4-Star Linebacker Jayvant Brown Commits to Kentucky

Kentucky football has its first surprise of the Early Signing Period.

Jayvant Brown — a 4-star linebacker out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — has announced his commitment to the Wildcats:

Signed!!! 🤍💙✍🏾 @UKFootball @CoachHarriott @Mike_Stoops41 @UKCoachStoops @STA_Football @RivalsFriedman @AdamHBeasley @TheCribSouthFLA @247recruiting @larryblustein pic.twitter.com/dNmsBHREVB
— Jayvant💤 (@JayvantBrown) December 21, 2022

Brown is the No. 397 overall player in the 2023 class, the No. 30 LB and No. 74 player out of the Sunshine State, per 247Sports Composite.

Mike Stoops led the charge for the 6-foot, 220-pounder, who held offers from multiple Power Five schools. He was formerly committed to Michigan State, but reopened his recruitment on Dec. 18.

247Sports' Recruiting Analyst Andrew Irvins had this to say about Brown in his scouting report:

A former running back that made the transition to linebacker and emerged as a starter at one of South Florida’s top talent-producing programs. Size hasn’t been verified in a while, but looks to be over 6-foot and at least 225 pounds after adding plenty of mass between junior and senior seasons. At his best when he can simply read, react and come down hill. Athletic enough to make stops outside of the hashes, at least on Friday nights. Rather fluid and looks comfortable in space when asked to drop back into zone coverage. Must, however, get better at finding his run fits and will likely need to get a little more aggressive at the point of attack if he’s going to be a true difference-maker on Saturdays. Will also need to improve his ability to get off blocks. Has the profile of a future three-down linebacker at the next level given offensive background and old testing numbers (went 4.8 in the 40-yard dash on the lasers as a freshman), but could end up settling in as more of a Mike depending on how his body fills out over the next few years. Overall, should be viewed as a second-level defender with upside that moves laterally better than most his age, but will need to keep progressing and find a real mean streak if he wants to reach his full potential. Should add some special teams value early on in college career given ability to make tackles in pursuit or in the open field. Has a chance to emerge as a multi-year starter at the Power Five level if he takes to coaching and embraces the weight room.

He is the second LB in the 2023 class, joining 4-star Grant Godfrey. UK now has 16 commits for the class. The Wildcats announced the other 15 commits as official signees on Wednesday.

Kentucky's Early Signing Period Tracker can be found here.

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