Isaac Sowells Jr. had some fun with his brother and sister on his official visit to Kentucky last weekend. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky recruiting target Isaac “Spike” Sowells Jr. of Louisville Male has always had a football mindset.
His father, Isaac Sr., started three years in college at Indiana and then played in the NFL.
“When I played with the Cleveland Browns and he was 1 or 2 years old, he would go watch practice,” Sowells Sr. said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk. “He was not allowed on the field but after practice was over he could get out there.
“He would go over at 1 or 2 and hit the (blocking) sled. He was the only kid who would do that. My mom recorded it one day and she showed it to me and I could not believe it.”
Spike Sowells started playing football at age 5. While some of his teammates might be content playing in the dirt if they were not in the game, Sowells Sr. said his son always stood by him wanting to know when he was going to play.
“He was always attentive to football and loved the game,” the offensive lineman’s father said. “I started teaching him to understand defense in middle school. He was always willing to learn what he had to do to get better.”
Male made the state championship game during Sowell’s sophomore season. His father took him to the movie to see Black Panther II during state final week but noticed his son sitting back in his seat looking at his phone. The father told him to “quit playing” on the phone.
“Ten minutes later he leaned back again. He gave me that look but later he reclined again. Then I saw he was watching Bullitt East (the team Male would be playing in the state title game) film. I asked him why he was doing that and he said he wanted to study all the tendencies and not want any defensive lineman to one up him. He was 15 doing that.
“Football is as much mental as physical. Just from a mental standpoint I knew he would be a good linemen when he was 11 or 12 years old.”
