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Kentucky football hardly squares off against Ohio State on the football field. However, they managed to one-up the Buckeyes in one of their gridiron strengths: Recruiting.
Kentucky bolstered its 2025 class on Wednesday by scoring a verbal commitment out of four-star tight end Mikkel Skinner from Greer, South Carolina. But more impressive is that the Wildcats, led by head coach Mark Stoops, beat out Ohio State for Skinner according to On3.com's Hayes Fawcett.
The towering 6-foot-4, 225-pound target outlined his reasonings for choosing Lexington as his future collegiate home.
“Me playing early and making an impact early as a freshman,” Skinner revealed to Fawcett first.
He's taken a glance at the Wildcats' football future and believes a powerhouse is building.
“But overall nobody is messing with Kentucky and they are building something special, literally,” Skinner said.
Skinner added that conversations with UK tight ends coach Vince Marrow convinced him the Wildcats are his future team.
“I’m closest with Coach Marrow, that’s my dawg man,” Skinner said. “They plan to make other teams game plan on me and create mismatches.”
Skinner created a short list of Kentucky, Ohio State, and Georgia to put an end on his recruiting period. He's officially Kentucky's 21st verbal commitment for the '25 class.
The big target gets labeled as a recruiting coup for the Wildcats. Especially once fans learn about his TE play.
Kentucky football commit Mikkel Skinner was a highly-ranked Power 4 target
![Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Gavin Wimsatt (2) celebrates his touchdown during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 19, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kentucky-Wildcats-quarterback-Gavin-Wimsatt-celebrates-a-touchdown-versus-Florida.jpg)
He broke out as a coveted national recruit following an epic sophomore season. Skinner scored eight combined offensive touchdowns, including six off handoffs in that 2022 campaign. He averaged 6.1 yards a carry and totaled 582 ground-based yards as a rare big running back option.
But he raised his game to newer heights as a junior. Skinner crossed the end zone 15 times including 10 touchdowns through running receiving routes.
“New-age F tight end prospect who can line up in the slot, in the backfield, or out wide and stretch the field with his second gear,” wrote 247Sports' Andrew Ivins in his evaluation of Skinner.
“Clocked one of the fastest verified 40-yard dash times for any prospect north of 220 pounds in the 2025 cycle spring before senior season and owns a promising multi-sport background for the position,” Ivins began.
The recruiting analyst added how Skinner comes equipped with an understanding of his speed usage and showing off impressive hands.
“Displays the ability to change speeds as a route runner and has flashed a larger catch radius. Evasive with the ball in his hands and can shed his fair share of tackles, which likely stems from time spent at running back as an underclassman,” Ivins wrote.
Ivins concluded that Skinner “should be viewed as a potential offensive chess piece at the Power Four level that can create plenty of issues for opposing linebackers and safeties with his rare athleticism.”
The tall option earned 14 reported offers according to 247sports. West Virginia and Cincinnati were two other Power 4 representatives that tried to lure Skinner in via its scholarship offers. Skinner even was briefly committed to the latter Big 12 program. He first announced his collegiate choice to the Bearcats back on June 8 before de-committing.
Now, UK wins big on the recruiting trail and adds additional weaponry for a class that already ranks 20th nationally. Skinner is additionally the sixth four-star addition to the Wildcats' recruiting class.
