. One of the fastest guys to ever suit up for Kentucky but he just wasn't a great route runner and had no hands. Really thought he would develop those at Kentucky but just never did. His brother Brandon was a highly ranked LB recruit who committed to Notre Dame, but I don't remember hearing much about him after high school either.

Elam? That depends on what your expectations were. A friend of mine whose opinion I value saw him a couple of times in high school and told me what he thought we were getting with Matt. I have to say that Matt met my expectations based on my friend's evaluation. My most vivid memory of Matt was from a spring game when he was lazily trundling along behind the play and Logan Stenberg (sp?) buried him. Matt seemed like a good kid and teammate, though. I hope he's healthy and doing well.

Goodwin? The runaway winner of this thread by a margin so large that he could have a "Biggest Bust" award named after him, especially considering the time, money, and hand wringing that we put into his recruitment. He played some snaps on the PAT/FG team in his year here before leaving for UF, who were desperate for OL players, but left after spring practice and never played again. Goodwin was probably just a big kid who didn't love playing football, but played because everyone told him he needed to play. Like with Elam, I hope he's taking care of himself and doing well. Last I heard, he was working for Ford in Louisville. There are far worse gigs than that.

MidseasonTweak said:

Drew Barker. Anyone remember that turd?

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Barker had a great first half of his first game, was injured, and that pretty much ended his career. I wouldn't call him a turd.

vhcat1970 said:

This falsehood has been carried on forever. It's shameful. He injured his back against Southern Miss after he'd thrown 5 TD's in the 1H. He was never the same player and gave up the sport. But if this **** makes you feel better, go ahead & keep it up.

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Would've been Heisman finalist but for the injury

megablue said:

Whitlow was only a three-star and was ranked as the #20 recruit out of Alabama, the #12 dual-threat QB and #608 overall in the country. He played 2 years.
Reese Phillips was only a three-star and was ranked as the #36 recruit out of Tennessee, the #76 pro-style QB and #1792 over all in the country.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jalen-whitlow-1.html

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/reese-phillips-1.html

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kentucky/passing.html

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Exactly. They were only overhyped by moronic portion of the fanbase