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Kentucky-bound: WVU can’t land RB

West Virginia was one of four finalists for Jojo Kemp, but the three-star running back from DeLand (Fla.) High School committed to Kentucky via webcast Friday night.

“Kemp would have been a major pickup for West Virginia at the running back position, especially considering that the Mountaineers weren’t considered the favorites entering the final week,” said Keenan Cummings, senior writer for WVSports.com of the Rivals network.

“An every-down running back, Kemp has the size and the speed to make an impact on the collegiate level and was very impressive on national television earlier in the season. West Virginia made a very strong late push with Kemp and it nearly paid off, despite many having him pegged to Kentucky or Pittsburgh.”

Jojo Kemp, rated the No. 10 all-purpose back in the nation by Rivals, chose Kentucky over WVU, Pitt and South Florida on a Friday night webcast.

Kentucky was thought to be the leader for Kemp, who also considered Pitt and South Florida. He committed to USF in June but re-opened his recruitment Oct. 15, four days before making an official visit to WVU.

Kemp said on his webcast he chose Kentucky because “I can see big opportunities there” under new head coach Mark Stoops. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back noted the Wildcats “went to five straight bowls and then they’ve been down the last two years. I want to be the one that can rebuild it.”

CatsIllustated.com of the Rivals network reported that Kentucky, West Virginia and USF staged in-home visits with Kemp this week.

Kemp ran for 1,163 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior and followed that up with a senior campaign of 1,469 yards and 23 scores.

He epitomizes the wide variance of recruiting service rankings: Rivals lists him as the No. 10 all-purpose back nationally and the No. 64 overall prospect in talent-rich Florida, while 247 rates him 32nd at his position nationally and 143rd in the state.

“The main thing I like about Kentucky is the environment it’s located in, Lexington … it reminded me of DeLand and that’s the kind of environment I want to be in,” Kemp told the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday. “The coaching staff has been good to me. They’ve been honest and they are one of the few schools that really talked about my parents and my family … getting down on the plane to come see them.”

Along with his four finalists, Kemp has offers from 19 other Division I programs, including Nebraska, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Arizona State, Rutgers and Marshall.

Running back Zaire Williams swapped his commitment from WVU to Temple this week.

Coincidentally, WVU lost a three-star running back commitment this week when Zaire Williams switched to Temple.

“I’ve got to be honest — I was stunned,” Scout.com northeast recruiting analyst Brian Dohn said of Williams’ decision. “My first inclination was maybe West Virginia dropped him. But as I looked at it and researched and talked to people involved, he just chose Temple because he was more comfortable. I think there was some concern that (WVU) was going to move him to defense and he wants to play running back.

“I think that’s where Zaire belongs, and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful nature because he’s going to school for free and somebody’s paying for his education. But I never viewed him as a West Virginia-caliber player.”





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