The House of Blue

If you fall in love with random high school talent, don't come to Texas. Limited spots and quite frankly Kentucky high school football is about as non competitive as it gets. I don't see a single Richard Trent thing on the internet excpet for Trent Richardson. Where did you get a 4.53 for him? Half the WR at the NFL combine run slower than a 4.53

If UK pins it hopes of turning the corner on its football results by focusing on KY talent it will nerver happen. There are not enough high schools and a dearth of talent. Yes there are 3-5 players each year that can make the grade; but unless we continue to mine GA, SC, FL, OH, and other nearby states it won’t happen.

For one..I dont fall in love with random talent. For second..I think I qualify as to evaluating talent..I played at Eastern Kentucky University, although I never started..I played on the 1995 State Title team for Breathitt Co. and coached football for over 7 years. I know Richard Trent runs a 4.53 because he did it at the Uk camp. I know his father. I coached both his brothers. A teammate of mine in highschool was John Rader..who played, started, for can you guess? UK. Rader was a 6'5 250 LB/.De..remember the int return for a TD that beat a tough Indiana squad that had Antuawn randel-El?
I am mistaken however..Trent is 6'2 210..and the kid can definitly play D1 ball..he already has offers from schools like Ball St. The fact you cant google him only helps my point..Eastern ky kids..especially..and kid over the state get less pub than most other states. And as for your comment about KY. prep ball being non-competitive..you realize that Louisville Trinity was the National #1 prep football team right? Im not saying the Bluegrass is Florida, Ga, or even a Pennsylvania..but there are good talent pools in state. Go watch a Breathitt vs Belfry, a Lex Cath vs Boyle, a Ft. Thomas vs Ryle, or a Trinity vs ST.X and tell me we dont have talent in state.

Which in one of the best classes in recent memory. NOT a yearly occurrence.

Yeah..I do know 2013 is an especially good class..but If you pay attention..There has been spikes of 2013 type classes lately..What set the Bluegrass state behind was the fact that football was only being played in the summer and fall. States suck as Fla have more opportunity to have competitive games..with thier 7 on 7 AAU type programs. More and more athletes families are afforded an opportunity to play in the same type programs now..everywhere. I think Ky is a true sleeper state with mini-talent pools in Louisville Out West in Bowling Green to Paducah, Frankfort in central Ky and up north in Ft.Thomas. Counting the athletes that go out of state..the numbers have been in the 10-12 range for many of the last 5 to 7 years. Think Collinsworth, L.Dawson, J.Green, Jon Davis, and all the players that have gone to Notre Dame, Michigan, Tennessee, Lousiville..as well as about 5 or 6 kids a year to WKU..a Ball St. We lost that talented CB to Virginia in Chase Minnifield.

UK cannot win in the SEC with KY players. They certainly need to target and pursue the best in-state players, but not at the cost of losing players in GA, FL, and AL.

I dont think anyone is saying that UK can win by just recruiting Kentucky High School football talent. I do think however the talent in state has improved in recent years and that UK needs to be able to evaluate and keep in state the players that are of SEC quality instead of letting them get away to teams out of state and UofL.

I would also refer anyone that doesnt think that in state talent is important to UK to look at the after spring depth chart. It list 10 EX Kentucky High school players as number one at their positions. Four of the starting OL are Kentucky kids.

I've watched high school football in Kentucky....and I've watched high school football in:

Virginia
Tennessee
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida
Mississippi

I'd rank Kentucky at the bottom of that list in terms of talent....and not by a small margin. Realistically, Kentucky doesn't have what it takes in terms of population OR demographics to turn out many SEC level players in any given year.

So....you advocate taking kids from an area because some kid MAY one day not consider UK because they haven't recruited the area in the past? Seriously? BTW, it didn't appear to bother Jacob Hyde at all. I don't know about "once in a lifetime" player, but he he has the potential to be one of the best interior DL we've ever recruited from anywhere, let alone Kentucky.

I think that UK should start recruiting the Brooks and Bonnafon(sp)kids at Trinity. Brooks a soph., Bonnafon a jr.

How about just focus on landing the top rated kids that don't reside in UL territory. Biven and Timmons would've been a great place to start. It doesn't get any more "BLUE" than Frankfort and Owensboro, KY.

Just surrender the city of Louisville, the largest population center in the state, 50% of whom are UK fans, and the area which produces year in and year out the largest number of D-1 football recruits? Really? Really?