Top 10: Central Kentucky football players to watch in 2020
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2020 Kentucky high school football preview
The 2020 high school football season kicked off Friday, Sept. 11. High school sports beat writer Jared Peck wrote numerous stories in the Herald-Leader and on Kentucky.com previewing the season around the city, region and state and highlighting the top players and games and rankings. Click below to read all of his stories in case you missed any of them.
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Central Kentucky abounds with high school football talent.
Let’s take a look at 10 of the top players making names for themselves outside of Lexington.
These are some of the athletes (listed in alphabetical order) we expect you should be hearing a lot about this season from schools around the Bluegrass (the top 10 Lexington players were named on Monday).
Nick Broyles
School: Franklin County.
Profile: Broyles, a 6-1, 180-pound senior dual-threat QB, makes his second appearance in a row on this list thanks to another standout season that saw him throw for 2,437 yards and 32 TDs with only four interceptions. The three-year starter also led the Flyers in rushing with 959 yards and 11 TDs. His college offers include Division II Alabama A&M.
Jonathan Berry
School: Scott County.
Profile: Jonathan Berry, a 6-5, 273-pound senior offensive tackle, has college offers that include Austin Peay and Morehead State. He’s a key cog in the Cardinals’ offense, which generated 3,736 yards of rushing offense and 10 wins last season.
Caleb Burns
School: Danville.
Profile: Caleb Burns, a 5-10, 194-pound junior running back, rushed for 1,156 yards in nine games for a 128-yards-per-game average that ranked him among the top 30 in the state despite playing for a 3-7 Admirals team that struggled in one of the state’s toughest Class 2A districts. Expect a big year behind a more experienced offensive line in 2020.
Darion Dearinger
School: Anderson County.
Profile: Darion Dearinger, a 6-3, 265-pound senior defensive end, committed to Marshall on July 21 and got two more college offers since. Dearinger led the Bearcats in tackles (60) and sacks (10) and had 27 tackles for a loss in 2019.
Fred Farrier
School: Franklin County.
Profile: Farrier, a 6-1, 170-pound senior wide receiver/defensive back, ranks as a three-star recruit according to the 247Sports.com and was one of the top wideout threats in the state for each of the last two years. He caught for 794 yards and 11 TDs in 2019 and has garnered 22 Division I offers, so far, including Cincinnati, each U.S. service academy and a number of Ivy League, MAC and OVC schools.
Jeremy Hamilton
School: Scott County.
Profile: Jeremy Hamilton, a 6-1, 180-pound junior running back/wide receiver, will play both positions this season and “can fly,” Coach Jim McKee said. Hamilton was just offered by Cincinnati. He gained 244 yards and scored five TDs as a sophomore behind two 1,000-yard rushers. This year, he’ll get a lot more touches.
Azariah Israel
School: Clark County.
Profile: Azariah Israel, a 5-10, 180-pound senior running back, had some eye-popping games in 2019, including going for 346 yards and six touchdowns against Montgomery County. His 2,346 yards in 2019 ranked third in the state. His 10 Division I offers include Western Kentucky and Air Force, according to 247sports.com.
Adrian “AJ” Jones
School: Madison Southern.
Profile: AJ Jones, a 5-7, 165-pound junior running back, showed big play ability as a sophomore and averaged 107 yards per game on his way to 1,394 yards on the season with 19 TDs. His breakout 218-yard, four-TD game against Woodford County keyed a district playoff win.
Kalib Perry
School: Great Crossing.
Profile: Kalib Perry, a 6-4, 201-pound safety/quarterback/wide receiver, has hit the recruiting charts for his defense., where he ranked among the state’s top tacklers last season. But he figures to be a huge part of the Warhawks’ offense this season, as well, Coach Ricky Bowling said. A three-star recruit according to 247sports.com, Perry has offers from West Virginia and Boston College, among others.
Will McDaniel
School: Boyle County.
Profile: Will McDaniel, a 5-11, 190-pound senior running back/strong safety, led the Rebels in rushing last year with 887 yards and 17 TDs on a team full of big-play makers. As a defender, he racked up 65 tackles, a sack and two interceptions. He has some D-III offers but Coach Justin Haddix believes he’ll have a chance to play at the DI FCS level.
More to watch
Other players of note: Clayton Davis, Lincoln County; Brayden Dunn, Mercer County; Jackson Geilear, Woodford County; Jackson Green, West Jessamine; Trace Mitchell, Clark County; Patrick Moren, Madison Central; Jackson Smith, Boyle County; Walter Smith, Madison Southern; Azeno Williams, Frankfort; and Tommy Ziesmer, Boyle County.
Subject area: For the purposes of this list, we’re defining Central Kentucky counties the same way the state government does: Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Estill, Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Nicholas, Powell, Scott and Woodford (minus Fayette).
Miss someone? Putting together a list of top players can be an inexact science. Have someone in mind? Alert digital sports writer Jared Peck on Twitter @HLpreps.
This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 2:26 PM.
