Guilford's Messiah Tilson (11) runs around defense during a game against Harlem on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, at Guilford High School. Kara Hawley/Rockford Register Star / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Four-star safety commits to Kentucky over Gophers and two other finalists

Originally posted on Minnesota Golden Gophers on SI
By Tony Liebert | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 7:04 PM ET

Four-star, Rockford, Illinois safety Messiah Tilson verbally committed to Kentucky on Monday over the Gophers, Wisconsin and Rutgers as finalists. He was once a top target for the Gophers in the 2026 recruiting class, but never made it to his previously scheduled official visit (OV) to Minnesota.

BREAKING: High 3-star safety Messiah Tilson commits to KENTUCKY

He's the third top-500 recruit to join UK's class in 2026https://t.co/Fk5Twd74l9 pic.twitter.com/OcmZ8kK2kz
— KSR (@KSRonX) June 16, 2025

Minnesota offered Tilson a scholarship on November 23, when he was on campus for an unofficial visit before their game against Penn State. On February 9, he publicly announced that he had scheduled an official visit for June 13 to 15, and he was back on campus for an unofficial visit on March 25. He took official visits to Iowa, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Rutgers, but never made it back to Minnesota for his OV.

Related: Ranking the Gophers' five commitments from a big recruiting weekend

The Gophers currently have 21 players verbally committed to their 2026 recruiting class. With Tilson off the board, their top uncommitted targets now become ATH Roman Voss, ATH Pierce Petersohn and safety Jayden McGregory.