Jeremiah Lowe made a tackle against Boyle County in a win he says gave his team even more confidence for the playoffs. Chris Zollner Photo)
He knew Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow was coming to the game but Frederick Douglass junior defensive back Jeremiah Lowe didn’t think that much about it.
Douglass was ending regular season play at Boyle County and two UK commits — defensive back Ty Bryant of Douglass and defensive lineman Tommy Ziesmer of Boyle — were playing in the game.
But after Douglass’ 37-6 win over Boyle, Lowe got a surprise when Marrow called one of his coaches on the sideline.
“He talked to me and offered me a scholarship,” said Lowe. “It was surreal. It totally surprised me. He just said he liked how I made plays.”
He has a knack for making plays that a lot of college coaches are noticing. The 5-11, 170-pound Lowe already had offers from Michigan, Missouri, Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio) before UK offered.
Michigan was his fourth offer and it came from former UK defensive back coach Steve Clinkscale, the defensive passing game coordinator. Clinkscale’s son, EJ, still plays at Douglass with Lowe.
He also had a “great experience” on an unofficial visit to Notre Dame and hopes a scholarship offer might be coming soon. He’s also made visits to Purdue, Louisville and Memphis. He also has been in contact with Cincinnati.
Lowe had 32 tackles, including two for loss, and four interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown in 2021. This year he has 10 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and two interceptions in 11 games but Douglass’ starters have played only about two quarters per game because of the blowout wins.
“I am just doing my job. It helps the team if everybody just does their job,” he said.
The last time he was clocked in the 40-yard dash he was timed in 4.4 seconds, another reason college recruiters like him so much.
He says the Kentucky offer was a “big deal” just like any Power-Five offer is. However, he has former Douglass teammates Dane Key, Jager Burton and Dekel Crowdus playing at UK now and current teammate Ty Bryant is a UK commit.
“There are no bad offers but you get a lot of support when you get a Kentucky offer and they have guys I have played with already there. That matters,” Lowe said.
What matters today is winning a Class 5A state title, something Douglass has never done. The Broncos got a confidence boost with a 37-6 win over Boyle County to complete an unbeaten regular season and rolled 50-0 over Conner last week. Friday night they host Covington Catholic, a team that beat Douglass in the 2019 state final.
“Winning state is the only thing on my mind. We are just taking it week by week until we get it done,” Lowe said. “We have had some dog teams, but this one just has a different feel, especially on defense. We don’t even like to give up a first down.”
