Vaught's Views: Lamar Dawson will take an official visit to Kentucky this weekend

Since he called off his official visit to Florida last weekend after the resignation of coach Urban Meyer, Boyle County linebacker Lamar Dawson has now decided to take an official visit to Kentucky this weekend.
He’ll go to the Kentucky campus today and be there until Sunday. The Wildcats plan to send a Lincoln Town Car to Boyle to pick up Dawson and his grandmother for their weekend visit.
“Florida is not off my list, but I just didn’t want to wait on them for a visit,” Dawson said. “I want to go to Kentucky so I can hang out with the players. That’s the big thing for me.”
He likely will get to see Kentucky play basketball in Rupp Arena on Saturday night against Mississippi Valley State. However, what he’s most interested in seeing is a practice, and the Wildcats will have practices both Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the Jan. 8 bowl game in Birmingham against Pittsburgh.
“If you see a practice, you can get a feel for what the team is like and see if you will like what they are doing or not,” Dawson said.
Dawson, who has been to UK for unofficial visits, also hopes to spend some time with UK linebackers coach Chuck Smith, a former head coach at Boyle County.
“I will probably spend a lot of time with him to see what he can tell me about the program that maybe I don’t know,” Dawson said.
He’ll also have his first chance to meet new UK defensive coordinator Rick Minter, who joined the staff last week.
“I am kind of anxious to meet him. I do not know much about him,” Dawson said. “Actually, I had not even heard of him until he was hired, but he seems like a good coach.”
Dawson has made an official visit to Oregon. He’s also got USC, Tennessee, Michigan and Louisville on his final list of college choices.
“I still plan to make my decision sometime in February,” Dawson said. “I am still wide open at this time. I just want to make my visits and compare the schools and see which one I like best. Nothing has really  jumped out at me yet about any one school that much.”
He says he has been trying to relax a bit after Boyle’s state championship victory before he starts trying to make his final college choice. He’ll be in Louisville on Wednesday to receive the Paul Hornung Award along with Ballard receiver DeVante Parker, and then play in the U.S. Army Bowl Jan. 8 in San Antonio.
“The Hornung Award is a big deal. I was surprised I won that,” Dawson said. “All the honors are nice, but right now the biggest thing facing me is deciding where I want to go to school.”
And that’s why UK getting an official visit this weekend can only help the Wildcats’ chances of landing the four-star prospect.