Days after big pay day, Vince Marrow lands another commitment for UK’s 2021 class
Ohio-centric recruiting analyst Bill Greene maintains a “best guess” list of prospective high school football athletes he believes could be deserving of an offer from Ohio State, the most prolific college football program within his borders. The name Paul Rodriguez has been on that list for a while.
Rodriguez, an offensive lineman out of William Mason High School, committed to the University of Kentucky via an Instagram post Wednesday night. He’s 6-foot-5, 310 pounds and rated as a three-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals.
He became Kentucky’s second commitment in the class of 2021, joining Dublin Coffman linebacker Devon Williams, a teammate of 2020 signee Mike Drennen. The timing of both those commitments caught Greene by surprise.
Rodriguez had received interest from Notre Dame and Penn State and reported offers from several other Big Ten schools: Maryland, Purdue and Rutgers. Greene felt like if he’d gone through the spring evaluation period, “he could have gotten a ton more offers.” Michigan, Michigan State and OSU all would have given him strong consideration this summer, he said.
“He can play tackle or guard, has great footwork, is a nasty kid on the field,” Greene said. “There’s a lot to like with him. He’s got the length you like. He’s a heck of a player. That one caught me by surprise and that’s a great get for Kentucky.”
Vince Marrow was credited as the lead recruiter on both Williams and Rodriguez. Marrow last week received a substantial raise and extension as part of a new contract agreement with UK, which came in response to a pursuit from Michigan State and its new head coach, Mel Tucker.
Greene, like many, perceived a possible move north by Marrow as a bad thing for the Wildcats.
“I was thinking, he’ll recruit the same kids and just change shirts,” Greene said. “He’ll wear green and get the same group to go there that he’s been getting to go to Kentucky. He’s that good of a recruiter.”
Marrow’s genuineness is what sets him apart from other guys, Greene said.
“He’s not a slick, huckster, used-car-salesman type of guy at all,” Greene said. “ ... When people meet him, I think they like him and they trust him, and if you’ve got those two qualities in life, you’re going to succeed. I don’t care if it’s politics or sales or whatever you’re in.”
Steve Clinkscale, UK’s defensive backs coach, has a similar reputation through Ohio and Michigan as Marrow does, and Greene thinks he could have taken on an even greater role as an area recruiter had Marrow joined the Spartans. Hence, that is why Clinkscale’s name has been floated as another after whom Michigan State might come calling.
It would not have been an easy transition, though, especially having to recruit against the man often referred to as “The Big Dog.”
“I’ve been doing this since the early 2000s and I’ve never met anyone like him,” Greene said. “He’s just a different kind of guy, and I don’t know that there’s another Vince Marrow out there. There are other guys who are great recruiters and guys that are great coaches, but to do things the way Vince does? He’s got such a great reputation inside the walls of Ohio. ...
“The program’s not gonna fold up and die if Vince Marrow leaves, but they don’t want him to leave. You can see by how he keeps getting paid, they definitely don’t want him to leave.”
An offensive lineman considered good enough to play at Ohio State committed to Kentucky five days after Marrow re-committed to Kentucky. In the economic world, that’s called an immediate return on investment.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 12:04 PM.
