By LARRY VAUGHT
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops let everyone know what the biggest storyline should be from national signing day — Kentucky signing seven in-state players.
“Kentucky high school football is really getting good,” said Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow.
He didn’t mean Kentucky high school football had not been good before but that it was getting good at a new level
“It’s getting good to where we can recruit our own kids here and sign about seven or eight kids from the state. I think the athletes are better,” Marrow said. “A lot of Power Five schools really wanted those guys (Kentucky signed).”
Stoops said Kentucky high school coaches were doing an “exceptional job” and it’s easy to see that paying off on the field.
“It’s so much better from top to bottom than it was early on and I think that’s the big storyline with this class,” Stoops said. “The past three years we have signed difference makers in this state and want to continue that.
Mercer County coach David Buchanan did not have a Kentucky signee but he is president of the Kentucky Football Coaches Association. He appreciated Stoops praising the work high school coaches do, especially during this stressful COVID-19 2020 season.
“Kentucky high school coaches do work hard and we appreciate coach Stoops saying that,” Buchanan said. “It means a lot for him to say that. I think the athletic training and individual training for players is better than it has ever been and that is part of coaching. The numbers (running, jumping, etc.) are better and that’s because people spend more time on training. People are better at teaching speed and explosiveness than ever before.”
Kentucky signed four-star offensive lineman Jager Burton and four-star receiver Dekel Crowdus, both of Frederick Douglass, along with three-star players Jordan Dingle (tight end) of Bowling Green, La’Vell Wright (running back) and Jordan Lovett (safety) of North Hardin, and Kaiya Sheron (quarterback) of Somerset. The other addition was Georgia Tech transfer Justice Dingle (linebacker) of Bowling Green.
“It has been a priority to concentrate on this state. Hopefully some of the work we have done at the college level is caring down and inspiring some of the youngsters at middle school and grade school and helping in some small way,” Stoops said. “We are always open to the high school coaches, always invite them here and have a great relationship with them.”
Many of the state’s high school coaches were at Kroger Field last weekend for the six state championship games.
“We work extremely hard to keep the best talent at home and we want them here, and I think that’s evident by the way we’ve been working it the past couple of years,” Stoops said.
Marrow said he was excited early in the season when North Hardin played at Douglass. The game not only had four UK commits but another five players with Kentucky offers.
“You see that in Ohio. You see that in Georgia. You see it in Texas with multiple committed guys playing against each other,” Marrow said. “I know when I first got here, you might see one (committed) guy (in a game). So that was a game that was very important for the state of Kentucky and Kentucky high school football.
“There’s a lot of young talent here. I can’t say names but you guys (in the media) know even at the (20)22 class who the main guys are. I’ll just take my hat off to these coaches because the product and how they are being developed and coached is really the reason why we are recruiting them now. So I love this state. The football is great.”
* * *