Early on Signing Day, word trickled out that Kentucky had come up short in its late bid to snag home-state offensive tackle Jedrick Wills. Wills has apparently signed with Alabama, although the Tide may have jumped the gun with their announcement of same, which has since been pulled back down, presumably so that Wills could have the drama of the announcement for himself this afternoon.

Kentucky’s class is still very solid, as good as any in recent memory, and shows the Wildcats’ strategy to build an SEC winner.

In a word — Ohio.

SEC class rank: 11
Overall class rank: 29

5-stars: 0
4-stars: 4
3-stars: 20

The loss of Wills, who is from Lexington, was significant not just because he’s a high 4-star recruit, but because he is the only Kentucky high school player ranked in 247 sports’ top 600 prospects of the recruiting class. Kentucky nabbed two in-state sleepers, QB/Athlete Walker Wood and OL Austin Dotson.

But for its biggest recruiting needs, Kentucky looked to the north.

To Ohio. Because while Kentucky produced one top-600 recruit, Ohio produced 26. And of those 26 recruits, five chose Kentucky.

Kentucky’s 2017 class represents the first time that UK has fielded a complete enough team that it could recruit based on actual need, instead of just nabbing the best players available.

The Ohio kids might represent the future of UK football.

Athlete Lynn Bowden, a 4-star signee who was ranked as the No. 3 player in Ohio, could see the field in the 2017 opener. Fellow receiving targets JaVonte Richardson (4-star, 10th-best player in Ohio) and Tyrell Ajian (4-star, No. 17 player in Ohio) are another pair of pass-catchers who are likely to have big futures in Lexington.

And QB Danny Clark will likely battle with Ohio redshirt frosh Gunnar Hoak to be the Kentucky passer of the future.

The fifth of Kentucky’s big-time Ohio recruits is sleeper defensive end Alex King, who also fills a need for the Wildcats’ thin defensive front.

Four-star Maryland defensive end Josh Paschal is another signee who is most likely to see the field immediately for Kentucky, but several other defensive linemen could shine.

Florida defensive end Jordan Wright signed with UK despite a late push from Miami, and defensive tackle sleeper Quentin Bohanna stuck with UK although Ole Miss offered late. JUCO defensive tackle Phil Hoskins will add immediate depth inside.

Kentucky also concentrated on upgrading its secondary, with Georgia CB Yusuf Corker leading that group. JUCO DB Lonnie Johnson is also a signee who is likely to see immediate playing time.

The loss of Wills was disappointing, but the offensive line is one position where Kentucky’s cupboard was relatively well-stocked.

Failing to lock down the state hurts, but the last in-state big name to get away was running back Damien Harris, who also chose Alabama. While Harris has enjoyed a solid career at Alabama (he won a national title as a reserve in 2015, and broke the 1,000 yard mark last year as a sophomore), Kentucky’s ground game has been in very capable hands with the now-departed Boom Williams and under-the-radar star Benny Snell.

Mark Stoops will work through connections where they exist — mainly in central and southern Ohio, via Stoops and chief recruiter Vince Marrow, and in Florida via offensive coordinator Eddie Gran — and will nab some under-the-radar surprises to fill in any gaps.

If Kentucky’s recent upswing will show lasting effects, it will be in the 2018 class, as Stoops will spend the next year recruiting with his future on much steadier ground, and with a team that has made one bowl, and looks likely to make another in 2017. In the 2017 group, it helped net commitments from Bowden, Paschal, and Corker, and kept Kentucky from suffering a late exodus of potential stars as they had in years past.

In final analysis, the 2017 class was a step forward for Mark Stoops and Kentucky. Just how big of a step will likely depend in large part on how productive those guys from Kentucky North — check that, Ohio — end up being.