All of Montavin Quisenberry’s football dreams are coming true.

From the incomplete dreams of a little boy to the more specific goals of an emerging football star, Quisenberry has checked off one box after another. Now the Boyle County standout is one step closer to making one of his biggest dreams a reality after announcing his commitment to play for Kentucky.

Quisenberry, one of the top playmakers in Kentucky and a leading candidate for the 2024 Mr. Football award, flipped his commitment from West Virginia to Kentucky following an official visit to UK last weekend.

The senior wide receiver said it had long been a dream of his to play for Kentucky and increased interest from the Wildcats’ coaches led him to change his mind and his college choice.

“Kentucky is a school that I obviously grew up liking, it’s a dream school that I wanted to play with, and just being able to hear from the offensive coordinator and coach (Mark) Stoops that I’d be an important piece to the team (led to the decision),” Quisenberry said.

Quisenberry announced his decision Wednesday on the social platform X, decommitting from West Virginia and committing to Kentucky in a post that included an image of him wearing a Kentucky No. 9 jersey:

“After careful consideration and talks with my family, I have decided to decommit from West Virginia University. The decision was not made lightly as I have tremendous respect for the WVU coaching staff and team.

“With that being said I am committing to KENTUCKY! Go Cats”

Quisenberry got a scholarship offer from Kentucky in October 2022, but West Virginia, coached by Boyle alumnus Neal Brown, pursued him aggressively and he committed to the Mountaineers on June 21.

However, he said Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow and wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts Jr. continued to reach out to him, and he said there was an uptick in interest from UK in recent weeks, particularly after his performance in Boyle’s win at nationally ranked Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward.

Quisenberry ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns, caught three passes for 35 yards, threw a TD pass and had an interception in the Rebels’ 38-21 victory, and he said that left an impression on the Kentucky staff.

“They said I had a good game there, and they feel like I (will) be able to play in the SEC,” he said.

Boyle coach Justin Haddix encouraged Quisenberry to take all the official visits available to him.

“When he came back (from Kentucky) he was just smiling (and said), ‘It’s the best one I’ve been on.’ He said he felt more comfortable there, and that’s what he ended up doing,” Haddix said.

Both Haddix and Quisenberry said they have great respect for the West Virginia staff and said there was nothing there that turned him away from Morgantown and toward Lexington.

“It’s not a negative on what the other ones didn’t do, I think it was just what Kentucky did,” Haddix said.

Haddix and Quisenberry said being closer to home was an important factor, and Haddix said he also thinks Quisenberry relishes the chance to prove himself in the SEC.

“I think playing in the SEC was big,” the Boyle coach said. “He’s one of those guys, everybody’s going to say he’s too little, he’s too this or that, and I think his mentality is to thrive off the doubters of that.

“And I think (it was Kentucky) saying, ‘Hey, we really want you. This is where we feel like you can fit with us.”

Quisenberry said getting specifics about where he would fit in the Wildcats’ plans clinched his decision.

“(It was) just being able to get that confirmation from Coach Stoops, Vince and the offensive coordinator (Bush Hamdan) of how they would use me in their offense,” he said.

He said he was told he could be used on kickoff and punt returns in his first season, then later as a slot receiver and perhaps as an outside receiver as well.

“I think he’s going to have an opportunity early, especially in special teams,” Haddix said. “Maybe early on kick and punt returns and then wherever he fits. And he’s going to enroll early so he’s going to have a chance to really show himself in spring and going into the summer, and I think he’ll earn everything he gets.”

Soft-spoken and hard-nosed, Quisenberry has been Boyle’s top playmaker since he transferred from Garrard County in 2022 prior to his sophomore season.

The fifth-year senior is small in stature – 5-9 and 175 pounds – but with a combination of strength and speed that makes him extremely difficult to tackle in the open field. Capable of finishing seemingly any play in the end zone, he is leading the Rebels in scoring for the third straight season with 17 touchdowns – eight receiving, eight rushing and one on a punt return – for 102 points.

He is the Rebels’ leading receiver this season with 492 yards and their second-leading rusher with 439 yards, he is among the team’s top five tacklers while playing free safety.

In 41 games over five seasons, he has caught 129 passes for 2,207 yards and 33 touchdowns and has run the ball 416 times for 4,016 yards and 56 TDs.

“I think he’s one of the best players in the country,” Haddix said.

Quisenberry’s commitment to Kentucky made a splash on social media. Thanks to more than 250 retweets, his post on X had more than 125,000 views within three hours and twice that number after 12 hours.

“I already know that Kentucky fans are passionate about their sports, so I knew it was going to go a little crazy,” he said.

He said the rest of his day at school was a little crazy as well.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been getting love from the whole school. Everybody loves it,” he said.

Quisenberry also had offers from Louisville, Michigan, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech, among others.

He said his new commitment allows him to focus on the remainder of his final high school season and what he hopes will be a fourth consecutive state championship for him and the fifth in a row for Boyle, but he said has enjoyed the recruiting process,

“It’s a one-time thing, so it’s a lot of joy just to be able to go through that, just to go to different schools … and just see how everything goes,” he said.

He is one of four wide receivers committed to Kentucky’s 2025 recruiting class and one of three players from Kentucky, along with Western Hills edge rushers Javeon Campbell and Cedrick Works of Frederick Douglass.

He will join two former Boyle players on the Kentucky roster: redshirt freshman defensive lineman Tommy Ziesmer and freshman defensive back Sage Dawson.

He plans to graduate from Boyle in December in order to enroll at Kentucky in January for the spring semester.

“I just want to learn as much as I can, and I’m obviously getting in that weight room, working on my body,” he said.