Western Hills Football Graphic
He had not played high school football until the 2023 season when he was a junior, but it didn’t take long for Javeon Campbell of Western Hills to make a huge impression.
He already has narrowed his college choices to Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. He’s even told several national powers not to even try to recruit him.
The latest 247Sports now have Campbell ranked as the No. 1 high school player in Kentucky and No 109 nationally, a remarkable feat considering 12 months ago he had not played a high school football game. However, the 6-5, 265-pound defensive standout is now the state’s top ranked player after getting 14 1/2 sacks in eight games in 2023.
“He went from nobody knowing who he was until two months later everybody knew who he was. Now he can go any place in the country and play,” said Western Hills coach Simon Vanderpool.
The state’s No. 2 player on 247Sports is now Paducah Tilghman two-way star Martels Carter. The 6-0, 190-pound Carter is a four-star recruit like Campbell. He has Kentucky, Louisville, Auburn and Colorado as his four finalists and will make his college announcement on social media today. He had 43 catches for 1,066 yards and 10 scores in 13 games last year and returned six kicks for scores. He’s being mainly recruited as a defensive back after having 44 tackles and three interceptions last season.
Paducah Tilghman coach Sean Thompson said Friday he was not sure where Carter, No. 215 on 247Sports national list, is leaning. He has “multiple” recruiting videos ready when he decides which one to post today on his grandmother’s birthday. However, most predictions are for Carter to become UK’s first defensive commitment in the 2025 recruiting class.
Cooper linebacker/tight end Austin Alexander, a North Carolina commit, is ranked third in Kentucky. The 6-3, 243-pound Alexander had a bevy of scholarship offers like Carter has.
Kentucky’s No. 4 player now on 247Sports is Jeremiah Jones of Murray, a three-star prospect who is seen as a Louisville lean.
Fifth on the list is Louisville Male three-star Isaac Sowells Jr. The 6-2, 295-pound offensive lineman named Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina State, Miami and South Carolina as his final five schools on Friday. He plans to visit South Carolina (May 31), Kentucky (June 7), Miami (June 14) and North Carolina State (June 21) before making his college announcement on July 18.
6 Responses
Wow, the number 1 player in the state is ranked 109 nationally? That doesn’t say much for Kentucky high school football.
KY gets slighted by the ranking systems in BB too. It does seem to lag nationally in FB, with some exceptions.
One of the 1st things Bill Curry addressed years ago, was the need for KY HS FB to elevate its game to produce players capable of helping UK beat SEC foes. It’s still a work in progress.
Just look at the schools recruiting him, and that is all that matters. These coaches look at the potential of the player and how they fit with their team. Also, I don’t care much about the overall ranking, that doesn’t tell you anything. I like to know their ranking against others at the same position. These ranking people with their own little systems always give higher rankings to those on offense. Also, most of those doing the rankings have never seen most of the kids play. I’ll trust the coaches over those sitting behind a computer and watching 10 minutes of video on a kid.
Exactly! Most of them are just self-appointed experts.
Fingers crossed we get this guy. It would make our recruiting class jump from 25th to probably 18. Securing top 25 recruiting classes is a must. Top 20 classes would’ve even better. I don’t rely on the rankings but it gives you a general idea of who your getting. If we can land Campbell we will be off to a great start on the recruiting front so far. Get a couple more big names to sign and jump up into the top 10-15. We need one of those years. Stoops and Marrow do a good job of keeping the guys that are better out of the bunch and letting 3rd string guys transfer. We never lose one of our star guys.
109 isn’t terrible. Take away hotbeds like the states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia, California, Oklahoma, and Texas where there probably should be more talented players based on population alone. If each of those have 5 players ranked higher that puts the kid from Kentucky in a more respectful position numerically. Try to remember this states population is only 4.5 million. Hell, our best basketball prospects aren’t usually rated very high but no one is going to argue about the the miss on Reed Sheppards ranking nationally. He was obviously one of the best players in the country and went out and proved it.