The Kentucky football program had a tough Thursday as it learned of the passing of offensive line coach John Schlarman. While nothing can trump the loss of such a momentous figure, the team received a measure of good news Friday in the commitment of a fellow Kentuckian.

Tight end Jordan Dingle, a native of Bowling Green, announced this morning on Kentucky Sports Radio that he would be joining the Cats.

Dingle is a 6-foot-4, 245-pound three-star recruit from Bowling Green High School. The No. 4 player in Kentucky and No. 19 tight end in the country, he turned down offers from the likes of Ohio State, South Carolina, Louisville and Purdue.

It looked as though Dingle was leaning toward the Boilermakers; many 247 Sports crystal ball predictions had Dingle heading to West Lafayette, Indiana for former Louisville coaching target Jeff Brohm.

Dingle caught 35 passes for 474 yards and five touchdowns in 2019, which earned him a spot on the MaxPreps All-State Second Team. Dingle will join Keaton Upshaw, Brenden Bates and Nik Ognenovic as the tight ends for Kentucky next season.

His addition makes five of the top six rated recruits in Kentucky’s 2021 class pass catchers. It’s clear that the team is unsatisfied with its passing production, and are aiming to improve the struggling attack for future seasons. While we obviously don’t know how the efforts will turn out, seeing this desire represented in recruiting is something that can give Cats fans some hope for 2021 and beyond.

Kentucky has also now secured a commitment from six of the top eight players in the state: Jager Burton (1), Dekel Crowdus (2), Dingle (4), Jordan Lovett (5), La’Vell Wright  (6) and Kaiya Sheron (8).

Vince Marrow was the primary recruiter for Dingle. He continues to lure some of the state and nation’s best to Lexington.