Kentucky commit Elijah Groves plays multiple positions, including running back, but has been compared to former UK star linebacker Josh Allen by UK coaches.
Elijah Groves likes to stay busy — and productive — on the football field.
The 6-4, 220-pound Kentucky commit from Cross Plains, Tenn., will play punter, receiver, outside linebacker, safety and special teams. He had 59 tackles, including four for loss, and two interceptions in 2022 and ran for 209 yards and four touchdowns to help his team reach the third round of the playoffs.
In his team’s 20-7 win two weeks ago over Monterey, he caught three passes for 82 yards and one touchdown, ran once for 10 yards and intercepted a pass. In a win over Sycamore last week he had three catches for 73 yards and six tackles.
He’s averaging 6.5 tackles per game for East Robertson (4-0) along with 60 yards receiving per game. He has three touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I hate watching. I want to be on the field,” said Groves. “Kentucky is recruiting me as an outside linebacker, kind of a Josh Allen type player. I know I will need to put on some more weight and more than likely will have a redshirt year to let me get bigger and stronger.”
Groves said he connected quickly with UK defensive coordinator Brad White, wanted to play in the Southeastern Conference and wanted to be close to home (he lives about 30 minutes from Nashville) so his parents could see him play in college.
“My family and friends knew it was going to be Kentucky after I made my visit,” Groves said. “They were all telling me blue looked the best on me.”
His other two finalists were Purdue and North Carolina State but the four-star linebacker had 15 offers.
He says football runs in his family (his father played football while his mother played basketball and soccer). His cousin, Taylor Groves, plays at Mississippi. Groves’ younger brothers Isaiah (6-0, 185 pounds) and Zach (6-4, 225 pounds). Both brothers also have offers from Kentucky. Isaiah is a running back and Zach a defensive end at East Robertson High School. All three brothers plan to be at Kroger Field for games this season.
“We all push each other. Isaiah is a really good running back and I have to hit him every day in practice. Zach is a big defensive lineman and helps me get off blocks,” Elijah said. “Me and Isaiah share the ball. He gets about 70 percent of the carries and does not play D (defense). Me and Zach have similar styles in that we both like to get to the ball and make something happen.”
Zach has offers from Tennessee, Purdue and NC State along with Kentucky. Isaiah also has a NC State offer to go with the one from Kentucky and is a top 20 player in Tennessee. He ran for 201 yards in East Robertson’s win two weeks ago and came back with 241 yards and four scores on 19 carries in a 49-20 win over Sycamore last week.
“I just leave him (Isaiah) alone and will let him go into his senior year and see what he does,” Elijah said.
Elijah makes a lot happen in basketball and track, too. He averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in basketball last year and went over the 1,000-point career mark. His team won state when he was a sophomore and lost in the first round of the state last year.
“Because I play basketball some people think I won’t be physical on the football field but I am. I love to hit,” he said.
He has personal-best times of 11.84 and 23.90 seconds in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, respectively, and cleared 5 feet, 8 inches in the high jump.
Elijah admits he was a Tennessee fan growing up and did not know much about Kentucky football.
“One day one of our coaches told me one of the Kentucky coaches was watching practice. I had a good practice, they talked to me and compared me to Josh Allen. Late that night they called and made an offer,” he said.
“I knew Josh Allen played for the (Jacksonville) Jaguars but I didn’t know he went to Kentucky. I did not know he was (national defensive) player of the year until I researched him. But I like having expectations like that on me. That’s how it has always been and makes me the player I am.”
