Three future Wildcats, three more UK targets to play in Lexington HS football opener
The University of Kentucky football team isn’t scheduled to kick off its season until Sept. 26, but several of its in-state commits — and even more recruits whom it’s chasing — will take the field together in Lexington two weeks before that.
Frederick Douglass High School and North Hardin High School, located in Radcliff, agreed to play each other on Sept. 11, the first Friday of the first week in which competitions have been allowed to occur by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
It is the first time that Douglass, last year’s runner-up in Class 5A, and North Hardin, a semifinalist in Class 6A, will face each other.
Douglass boasts one player, wide receiver Dekel Crowdus, and North Hardin has two, running back La’Vell Wright and safety Jordan Lovett, who’ve committed to UK as part of the 2021 recruiting class. As of Tuesday, they represent 20 percent of the players committed to the Wildcats in this recruiting cycle.
Another Kentucky target — highly coveted offensive guard Jager Burton — also plays for Douglass. UK is thought to be one of the leaders for Burton, along with Alabama and Ohio State, and he too is part of the 2021 class. Burton, a four-star prospect and a top-five guard nationally, would be Kentucky’s highest-rated commit in the class (that distinction currently belongs to Crowdus, who’s also a four-star recruit).
Two more players with UK offers also play for Douglass. Ty Bryant and Dane Key are both in the junior class and boast several high-level offers. Key, the son of former Wildcat Donte Key, is a four-star prospect who has also reported offers from Penn State, Tennessee and Oregon. Bryant has reported offers from Tennessee, Maryland and West Virginia.
North Hardin seniors Marcus Harris (Kent State) and Michael Lunz (Tulane) have also committed as part of the 2021 class. Sophomore Trey Alexander, an offensive tackle who’s 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, has an offer from Eastern Kentucky.
The game between the Broncos and Trojans came together after each of their original week-one opponents canceled their games, citing safety concerns. North Hardin originally was going to travel to Tates Creek, also in Lexington, while Douglass was set to host city rival Paul Laurence Dunbar.
As of Tuesday it is one of only two high school football games still scheduled to occur that week in Lexington. Sayre School, coached by former NFL quarterback Chad Pennington and entering its first full season of varsity competition, is set to host Eminence that night.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 3:57 PM.
