From CJ writer Jon Hale:
When two of the city’s top football prospects released updated lists of colleges they were considering recently there was a similarity.
Kentucky made the cut, but Louisville didn’t.
“I would definitely read into that,” said Chris Vaughn, a former U of L player and founder of Aspirations Fitness, where many of Louisville's top high school football prospects train.
"… Just kind of a bad taste in some of my kids’ mouths just in how they were recruited by (Louisville’s) staff.”
Trinity senior wide receiver Rondale Moore, the state's No. 1 prospect in 2018, according to 247 Sports' composite rankings, didn't have Louisville in a top-six list of Kentucky, Texas, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Ohio State and Penn State. He committed to Texas Sunday.
Trinity junior defensive end Stephen Herron, the state's No. 1 prospect in 2019, didn't include Louisville on a top-10 list with Kentucky, Michigan, Stanford, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas and Alabama.
Waggener senior defensive back Jairus Brents, a four-star recruit and the top 2018 prospect in the state according to Rivals, is expected to release his own top-10 list soon and will likely include Kentucky on it, Vaughn said.
“I think they’re doing a good job,” Vaughn said of Kentucky's staff. “I think they’re coming around showing their face.”
Along those lines, Moore and Herron each cited a lack of recruiting attention from Louisville's coaches.
“Louisville is 10 minutes away and they never even showed up at school," Herron said. "They never did anything. I don’t know if it was just the fact they thought they were so close they didn’t have to work as hard, but whatever it is, UK came up a few times and I went down for the spring game.”
Moore said he never felt a great connection with Louisville.
“For me, my position coach (at Louisville) and I just didn’t have that relationship,” Moore said prior to committing to Texas. “I camped twice, and I just felt like I hadn’t got that respect that I believed I deserved. ... I felt like they just recruited out-of-state guys more than the guys 10 minutes away from their home. That was just kind of disrespectful to me. Louisville was always kind of like a dream school of mine, you’d say, if I had one.”
Kentucky offered Moore, who transferred from New Albany to Trinity before the 2016-17 school year, a scholarship at a camp in June 2016. He participated in a camp at Louisville that month but did not receive an offer from the Cardinals until February.
Louisville was the first school to offer Herron a scholarship in June 2016, but he said contact with the U of L coaches dropped off after former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham left for Mississippi State.
“I feel like Louisville right now is very focused on these Florida boys and these Southern dudes and are not really even giving in-state a look unless you’re a top dog,” Herron said. “Right now, I don’t really understand it, but that was Louisville’s problem: Just the fact that Grantham left and they didn’t really even make an effort to come see me, any contact. ... They never came out to the school. It just seemed like they were recruiting out-of-state dudes better than they were recruiting me and Rondale, two big athletes, 10 minutes away.”
Though the Trinity duo cut U of L, the Cardinals have appeared to make recruiting in Jefferson County and the rest of Kentucky a priority in upcoming classes. In 2019, U of L is known to have made scholarship offers to at least nine in-state players, the most in a single class since Bobby Petrino was rehired as coach.
When two of the city’s top football prospects released updated lists of colleges they were considering recently there was a similarity.
Kentucky made the cut, but Louisville didn’t.
“I would definitely read into that,” said Chris Vaughn, a former U of L player and founder of Aspirations Fitness, where many of Louisville's top high school football prospects train.
"… Just kind of a bad taste in some of my kids’ mouths just in how they were recruited by (Louisville’s) staff.”
Trinity senior wide receiver Rondale Moore, the state's No. 1 prospect in 2018, according to 247 Sports' composite rankings, didn't have Louisville in a top-six list of Kentucky, Texas, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Ohio State and Penn State. He committed to Texas Sunday.
Trinity junior defensive end Stephen Herron, the state's No. 1 prospect in 2019, didn't include Louisville on a top-10 list with Kentucky, Michigan, Stanford, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas and Alabama.
Waggener senior defensive back Jairus Brents, a four-star recruit and the top 2018 prospect in the state according to Rivals, is expected to release his own top-10 list soon and will likely include Kentucky on it, Vaughn said.
“I think they’re doing a good job,” Vaughn said of Kentucky's staff. “I think they’re coming around showing their face.”
Along those lines, Moore and Herron each cited a lack of recruiting attention from Louisville's coaches.
“Louisville is 10 minutes away and they never even showed up at school," Herron said. "They never did anything. I don’t know if it was just the fact they thought they were so close they didn’t have to work as hard, but whatever it is, UK came up a few times and I went down for the spring game.”
Moore said he never felt a great connection with Louisville.
“For me, my position coach (at Louisville) and I just didn’t have that relationship,” Moore said prior to committing to Texas. “I camped twice, and I just felt like I hadn’t got that respect that I believed I deserved. ... I felt like they just recruited out-of-state guys more than the guys 10 minutes away from their home. That was just kind of disrespectful to me. Louisville was always kind of like a dream school of mine, you’d say, if I had one.”
Kentucky offered Moore, who transferred from New Albany to Trinity before the 2016-17 school year, a scholarship at a camp in June 2016. He participated in a camp at Louisville that month but did not receive an offer from the Cardinals until February.
Louisville was the first school to offer Herron a scholarship in June 2016, but he said contact with the U of L coaches dropped off after former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham left for Mississippi State.
“I feel like Louisville right now is very focused on these Florida boys and these Southern dudes and are not really even giving in-state a look unless you’re a top dog,” Herron said. “Right now, I don’t really understand it, but that was Louisville’s problem: Just the fact that Grantham left and they didn’t really even make an effort to come see me, any contact. ... They never came out to the school. It just seemed like they were recruiting out-of-state dudes better than they were recruiting me and Rondale, two big athletes, 10 minutes away.”
Though the Trinity duo cut U of L, the Cardinals have appeared to make recruiting in Jefferson County and the rest of Kentucky a priority in upcoming classes. In 2019, U of L is known to have made scholarship offers to at least nine in-state players, the most in a single class since Bobby Petrino was rehired as coach.
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