It’s been a common complaint of high school football coaches here that Northern Kentucky has been overlooked when it comes to prospect evaluation. And a quick look at the national recruiting services makes that clear.
But it’s not just Northern Kentucky, it’s the entire state. Not that the complaint is completely across the board. Northern Kentucky’s two SEC signees from last year – Simon Kenton’s Aba Selm and Covington Catholic’s Willie Rodriguez – make that clear. If you’re special enough at the very top end of the scale, they’ll find you.
It’s just the rest of the prospects who may get overlooked. For example, take the well-respected 247 college football website. In its state rankings for the Class of 2025, the site profiles 101 Alabama prospects from a state with a bit more than 5 million in population, just 39 from Kentucky, which has more than 4.5 million people.
But No. 3 in the 247 Kentucky rankings is Cooper senior Austin Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 243-pound edge rusher/tight end/linebacker (and basketball player) who has committed to North Carolina for next season, where he’s the third-ranked prospect for the Tar Heels and 39th-ranked at his position in America. Alexander is the No. 2 senior Kentucky prospect in the Rivals.com rankings, the only Northern Kentuckian in their 15-man class.
The On3 site has Austin No. 3 overall in Kentucky and the No. 44 Edge rusher nationally and No. 312 at all positions. The four-star across-the-board prospect is No. 289 nationally in ESPN’s Top 300 list, one of just two Kentucky players to make it.
Also high in the Kentucky 2025 Class 247 rankings is Ryle’s Dillon Smith, a 6-4, 250-pound defensive lineman ranked 12th among the state’s senior prospects and a “hard commit” to Louisville after recruiting interest from both Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky.
The only other Northern Kentuckian on the 247 senior prospect list is Conner’s Dylan Stewart, a 6-4, 280-pound interior offensive lineman who has attracted recruiting interest from Western Michigan, Air Force, Army and Colgate.
That’s it for this year’s seniors here. But how about the juniors?
The pattern is pretty much the same. Alabama has 20 juniors on the prospect list, Kentucky just seven.
No. 4 in Kentucky is Cooper’s 6-2, 190-pound quarterback Cam O’Hara, the No. 432 prospect nationally and the No. 35 quarterback. The quick-armed O’Hara, who led the Jaguars to the state championship game last fall, has drawn interest from Kentucky, Miami of Ohio, Akron, Austin Peay and Tennessee State going into his junior season.
Rivals.com has O’Hara, with an additional offer from Western Kentucky, as a three-star prospect and the No. 1 prospect in the junior class – and only Northern Kentuckian — with recruiting interest also from Notre Dame, where Highlands’ alum Gino Guidugli, is the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.
TMU ELEVATES BERLEKAMP TO ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
Spencer Berlekamp has been promoted to associate head men’s basketball coach, head coach Justin Ray announced. Berlekamp, who joined the Saints’ staff in 2019, will be entering his sixth season.
As the top assistant, Berlekamp has helped the Saints through two major transitions – from the NCAA’s Division III to the NAIA in 2019 and from the NAIA to the NCAA’s Division II in 2023. TMU’s 106-43 record (a .741 winning percentage) through that time is the most successful run in school history. Included in those numbers is a 31-5 season in 2022 that took the Saints to the NAIA Final Four leading to the program’s first ever national No. 1 ranking in 2023.
Berlekamp’s first four seasons saw the Saints ranked in the Top 25 each year while earning four consecutive national tournament trips. TMU finished fourth in the 13-team NCAA Division II Great Midwest Conference in 2023-24 with a 19-win season. He’s recruited and helped develop three All-Americans, two conference player of the year selections, two freshman of the year selections, two Bevo Francis Top 50 nominees and 14 all-conference selections.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @dweber3440.