Top-Rated Football Prospect in Kentucky is Junior OL Jarvis Strickland

Jarvis Strickland (Paducah Tilghman Football Photo)

If national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming is right, the best college football prospect in Kentucky is not a senior. Instead, it is 6-7, 290-pound junior offensive tackle Jarvis Strickland of Paducah Tilghman.

“He has super impressive length along with a nasty disposition. He can dominate as both a run and pass blocker,” Lemming said.

The 247Sports rankings also have Strickland as the number one player in Kentucky, the ninth-best interior offensive lineman in the country, and the number 176 prospect nationally for 2026.

Kentucky was the first SEC school to offer Strickland a scholarship on June 7, 2022.

Now he also has offers from Alabama, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt along with ones from Indiana, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Charlotte, Liberty, Memphis, Old Dominion, South Florida, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, Eastern Kentucky and others.

“He just carries his weight so well,” Lemming, who made a trip to Paducah recently, said. “In college, he will be like a 320-pound guy by adding 20 to 40 pounds of muscle and he could move inside. He could play anything — tackle, guard, or center. He’s a great left tackle but is also athletic enough to move inside even to center.

“The thing that stands out the most is he is nasty and was bigger than I thought he would be. He takes it to other guys and never backs down or slows down. He’s already a national recruit but probably is only going to get even more offers.