Other schools wanted ‘super senior’ Josh Ali. He believes in Kentucky.
The first University of Kentucky football player to publicly announce an endorsement deal wasn’t All-America offensive tackle Darian Kinnard, hometown hero Wan’Dale Robinson or master public speaker Josh Paschal.
That distinction went to Josh Ali, the Wildcat who led UK in pass targets last year and the only receiver on UK’s roster who has caught more than a single touchdown as a Wildcat (he has four to date, good for 25 percent of the total receiving touchdowns Kentucky has scored over the last two seasons).
Ali is the official “face” of Keen Water, an Atlanta-based hydration business co-founded by Faheem Ali, Josh’s father. If things go as planned under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, he’ll also be one of the faces for a revamped attack that should boost the Wildcats’ standing in the Southeastern Conference passing rankings.
Any level of progress would be an improvement from where UK has been in that department — the program ranked last in passing each of the last three seasons — but no individual on Kentucky’s roster stands to gain more from the December staff shake-up than Ali, a “super senior” who chose to return for an extra year of eligibility under the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver instead of pursuing a professional career, in football or elsewhere.
That he’s even playing another year for the Wildcats is a testament to Mark Stoops’ belief in Ali as a talent, and his own belief in what they can achieve this season. A number of receivers left the team this offseason, including Ali’s former high school teammate Akeem Hayes, who departed about a year after another Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) product, B.J. Alexander, transferred. Outside of Robinson — a prolific addition from Nebraska via the transfer portal — Ali is the only pass-catcher on UK’s roster deserving of the “proven commodity” label.
Ali is eager to deliver.
“I have goals and dreams,” he told the Herald-Leader in a recent sitdown, “and I’m not going to let anybody stop that.”
Family
Faheem Ali was fresh off his latest tour in the Arena Football League and working in Houston, Texas, when Josh’s mother, Katrina Gray, reached out for help raising Josh when he was 5 years old. Faheem submitted his two-week notice and moved to Miami, where most of the Alis still reside.
“I just did what I’m supposed to do as a dad,” Faheem said in a phone interview. “He’s my son.”
Having his father in the picture was transformative for Josh, who still spent weekends with his mom and remains close with her to this day, but was perhaps even more so for Faheem. The former Louisiana Tech receiver grew up alongside his oldest son as the more hands-on version of fatherhood tested him more than any defensive back ever could.
Faheem introduced Josh to football. He was a natural, his father says, which is believable; you don’t earn offers to play wide receiver in college without having a knack for catching the football.
UK was the only Southeastern Conference school to offer Josh, who coming out of his junior year had few notable offers of which to speak. He transferred to Chaminade-Madonna Prep, along with his teammate Henry Colombi (who started games at quarterback for Texas Tech last season) for his final season, and suddenly offers started rolling in. At the end of his recruitment, he signed with Kentucky over Central Florida and Utah, two schools that during Ali’s college tenure have considerably outclassed UK as far as passing the ball is concerned.
Multiple schools were ready to welcome Josh with open arms had he opted to transfer after UK’s Gator Bowl win over North Carolina State in December, his father said, including at least one Power Five program. Faheem over the last couple of years wondered aloud if his son should seek greener pastures, and would have endorsed a move had he wanted to make one.
“Josh has really been loyal to Kentucky,” Faheem said. “It was different with me. I went to three different schools, you know? I commend him on that. He stood firm and his belief was in the BBN and the University of Kentucky. … It was a good feeling for me, because it’s like, he’s really grown up and making his own decisions. I can’t play for him. It’s something that he has to live with, and I respect it.”
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Growth
Mark Stoops’ decision to fire Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw, who together helped lead UK to five straight bowl games, didn’t only readjust the outlook for UK’s offense. It assured UK’s returning players and incoming recruits that the man for whom they signed up to play was willing to do whatever is necessary to keep the Wildcats on the come-up.
It sure opened Josh Ali’s eyes.
“It made me realize he’s really serious about this season and the guys that we have now,” Ali said. “He really wants to win. The changes that he’s made? Those were his friends. Coach Gran and Coach Hinshaw, they are close friends. That takes a lot, to let your friends go their separate ways. That shows as a coach, ‘This is something that isn’t working and I gotta change it because I want to win.’ I feel like now he wants to win more than ever.”
As the only returning receiver with any meaningful production under his belt, the expectation is for Ali to be a leader on and off the field. The addition of Robinson via the transfer portal has eased the load of those responsibilities, particularly on the field, where the speedster’s presence opens things along the sidelines more for the most experienced Wildcats pass-catcher.
Some No. 1 receivers would scoff at a player of Robinson’s caliber butting into their picture. Ali understands that if he’s ever going to play in the NFL, he has to be ready to compete with teammates as much as opponents. He’s embraced the ex-Husker.
“We’re gonna open it up for each other,” Ali said. “Wan’Dale’s a great player, man. He can stretch the field, he’s great with the ball in his hands. I feel like me and him on the field at the same time is scary. People gotta see the first game. Nobody knows what we have right now. After the first game, I think people will realize the power we have on offense.”
Ali since the season ended has graduated (with a degree in community and leadership development), and is now working on a second bachelor’s degree in communication. He’s lifted the burden of becoming a college graduate and can focus a little bit more on improving his body and technique.
When his football career comes to an end, Ali wants to help his grandmother Hanan, who owns and operates an early childhood and K-8 school in Ocala, Fla. He wants to follow in her footsteps and those of his mother, who herself graduated from college a few months before Josh and is now a social worker.
“She loves helping people,” he said. “That’s something I really value, too. If it was up to her, she would — and this is something I want to do, too — have her own group home for old people. She wants to take care of old people. She loves it.”
Both Faheem and Josh referred to each other as their “best friend.” In spite of his frustrations with UK’s offense in the past, Faheem has had the privilege of watching his son play college football and graduate, things his own father wasn’t alive to see. He admires the commitments Josh has made, and kept, to his teammates and himself.
UK’s leading receiver says his dad doesn’t say it out loud, but he knows he’s made him proud. Unprompted, he went on the record.
“He’s seen a lot through me, the growth, and I’ve seen the growth in him as well,” Faheem said. “I think both of us, we’re proud of each other.”
