Montavin Quisenberry Felt the Love Immediately After Committing to UK

Montavin Quisenberry grew up a Kentucky fan and always wanted to play for the Wildcats. (Chris Zollner Photo)

Almost immediately after Boyle County senior Montavin Quisenberry flipped his college commitment from West Virginia to Kentucky he started “getting a lot of love” immediately.

“Kids in school, teachers at school, there was just a lot of love because if you commit to Kentucky in this state, everybody loves you,” said Quisenberry. “All the love did surprise me some because it is from people I don’t even know or have never heard of just showing love. Now everybody is on the bandwagon.:”

Quisenberry has played on two state championship teams since transferring to Boyle for his sophomore year and has put up electrifying numbers. That’s why West Virginia coach Neal Brown, a former Boyle all-state player, recruited him long and hard.

“It was a hard conversation when I had to tell him (Brown) just because he’s a great guy. He’s helped me through all this. He did all that he could do and did a lot for me but he just told me that he was fine with wherever I went. He just wanted what was best for me. He kept it real the whole time and did when I told him,” Quisenberry said.

“He understood the whole thing. He was very down to earth when I talked to him and just gave me a little more advice.”

Brown also played at UK after leaving Boyle and then was Mark Stoops’ first offensive coordinator at Kentucky. Quisenberry said he had also grown up a Kentucky football and basketball fan.

“It is somewhere I wanted to play even when I was younger,” Quisenberry, who plays a variety of positions on offense and also starts on defense, said.

That love for UK made it more difficult for him when he felt Stoops and UK were not making him a priority recruit despite his success and huge numbers again this year. However, his play against Ohio powerhouse St. Edward changed that perception. The 5-9, 175-pound Quisenberry ran for three touchdowns, threw for one score, and had an interception he almost returned for a score.

“After that game, I feel like they saw what I could do against better talent. That’s what they were talking about when I got to go up there for my official visit. That game showed them a lot,” Quisenberry said.

He has rushed for 584 yards and 10 touchdowns this year and caught 45 passes for 760 yards and 12 touchdowns and even thrown two touchdown passes going into Friday’s second-round playoff game against Letcher County Central. He only has one kick return touchdown this year because teams do not kick to him.

The Boyle standout admits it was hard when he didn’t feel like he was a priority for UK like some other in-state players were.

“Obviously it was a school I really liked and I was getting so much more attention from Louisville and West Virginia,” Quisenberry said. “But they (UK coaches) came down, talked to me, and told me what I wanted to hear. I just thought changing my commitment was the best thing to do.”

Recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow was “honest” with Quisenberry about how he would be used on punt return, kick return, slot receiver, and more to be the explosive, versatile player Quisenberry believes he can be in the Southeastern Conference.

“I’ll be happy on special teams, in the backfield, or wherever they want me to get matchups on linebackers and safeties so I can make a play,” he said.

He understands the Kentucky offense has been one of the nation’s lowest-scoring teams and that the Cats have now lost four straight games to drop to 3-6.

“I feel like it will all be better next year because there will be a lot of new players next year,” Quisenberry said. “I know it’s hard to play as a freshman. I know I will have to work on my body as much as I can before the college season starts and I feel like I’ll be fine.”

Quisenberry weighed about 155 pounds when he got to Boyle just over two years ago and has now added about 20 pounds without losing any of his quickness or elusiveness. His strength is also better with all his lifts dramatically better than two years ago.

“I do feel like I’ve gotten faster. The past two seasons I ran like a 4.45 (second 40-yard dash). Then this year, I feel like I’m getting faster,” Quisenberry, who said no one has caught him from behind since his sophomore year, said.

His cutting ability helps separate him from other players as he has that uncanny knack for being able to change direction at full speed.

“I worked on that with my dad when I was younger just watching highlights of other players and doing something that the defense wouldn’t be expecting,” he said.

Even though few teams kick to him, Quisenberry says a big kickoff return excites him more than anything. He likes “busting through a hole” and just running away from defenders much like Barion Brown has been able to do at UK for the last three years.

Quisenberry realized early he could be an elite football player.

“My first-grade year we weren’t really that good. So then my second-grade year, I kind of got the hang of it. My parents just told me to keep the confidence, and I just stayed with it the whole time through high school,” he said. “I started playing quarterback in seventh grade. Then we moved over here and (Boyle) coach (Justin) Haddix has done a good job of getting me the ball and teaching me the game.”

He threw for over 1,000 yards and ran for over 1,000 yards as a freshman quarterback at Garrard County and says that experience has helped make him a better receiver and runner.

“You learn to understand spacing, timing at quarterback, so that helped me a lot,” Quisenberry said.

He will enroll at UK in January after hopefully helping Boyle win another Class 4A but that means he’ll give up his high school senior basketball season

“It was a hard decision because I like basketball, but I know I need to get ready for my first season at Kentucky,” he said. “Vince (Marrow) is very trustworthy and they have told me they feel like I have a chance to play next year, so I need to be ready for that.”