Kentucky commit Javeon Campbell with his Army All-American jersey Tuesday.
Kentucky in recent years has been able to persuade the majority of the in-state stars to play football for the Wildcats, so it was not a shock to see Western Hills defensive lineman Javeon Campbell commit to UK Tuesday.
He is a four-star recruit and ranked as the nation’s 14th best defensive lineman by On3 and 247Sports has him as the nation’s 109th best overall recruit in the nation.
The 6-5, 265-pound Campbell did not play high school football until season and had 14 1/2 quarterback sacks relying on what coach Simon Vanderpool said was pure talent because he was still learning proper fundamentals.
Campbell had narrowed his list of major offers to four — Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn and Miami.
Vanderpool admits there was a time a few weeks ago he thought “there could be a shot of him going to Alabama” and there was a buzz he was going to pick the Crimson Tide over UK.
“He could have gone just about anywhere but his relationship with coach (Vince) Marrow made the difference,” the Western Hills coach said Tuesday. “He believes in the program and what coach (Mark) Stoops and what (defensive coordinator) Brad White has done.
“I will say this confidently. You hear teams get beat out by other schools and that they didn’t go all out and recruit him hard. Alabama did recruit him hard and he chose to stay here. That’s a credit to how well the program is doing.
“He is definitely locked in. He is a loyal kid and he wants to go play for Kentucky.”
Campbell also received his Army All-American jersey at his commitment ceremony which is remarkable considering he was playing basketball — he is the school’s all-time leading scorer — when Vanderpool was hired. Vanderpool watched him play basketball and quickly went to him and his parents telling them he could be even more special on the gridiron and he was right.
“It was a crazy process really,” Campbell said during his live commitment ceremony on 247Sports YouTube channel. “It was a good thing. It was insane how fast it all happened. I wasn’t even thinking about football three or four years ago.”
Yet despite not playing football until the 2023 season, he had over 20 scholarship offers, including Georgia. He said every school had great facilities, equipment and trainers but he got a different feeling at UK from other schools.
“Every time I go to Kentucky, it just feels like home, really. Great people. Great atmosphere. Great players and a great community,” Campbell said after making his choice. “They were just so nice and interested in me, and I feel really good about every single person there.”
Campbell became UK’s 15th commitment in the 2025 recruiting class and fourth four-star player joining defensive back Martels Carter of Paducah Tilghman, receiver Quintin Simmons of Cincinnati and edge rusher Cedric Works of Ohio.
9 Responses
I can quickly think of two Kentucky kids that played on Sundays for many years that left for Bama. I’d call this a “ landmark recruit “ !
Definitely! Well-said! Landmark! – the turning point in recruiting with more to follow
indeed it is Paul
This kid has a great story. Plays for one year and everyone wants him. The turning point in recruiting was when Stoops got here. He’s not the first kid to pick the Cats over Bama and other top schools. Looking at the 2025 class, there are 9 players with atleast one MRS listing them as a 4*. Go Cats!
Just think about how good this kid will be with some coaching and work on his fundamentals. He could possibly be playing on Sundays in Nashville or Cincinnati in 2 or 3 years. Keep up the good work Vince!
Some mega-rich UK fan needs to divvy up to keep Walker another year & to insure Campbell stays for 4 years.
Just imagine Walker & Campbell BOTH being charging through to the QB.
I wanted someone to lay out $5 Million NIL for the next 3 years to entice Reed Sheppard to stay at UK & delay playing in a league of a wide variety of types of people until he was older.
The money is out there. Dig deep Big Blue donors & give the UK the best of the best in Basketball, Football & Baseball.
A
Baron, that would be awesome, but there is not enough NIL money to keep Walker here for a 4th year. Like with Reed, if you are a top 5 draft pick, the decision is already made. Go Cats!!!
You’re right. Just a little dreaming
This kid is lightning in a bottle. This was a big recruiting win for Stoops and Marrow. I just hope we can keep Stoops here for at least another 5 years. Top 25 recruiting classes are the norm now with a top 20 class every 2 or 3 years. The football rankings systems are much harder to read in football than in basketball. There is a ton of high 3* guys that are often times better than some of the 4* kids. I think with Campbell your getting a player who if he has 2 or 3 more years of experience he would be a 5* kid. Think about it not even a full year of football and he’s a top recruit. If he would have been doing damage the last couple of years he would be at the front of the line. Plus winning a player that Alabama and Auburn absolutely wanted very much says alot about how far this program has come. Like I said this is a year we go all in and win 9 or maybe 10 games. Next year will be a rebuild year but we will be very good again when this year’s class and last year’s class get to be sophomores and juniors. Congrats kid. Work hard and learn the game and you will be playing on Sundays one day.