University Of Kentucky Football Preparing For Class Of 2018
By Corey Leahy
It’s not uncommon for college coaches to start planning ahead for upcoming seasons, but to look five years ahead may be a little too much. Mark Stoops, the football coach at the University of Kentucky, recently offered a verbal scholarship to a thirteen year old cornerback from Indiana. You heard me right, a 13 year old, 7th grader.
But he’s no ordinary 7th grader. Jairus Brents has got some talent in the defensive backfield, and apparently Coach Stoops believes that he’ll get even better in the next five years. What makes this story even better is that Brents doesn’t appear to be letting this national spotlight get to his head.
In an article by ESPN.com’s Jared Shanker, Brents was quoted as saying,
"“It’s not a big deal. It’s just an offer,” and,“It’s a good accomplishment, but I’m focusing on being the best cornerback ever and working hard.”"
It’s great that Jairus knows he’s got a few more years to improve and get better, and that he’s not claiming to be the best cornerback at the age of 13. Even though he got a verbal scholarship offer just recently, he can’t commit or sign any recruiting letters until he is a senior in high school. So it looks like Coach Stoops will have to find other forms of help at CB for the next 5 years, but at least he’s getting a headstart on one player.
This isn’t the only time we’ve seen kids get verbal offers while still in middle school. An eighth grader, Dylan Moses, has been offered scholarships from some other top football schools as well as Nebraska, UCLA, and FSU.
And Brents isn’t even the first seventh grader to get an offer if you can believe that! Back in 2010, David Sills got an offer to be the quarterback at USC for the 2015-16 season, because he can’t sign until February of 2015. So far the idea of talking to a player really early has paid off for the Trojans; Sills is still verbally committed to USC. Maybe the Wildcats should hope for the same luck with Jairus Brents.