SPORTS

UK's Marrow: "Me staying should speak volumes"

Kyle Tucker

@KyleTucker_CJ

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Vince Marrow turning down Michigan and new Wolverines football coach Jim Harbaugh to stay at the University of Kentucky sends a strong message, and on Wednesday the Wildcats' tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator sent another one.

"I think I heard people say Michigan is going to hurt us in recruiting in Ohio," said Marrow, who agreed to a three-year extension with UK on Monday. "Well, we live for the battles. I think we're going to do fine in Ohio still."

Marrow opened a pipeline that has kept top prospects flowing from the Buckeye State south to Lexington in three recruiting classes since he was hired by UK head coach Mark Stoops. Marrow has signed or received commitments from 21 high school players from Ohio in that time, including nine rated four-star recruits by Rivals.com.

Keeping that connection was critical for Stoops, a childhood friend and high school teammate of Marrow's and fellow Youngstown, Ohio, native.

"It had to be important," said Marrow, who received a significant raise in his new deal, the terms of which will not be released until next week, "because some other schools wanted that part of Ohio, too."

The Cats have commitments from seven Ohio players for 2015, including four-stars C.J. Conrad (tight end), David Dowell (defensive back) and Andrew Dowell (athlete), part of a class currently ranked 36^th nationally. Some of those players might've gone elsewhere – Michigan, perhaps – had Marrow bolted.

"Now, Coach Stoops is a great leader. The class wasn't going to fall apart. But I sure didn't want to be a part of that," Marrow said. "People were saying it was going to be devastation and all that. I mean, I don't know that, but it did weigh on me."

Rivals.com lead recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said Marrow's decision to stay is "absolutely huge" for UK.

"The guy has really killed it in Ohio," Farrell said. "Michigan wants to get into Ohio, and they really targeted him, and I'm sure he got a nice raise and a nice extended deal, and he deserves it. He's the reason that they've recruited the Midwest so well. To keep him sends a message to kid as well. Michigan is a more storied program. Staying at Kentucky means you believe in what you are doing."

Whereas Kentucky has little in the way of football tradition, the Wolverines are steeped in it. Michigan is the winningest program in Division I history, claims 11 national titles and has three Heisman Trophy winners. Harbaugh, who turned Stanford into a powerhouse before a successful run as an NFL head coach, is also a name brand.

"It was very tempting," Marrow said. "It's just my relationship here with the administration, with just our staff and even the kids I have coming in here, the kids I recruited the last two years, played a big part in (staying). But really, like I tell parents, it was basically the community. I mean, the last three days, I couldn't go anywhere without people saying something to me.

"We were in church and the guy doing the offering asked me, 'What are you going to do?' So that's how deep it got."

Those recruits, though, were most interested in his decision – and now he'll use the fact that he turned down a storied program to stick with up-and-coming Kentucky as part of his pitch to future prospects.

"Me staying here should speak volumes," he said. "I know a lot of our recruits were very fired up, because for some reason they just assumed that I was gone. (Staying) shows where our AD, Mitch (Barnhart), the route that he's going, our administration, and it shows where the program is going. And I believe in that. I believe in that wholeheartedly."

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.