Ohio Sophomore Receiver Nash Montgomery Liked Energy at UK

Ohio receiver Nash Montgomery hopes to make another trip to Lexington during spring practice.

Making an unofficial visit to Kentucky football was nothing new for Mike Montgomery.

He made the trip from Findlay, Ohio, about three years ago with his oldest son, Ryan, a four-star quarterback who was ranked 65th overall in his recruiting class by Rivals.com. Ryan is now a freshman quarterback at Georgia who played in one game last season.

Recently he was back at Kentucky with his son Nash Montgomery, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver at Findlay High School.

Mike Montgomery also has a son, Luke, who is an offensive lineman at Ohio State and was the top ranked player in Ohio in 2022 and a top 100 national player.

“Luke never really got serious about Kentucky but Ryan did but there were concerns (offensive coordinator) Liam Coen not being there and then he did leave,” Mike Montgomery said. “(Kentucky offensive coordinator) Joe Sloan recruited Ryan at LSU and knows our family very well. I thought for Kentucky to include Nash, a rising junior with so many top juniors that it brought in for visits.”

Nash Montgomery’s recruiting is just starting to take off but new UK coach Will Stein impressed him and his father when he spoke to the overall group of players.

“Just the energy in general there was very impressive,” Mike Montgomery said. “It’s pretty easy to understand the message that Indiana did (win a national championship), so why not us.”

Mike Montgomery knows Kentucky will “get more serious” when his son has a chance to produce more on the field this season.

“We tried to get Nash to be a quarterback, too, but he wanted to catch the ball, not throw it,” Mike Montgomery said. “So I’ve got a lineman, quarterback and receiver. I hope he has one more growth spurt. He is 6-1 and might mold into a tight end body. His team will feature him this season as a receiver.

“He has a really good football IQ. Coaches talk about how advanced he is knowing the game and he can pick up what to do at all three receiver spots. We are hoping for big things out of him this fall. We know he is getting invited to some things now because of his brothers and connections we have made. We are going to visit a couple more places to get him excited.”

Nash Montgomery had been to Kentucky when Ryan Montgomery visited.

“He was a tag along. His biggest excitement then was getting to go to a Kentucky basketball game,” Mike Montgomery said. “He kind of anticipated there would be a lot of good energy but he was surprised with the attention he got. He was not one of the premier players there but we felt we were totally part of the group and he liked that. Some other schools reached out and talked to him but said they were only taking juniors for visits right now.”

Nash Montgomery’s brothers are “open books” when it comes to sharing recruiting advice and want what is best for him.

“They will put in their two cents when asked. He is ahead of the curve because of their experiences and getting to tag along on the ride. You cannot beat those experiences,” Mike Montgomery said. “Each boy has to walk his own path. A Power Four career would be amazing but nothing is beneath us. We would never feel we were too good for any school at any level.

“He was impressed with how relatable all the Kentucky coaches were. Kentucky is obviously the closest SEC school to us and he was excited to be around the staff and the buzz going on there.”

Nash Montgomery hopes to make another visit to Kentucky during spring practice and hopes he gets invited to attend a UK game during the season.

“He is not on the same trajectory as his brothers were early in their high school careers. He’s starting his own walk. The big thing is producing this fall where he can get on the map even more. But getting to come to Kentucky was a big deal for us.”