Cov Cath TE Willie Rodriguez on the verge of landing Kentucky offer
Willie Rodriguez is one of the fastest-rising recruits in the Bluegrass State. The 6-foot-4 tight end is coming off a shortened junior season at Covington Catholic that saw him haul in five touchdowns and 300 receiving yards in just five games played. A broken elbow put an end to his impressive start, but those five games — along with his impressive wrestling resume — have put him on the national radar as a budding prospect from the class of 2024.
So far, Rodriguez holds over 20 Division I scholarships. The likes of Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Boston College, Minnesota, Duke, UCF, Vanderbilt, and Georgia Tech make up his expanding offer sheet. The home-state Kentucky Wildcats have yet to officially extend an offer, but after taking another visit to Lexington over the weekend, one could be on the way.
“The second (visit) went really really well,” Rodriguez told KSR earlier this week. “I talked to Coach (Mark) Stoops, Coach (Liam) Coen, and a lot to Coach (Vince) Marrow. Me and Coach Marrow spent a lot of time together, really got to know him. He really got to know me and my family a lot more so it was really cool being able to talk to him. I think we’re definitely going on the right path with recruiting right now. He liked me a lot, he talked to me a lot, showed me a lot of interest, so hopefully something good comes soon.”
Rodriguez’s first trip to UK’s campus was back in the fall for a gameday visit. But this time around, he got to spend more time with Coen, who is back on staff as the team’s offensive coordinator. Coen was impressed with Rodriguez’s wrestling clips and the fact that he put on 35 pounds and a couple of inches over the last year. Although Rodriguez came to town on Saturday, a day after Kentucky’s Pro Day, he was still able to meet and talk with the likes of Will Levis, Chris Rodriguez, and Carrington Valentine, who are all on the verge of turning pro next month.
Aside from growing up an hour down the road from UK, Rodriguez holds another connection to the program. His older cousin, Patrick Henschen, is a former walk-on tight end for the Wildcats out of Newport Central Catholic. Rodriguez, who was born in the northern Kentucky area, was always familiar with UK, but once Henschen joined the team, he began to follow them more closely.
“When he went there, I started to go to a few games and it really caught my eye,” Rodriguez said. “It definitely turned into one of my big schools that I like a lot.”
Rodriguez says that he doesn’t have any current plans to return to Kentucky at this time, but he fully intends to schedule one in the future. In the meantime, he’ll visit Ole Miss on Tuesday, Virginia Tech on Friday, Notre Dame on Saturday, and Ohio State next week. Rodriguez also took visits last week to Pittsburgh and Penn State, with the latter “showing some real strong interest”.
His connection with the Fighting Irish is notable, as Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer, who is a projected first-round pick in next month’s NFL Draft, also suited up for Covington Catholic. Rodriguez didn’t play with the Colonels at the same time as Mayer, but the two have met multiple times in the past.
Going into the summer ahead of his senior season, Rodriguez is beginning to identify his top options. He listed Indiana and Virginia Tech as two schools showing a lot of interest, with Minnesota and Duke not far behind. Kentucky is high on his list, as well, but the ‘Cats will need to extend an offer first before the next steps can be taken.
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