Boyle County is becoming popular recruiting stop for Kentucky
Justin Haddix has continued the strong winning tradition at Danville (Ky.) Boyle County. The Rebels are once again a high school football powerhouse, and the University of Kentucky football program is taking notice.
The 4A program turned into a juggernaut under head coach Chuck Smith as the Rebels won five consecutive state titles from 1999-2003. During that time, future Kentucky tight end and nine-year NFL veteran Jacob Tamme was a star for the Rebels. Starting Kentucky kicker Taylor Begley (2002-2005) was also a former Rebel.
From there, the program would again win state titles in 2009 and 2010 going a combined 30-0 under head coach Larry French. USC signee Lamar Dawson was the star for those teams as the Rebels regained dominance.
Smith returned to the program and led Boyle County to another state title in 2017 with a roster that saw multiple players go on to play college football. However, Smith decided to retire following the 2019 season as Boyle County faced another transition.
After six years at Corbin (Ky.) High, Justin Haddix left for Boyle County and has had immediate results in Danville. The Rebels have won consecutive state titles in 2020 and 2021 with a roster that is getting a lot of attention from the Kentucky coaching staff.
Jackson Smith was a signee for Kentucky in the class of 2022, and the specialist could be a kicker or punter at the next level. Start wideout Cole Lanter (78 receptions, 1,288 yards, 21 touchdowns) accepted a preferred walk-on spot with the Wildcats and was on campus early as a spring enrollee.
In the class of 2023, Kentucky recruited EDGE Tommy Ziemser, and the top-600 prospect committed to the Wildcats over West Virginia last week. Despite some size concerns, the versatile prospect appears to be a great scheme fit for Brad White’s defense with some playmaking traits.
The recruiting work at Boyle County does not appear to be over.
Last week, class of 2023 prospect Dakota Patterson reunited with his old head coach as the three-star prospect transferred to Boyle County. A once hot recruitment has faded a recently with Patterson, but this reunion could see interest ramp up with a player that could play offense or defense in college. Meanwhile, there is another young name in the pipeline to keep an eye on.
Brock Driver is a class of 2025 prospect, and the rising sophomore is officially on the radar as a Power Five recruit. As a freshman at Boyle County, Driver recorded 12 tackles on defense and logged three rushes on offense. Currently, Driver has the look of a stand-up outside linebacker in college. Kentucky is looking to get an early start in his recruitment.
Soon on Saturdays at Kroger Field, Boyle County products will be suiting up and making some plays for Kentucky. There could be more than a couple on the roster at one point as Haddix appears to be building quite the high school football program in Danville.
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