Five front-runners for Mr. Football

Corey Robinson

Before listing the leading contenders for Mr. Football this season, I’m obligated to remind you that this time last year, Lone Oak quarterback Corey Robinson appeared on nobody’s radar — not even T.J. Shuck’s First-Alert gizmo — as one of the best players in the state. But Mr. Robinson threw for a mind-boggling 5,872 yards and 91 TDs while leading the Purple Flash to the Class 4A finals, and was voted Mr. Football over pre-season favorites such as Brandon Newman of Pleasure Ridge Park, John Cole of Somerset and E.J. Fields of Frankfort.

Four of the five players on my pre-season list this year are offensive stars because they’re going to put up the numbers that get noticed. Guys like defensive lineman Mister Cobble, offensive center Samuel Simpson and offensive guard Larry Warford — all of whom have commited to UK — deserve consideration, but they’re long shots to win Mr. Football because they don’t play glamor positions. That’s not fair, but that’s football.

My five front-runners, in alphabetical order:

DEUCE FINCH, St. Xavier running back. Tigers Coach Mike Glaser says Finch is the best RB he’s ever coached. “We could ride him to a state championship,” Glaser said. Finch is considering offers from UK, Louisville, Cincinnati, Stanford, Illinois, Northwestern, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

JUSTIN GREEN, Male running back/defensive back. Coach Bob Redman has had a flood of talent flow through Male, but he thinks Green is the fastest and quickest player he’s ever had. Green, who has commited to Ohio State as a defensive back, won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes in the state track meet last spring.

LAROD KING, North Hardin quarterback. The 6-foot-5, 190-pounder has commited to UK, which recruited him as a receiver. But he’ll play QB for North Hardin, and Coach Crad Jaggers thinks he’s capable of throwing for 3,000 yards and rushing for 1,000. “He’s electric,” Jaggers said. “Once we get going, I think he’ll be a legitimate contender for Mr. Football.”

ZACH LEWIS, Clay County quarterback. Lewis is only 1,584 passing yards shy of Tim Couch’s state career record of 12,167 yards. History tells us that if you’re an offensive star and you set a state career record you have a good chance to win Mr. Football. It worked for rushing kings Scott Russell of Evarts and Derek Homer of Fort Knox, and passing wizard Couch. A 6-footer, Lewis is thought to be too small by some scouts to play big-time Division I ball.

JORDAN WHITING, Trinity linebacker. The best player in the most successful program in the state, and a blue-chip Division I prospect has to be included on this list. Whiting is a bruising 6-0, 220-pound enforcer who has commited to Ohio State. He’ll call the defensive signals for the Shamrocks as they pursue their seventh state title in eight years.

UK football recruit off the team at Dunbar

Jerrell Greene

Jerrell Greene, a star running back who commited to the University of Kentucky in April, won’t play football his senior year at Paul Laurence Dunbar.

“It hurts my heart to say it, but we’ve removed Jerrell from our roster,” said Jason Howell, who is in his first season as Dunbar coach. “He hasn’t done what he needed to do to be on our team. He didn’t hold up his end of the bargain.”

Howell said because of confidentiality rules, he could not comment further.

Greene was charged with first-degree robbery in June after he allegedly tried to steal cough medicine from a Kroger pharmacy and got in a fight with store employees before he was arrested.

It is not known whether UK withdrew its scholarship offer after that incident.

Greene, a speedy 6-foot-1, 210-pound running back, had more than 1,100 yards combined rushing and receiving as a junior at Dunbar. He has been timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

“We’ve got to move on without Jerrell,” said Howell, a former Tates Creek assistant who replaced David Hensley as coach of the Bulldogs.

LCA’s Ross signs with Rangers

Robbie Ross had a 5-2 record and 1.51 ERA for LCA this spring

The University of Kentucky’s loss is the Texas Rangers’ gain.

Robbie Ross, rated one of the top high school left-handed pitchers in the nation during his senior season at Lexington Christian Academy, signed with the Texas Rangers Friday night for a $1.575 million bonus.

“I’m really excited. It’s unbelievable to get this opportunity,” said Ross, who was taken by the Rangers in the second round as the 57th overall pick in the June draft.

Before the draft, Ross said it would take $1.575 million to sign him, and that’s what he got.

Ross and his parents, Chuck and Julie, spent the last few days in Texas, and agreed on a contract before Friday’s midnight deadline. He put his name on the dotted line in Arlington just before 10 p.m. EDT.

If Ross and the Rangers hadn’t come to terms, Ross, who signed a letter of intent with UK last fall, would have returned home and enrolled in college.

Instead, Ross is now a professional baseball player.

“It was hard to call UK and tell them I was going pro,” Ross said. “But this is what I’ve always wanted.”

In a last-ditch attempt to sign Ross, the Rangers flew him to Texas on Tuesday night, and put him through a few paces.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound lefty underwent a physical, and attended a game in Frisco (Tex.) where the Rangers’ Class AA affiliate, the Roughriders, play. He threw in the Frisco bullpen in front of a Texas pitching scout.

On Friday night, Ross was at the Rangers’ game with Tampa Bay and soaked up the big-league atmosphere.
“It was crazy,” he said. “I even got to meet Nolan Ryan.”

Ross said he and his parents were impressed with the Rangers. “From what I’ve seen, it’s a great organization, great people and they have an unbelievable stadium,” he said.

Ross had a 5-2 record with a 1.51 earned run average, 75 strikeouts and nine walks in 51 innings this season. He also had a .473 batting average with 22 RBI and 21 runs.

Ross and Lexington Catholic pitcher Nick Maronde were runners-up in Mr. Baseball voting to winner Zach Cox of Pleasure Ridge Park.

Chuck Ross, Robbie’s dad, was a standout catcher at Tates Creek and was the 27th overall pick (taken by the Milwaukee Brewers) in the 1975 draft. Chuck Ross signed with the Brewers out of high school.

Martin retiring as LexCath baseball coach

Rodney Martin shared his feeling with an umpire in this year's state tourney

Rodney Martin, who led Lexington Catholic to state baseball championships in 1999 and 2006, is retiring as coach and teacher at his alma mater.

“I’ve been thinking about it the last three or four years, and after this season, I decided it’s time to move on,” he said.

Martin, 42, wouldn’t say what he intends to do, but added that he has “some options.” When the sports seasons come around, he will be in the stands watching his son Taylor, a sophomore, play basketball and baseball for Lexington Catholic.

Lexington Catholic got off to a slow start this spring and had a .500 record in early May. But the Knights finished strong and made it to the state semifinals before losing to Lawrence County.

“Last season was the most rewarding I’ve ever had as coach,” Martin said, “because we were down early in the year but were able to come back.”

Martin was a baseball and basketball star at Lexington Catholic in the early 1980s. He played baseball at UK for two years before transferring to Cumberland University in Tennessee where he played baseball and basketball.

He coached on the college level for a few years, and at Lebanon High School in Tennessee for four years before returning to Lexington Catholic for the 1995-96 school year.

The Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association has Martin with a record of 338-80 in 13 years with the Knights.