Cats Still in the Hunt for Instate Football Star

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1500"] Scout[/caption] On Sunday Louisville Trinity four-star wide receiver and UK target Rondale Moore announced he will attend the University of Texas.  One of his Trinity teammates, five-star defensive end Stephen Herron Jr., was visiting Texas when Moore pulled the trigger, but he's not quite ready to follow in his footsteps. A year behind Moore in the class of 2019, Herron is a consensus Top 50 player and a five-star prospect.  The junior to-be has cut his list of schools to ten: Texas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Stanford, Ole Miss, Miss. State, Georgia and Tennessee.  He told The Courier-Journal he will begin visiting one finalist per weekend once the dead period ends.

“I am taking a visit to all of my schools on my top 10, so I can give them all an equal chance no matter where I have them at right now in my mind,” Herron said. “Everybody is going to get an equal chance.”

The Cats have a clear advantage if Herron chooses to stay in his home state.  Mississippi State replaced Louisville once Todd Grantham left Herron's hometown for Starkville.  Still, it may be too difficult to keep him home.

“Texas is definitely going to be a big school for me right now just considering the fact that I came down here, they showed me the world and not even all the coaches are in right now,” Herron said. “Definitely it’s going to be a hard decision when it comes to decision day … As far as Texas goes, it’s definitely a nice place out here, nice fan base. Without a doubt, they definitely showed me the most love. I’ve got some close friends of the family out here, so it’s a pretty good place.”

An edge rusher that would play outside linebacker in UK's 3/4, Herron's top priorities when picking a school are playing time, academics and his relationship with the coaching staff.   If Kentucky can't keep Herron home, they're still in good shape with the best prospects in Herron's junior class. Kentucky was the first to offer Scott County offensive lineman Bryan Hudson, an elite multi-sport athlete that draws comparisons to Landon Young.  John Schlarman was also one of the firsts to offer another elite offensive tackle, Glasgow's Tanner Bowles.  Milton Wright, a do-it-all athlete for Stefan LaFors at CAL, has offers from UK and UofL and will be a top candidate for Mr. Football in the near future.  On the other side of the ball, South Warren defensive tackle Jacob Lacey already has 12 major offers and will be considered a Top 300 player in his class. In 2018, they have some ground to make up with Waggener four-star cornerback Jairus Brents, but they're in good shape with two other elite athletes.  The Cats are in a duel with Tennessee for Bowling Green linebacker Justice Dingle, while Doss athlete Terez Traynor is on the verge of committing to UK. [The Courier-Journal]