By LARRY VAUGHT
Darrin Strey had over 20 scholarship offers including four from Southeastern Conference schools and eight from Big Ten programs before he decided Kentucky was where he wanted to play his college football.
The 6-7, 300-pound offensive lineman from Paw Paw, Mich., decided to make his commitment during his June visit and the biggest reason was offensive line coach Eric Wolford.
“He is a huge part of me coming to the program along with the stability with coach (Mark) Stoops. The new OC (Bush Hamdan) and his pro-style philosophy also impressed me and I feel my best chance and path to get to the NFL is at Kentucky,” said Strey.”Committing had kind of crossed my mind but I was going to hold out. Then I realized Kentucky and coach Wolford checked all the boxes so why not go ahead and commit.”
The Michigan high school player said all schools recruiting him had great facilities and great people on staff.
“But the relationship I built with this (Kentucky) staff, players and other recruits just felt different,” Strey said. “I was hosted by (offensive lineman) Jager Burton. He was really cool and made a big impact on me.”
His father, Dennis Strey, is the head coach at Paw Paw High School and his older brother is playing football at Eastern Michigan.
“It’s awesome being coached by my father. It puts a whole different perspective on the game,” Strey said. “He has been my biggest role model all my life. He’s the head coach all the time, too. From home to practice and back, he’s always coaching and teaching me.”
Strey’s father also uses him in the defensive line and he had 64 tackles, including 12 for loss, last season.
“I love playing football. Anything I can do to be on the field, I’ll do. I have been a long snapper my whole life,” Strey said. “I am more of an offensive guy but defense can be a lot of fun when you are getting tackles.”
Strey also plays basketball and throws the discus and shot put for the track team.
“I am a shooter (in basketball),” Strey laughed and said. “Actually, I try to do it all. I set a (school) record for the discus (162 feet). I do throw the shot put but mostly discus is what I do.
“My parents have always encouraged me to play multiple sports because (college) coaches like that. I am a competitive kid. I love the idea of playing all the sports I can.”
He’s competitive in the classroom, too, with a grade-point average over 4.0.
“I take pride in my grades. My parents were always hard on me but I don’t think anyone can ever be too hard on you when it comes to academics,” he said.
Strey has already decided he’ll bypass his final season of basketball and track so he can enroll early at Kentucky.
“That was a really hard decision but I know that is what will be best for my football career,” Strey said.
Darius Miller won a state championship at Mason County and was also named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 2008. Once he got to Kentucky, he won a national title in 2012 to give him three honors no other Kentucky player has been able to do.
Miller played in a school-record 152 games at Kentucky and then played in 271 NBA games with New Orleans and Oklahoma City as well as two years overseas. He’s now living in Lexington and joined the UK alumni team La Familia coaching staff for The Basketball Tournament.
However, Miller is also paying close attention to what Reed Sheppard is already doing in the NBA summer league after being the third pick in the recent NBA draft. The former North Laurel star was Kentucky’s 2023 Mr. Basketball but did not win a state title or national championship.
“I’m definitely a fan. I wish the best for him. I love his approach to the game. I love how he plays the game at his own pace and he has a great basketball IQ,” Miller said. “I’m rooting for him. I wish him nothing but the best.
“I got to see him play one game in high school and loved what I saw. I have been a fan of his and I think he’s gonna do great things and hopefully have a long, healthy career.”
Miller became a role model for Kentucky youngsters with his state and national titles. He hopes Sheppard’s success will have the same impact.
“I think I was able to do what I did on the basketball court to kind of let everybody know that anything is possible. If I can do it, anybody out here can do it,” he said. “He’s the same thing. He’s a great example for all Kentucky kids. He works and plays the game the right way. It’s really pretty cool to see what he’s already done.”
Miller is also a fan of new UK coach Mark Pope and attended his introductory press conference.
“I’ve briefly talked with him. I’m giving him my full support. He’s a former player, won a championship. I know he knows the expectations, so I’m just trying to be there to support him in any way I can,” Miller said.
Miller is back living in Lexington as he pursues various business interests. He’s glad his daughters, ages 9 and 6, can enjoy the slow pace of Lexington and see familiar faces and family.
“It’s just good to get back and get connected with the people that have supported me and showed me love throughout my whole career,” he said.
He won’t rule out a potential coaching career but maybe not at the level some would expect. He is considering coaching more from the “youth perspective” because of the experiences he had playing basketball earlier in life.
“I’ve been thinking about youth sports and trying to build on the culture. We have a basketball culture here in Kentucky and maybe I could help build on that a little bit,” he said.
Kentucky offensive lineman Marques Cox admitted that he was looking forward to playing Texas for the first time this season. Texas is coming into the SEC and UK will play at Texas on Nov. 23.
“That will be exciting just with them coming into our conference and being new with everything that’s going on with the 12 teams (in the playoffs) this year,” Cox, a sixth-year player, said at SEC Media Days in Dallas last week. “Just everything new happening this year, that will probably be a pretty cool stadium to play in.”
Cox, a Northern Illinois transfer in his second year at UK, also believes Kroger Field is an “underrated stadium” in the SEC.
“It gets loud. Kentucky fans care about Kentucky sports, period,” Cox said. “It’s a really underrated stadium, and it’s our home stadium. So I do say it’s a really great experience, a really fun experience to be with the Big Blue Nation and to be on Kroger Field.”
Cox also got to explain to SEC Media Days attendees why offensive linemen are often the “most enjoyable” players on the team to interview because they are unfiltered.
“We like to have fun. We got the most gruesome job, but at the same time it don’t get that much shine or anything like that unless one of our teammates gives us a shout-out,” Cox joked. “Shout-out to my teammates for giving us a shout-out.
“We’re unfiltered. We love having fun. It’s a great time when you’re around O-linemen. That’s the best way I can explain it.”
Evan Miyakawa analyzes all types of college basketball statistics— his analytics website is EvanMiya.com — to find interesting trends about players and teams.
He thinks perhaps the most underrated player on Kentucky coach Mark Pope’s first roster could be West Virginia transfer Kerr Kriisa.
“He can be a bit of a polarizing player. When he transferred from Arizona to West Virginia last year he was one of the highest rated offensive players in the portal,” Miyakawa said. “West Virginia was not very good last year but he improved in every category.”
He started 23 games — he was ruled ineligible for nine games due to benefits he received at Arizona — and averaged 11 points, 4.7 assists and almost 33 minutes per game. He also shot 42 percent from 3-point range.
“Defensively he’s not as strong as some other players Kentucky got in the portal but I had him with the highest offensive grade of any player Kentucky brought in,” Miyakawa said. “The data suggests he is lethal from 3 (he has made 237 3-pointers in his career) but he also did a good job supporting other teammates.
“I have him rated at the third best overall transfer Kentucky got this season. I think Kriisa is a much better player than what a lot of people give him credit for. At Arizona and at West Virginia he was able to really stretch the floor, make a lot of 3-pointers and be a productive playmaker for teammates. ”
Kirby Smart has won two national championships at Georgia and many believe he has the nation’s top team going into this season. His team has to play SEC games at Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Kentucky but Smart said at SEC Media Days that his players “accept and embrace that challenge” ahead.
“As coaches we want to play the best. People forget that when you’ve spent time in the NFL, every week was like that. So when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder,” Smart said.
The Georgia coach has also learned to embrace the NIL challenge and how it impacts recruiting.
“I think it’s a mistake to assume that all players lead with that (NIL money), or that’s the primary objective. I think that would be an insult to high school football players and really an insult to all people being recruited,” Smart said.
“I don’t get to the finish line of official visits where that’s the primary objective. If it is, we’re probably not getting to that point. We’re probably not going to be in the conversation.”
Smart didn’t deny that NIL dollars impact recruiting decisions and understands why.
“I’m happy that these kids get an opportunity to improve their situation or make money and give back to their families or in some cases their communities,” Smart said. “So that doesn’t bother me at all. I have no problem navigating that.
“I’ve gotten less attached and said, ‘You know what? If it’s better for that young man because of a financial difference between us and another school, I respect that decision and opinion they have to make.’
“I have to worry about the players we do get, okay? I worry about the ones that we do sign, that they’re the right kind of kids and they’re coming for the right reason. That includes money; but it’s not just money.”
Quote of the Week: “He is like the uncle you always wished for. He is a great coach and a great person. He is a big loyalty guy. I’m a big loyalty guy. He is not going to lie to you. He is going to tell you the truth no matter if it’s happy, sad, going to make you mad,” UK All-American defensive lineman Deone Walker on coach Mark Stoops.
Quote of the Week 2: “We have coaches that stayed that turned down opportunities to go to the NFL and other Power 5s and SEC programs. They did not stay here to be average,” South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer on the 2024 season.
Quote of the Week 3: “I think he has the best offensive mind in college football. His ability to adjust mid-game, being able to adjust on the fly, is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. He’s just super gifted that way. He’s somebody who can really form and mold an offense based on his personnel. He doesn’t run the same offense every year. He bases it off his personnel and being able to put his team in the best position to succeed,” quarterback Jaxson Dart on Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.