By LARRY VAUGHT
One of the top in-state football players in the 2025 class —and highly-regarded national player — Cooper linebacker/tight end Austin Alexander.
Last season when Cooper went 12-3 and lost to Bowling Green in the Class 5A state title game, he had 67 catches for 1,138 yards and 19 touchdowns. On defense he had 57 tackles, 24 assists, 19 sacks, eight tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries and one interception he returned 75 yards.
His sophomore season he had 54 solo tackles, 31 assists, 11 sacks, two tackles for loss, one interception and a blocked kick along with 34 catches for 522 yards and six scores.
Alexander has over 20 scholarship offers including Kentucky, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Purdue.
His sister, Maleah, plays basketball for Cooper, one of the state’s top five teams, and while watching her play recently at Bullitt East, I got to talk to Austin Alexander’s father, Durran, about his future.
Question: Are you surprised by what your son Austin has already done football-wise?
Alexander: “In the one sense yes a little bit. You never know how your kid is going to be able to perform and have an opportunity to play well but overall he has put in so much work. He has been very, very dedicated to working out and what he eats. He is not a big video game kid, so he is definitely able to get the reward for work he puts in.”
Question: How proud are you of the season he had to help Cooper get to the Class 5A state championship game?
Alexander: “Absolutely. We really enjoy the high school where we are and the coaching staff has been great. They had a feeling they had enough talent there to be able to put it together and to finally get a chance to do that and go that far was awesome.”
Question: Austin seems to be enjoying recruiting but are you and your wife also enjoying it so far?
Alexander: “We are. There is no exact science. We are trying to work through it the best we can. It is very cool to be wanted. We are just trying to even help out other people who ask us about it by telling them what we have learned that might help you and your son move forward.”
Question: Would you and your wife like him to stay relatively close to home to play his college football or is distance not a concern?
Alexander: “Honestly where he plays doesn’t matter. We are willing to go wherever. For him, it’s going to be big on the coach and the relationships with the coaching staff. Even as a parent and sports fan, you are turning your son over to these men you are hoping will lead them in the right direction. You start to look at those things more as opposed to it has to be this team or this conference.”
Question: What do you think about Kentucky since you have already visited several times?
Alexander: “We are from northern Kentucky. We grew up Kentucky fans. It is exciting to see the direction the football team has been going. We really enjoy Lexington. It has been fun to be down there for sure.”
Question: How does Shaun Alexander’s older brother grow up a Kentucky fan in Florence even though Shaun was an All-American at Alabama?
Alexander: “It is funny, right. I am a year older and I went to Notre Dame and was in the band. Bro found Alabama. Even Shaun is what winds up being the best is great for him (Austin). If it winds up being Kentucky, it doesn’t matter.”
Question: Can Shaun help with any recruiting advice since he was such a high profile recruit himself?
Alexander: “He is more helpful in guidance and here are some factors I looked at in my recruiting. Obviously the landscape has changed so much but he can help him not get caught up or lost in it has to be this name or that name. Let where you feel the most at home or who wants you the most be what factors in the decision.”
Question: How do you handle NIL potential as a parent with numbers being thrown around that some athletes even in high school are making?
Alexander: “One, just the thought of that kind of huge money you hear about as a college student is insane. We have not entered that realm at all. No one has hit us with that kind of handshake or envelope (of money). It is the nature of what it is now. A long time ago you visited a college, got to go to a game and then you made your decision. Now recruiting is starting earlier and earlier. There are some great things out there and it is cool for families and kids who need that and they can now make some money off the money they are generating for these schools. The flip side is there will always be people who abuse and don’t know how to use it. I just hope for all those kids they do the right things to protect themselves so they don’t get smacked with taxes and get themselves or their parents in trouble by getting too caught up looking at the flashy objects.”
Question: Is Austin right that his sister, Maleah, is actually the best athlete in the family since she is the all-time leader in goals and assists for the Cooper soccer team and a standout on the basketball team headed to Liberty University for college?
Alexander: “That’s right. He’s a phenomenal athlete but we are very fortunate that they both are. Maleah is great in basketball, great in soccer. It has been very cool that they both support each other so well and it does make for a happy home that they both have the opportunity to be great at something and then cheer for your sibling. They hang out. They share some classes. They like a lot of the same things. That part makes it fun. We know what it is like not to get along or not realize how fortunate you are to have a relationship with a sibling until you get much older so they are very fortunate to enjoy their time together now which is great.”
Link Academy (Mo.) coach Bill Armstrong brought his team — ranked fourth in the ESPN national high school rankings — to play at Woodford County. He starts four high level Division I signees and the team’s first reserve is a Missouri signee. The fifth starter is former Woodford County star Jasper Johnson, a top 10 player in the 2025 class.
Armstrong understands what basketball means in Kentucky. He was an assistant coach at LSU for seven years after previously spending five years as director of basketball operations at Ole Miss.
He vividly recalls what playing in Rupp Arena is like.
“Just the atmosphere fans created and love and passion for their team is second to none in college basketball,” Armstrong said. “I remember being at the SEC Tournament and seeing how the city turns blue (with UK fans).
“I have been a basketball fan since I was born. My mother took me to my dad’s game in college when I was a week old. My father coached me in high school. My family is very passionate about basketball, so to get that feel and tradition of Rupp Arena and how much Kentucky fans love basketball was always special.”
He’s been the head coach at Link Academy the last two years —he won a national championship in his first season — and does not watch as much college basketball now. However, he’s seen coach John Calipari’s team play.
“They are fun and they have as good a chance as anybody to win (the national title). I know Cal will have them playing even better in March even though they are already playing very, very well,” the Link coach said.
Kentucky fifth-year player Antonio Reeves admitted he was excited to play against some former teammates at Northern Illinois. He validated that by scoring 27 points on 10-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range, in UK’s 96-70 win.
Reeves also had six rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes and did not have a turnover.
Current Illinois State coach Ryan Pedon took over the program the same year Reeves transferred to Kentucky for the 2022-23 season.
“When I got there Antonio was already on his way into the portal, so I only had a few conversations with him. I will say this, I was very impressed with him as a young man after having sat down and had a few conversations with him,” Pedon said after the game in Rupp Arena.
“It was pretty obvious to me that he was going to move on, and he was respectful so I have no ill will but the opposite of that actually. I love the way he carries himself and he plays the right way. I have seen real growth in his game from last year to this year. I think he is a gifted scorer and I think he is playing his role well here for this team.”
Freshman guard Rob Dillingham was one of those who reached out to Reeves last summer when Reeves was contemplating not returning to UK for another season.
“We expect a big game from Antonio every game so it’s no different,” Dillingham said after the Northern Illinois game. “When Antonio scores a lot, we blow a team out. When he doesn’t score a lot, we just barely get the dub, but when someone scores the ball we play well.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari obviously wants Reeves to score but that was not what pleased him the most about his guard’s play against Northern Illinois.
“How about he was guarding their best player? Last year he would guard their worst player and now he is our best perimeter defender,” Calipari said.
Freshman guard Rob Dillingham knew a lot about former UK basketball standouts before he got to Kentucky this season. One of his all-time favorites was Anthony Davis, the current LA Lakers star who was the leader on UK’s 2012 national championship team.
“There are so many Kentucky players I really liked but my favorites were De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and of course Tyler Ulis,” Dillingham said.
Ulis was the 2016 SEC Defensive Player of the Year as well as the overall Player of the Year. He’s now an assistant on coach John Calipari’s staff.
“It is definitely amazing having him here,” Dillingham said about Ulis. “After practice I can go to him and ask what I need to do to get better and improve. I know what he tells me might be a big advantage.”
Dillingham obviously also gets advice from Calipari.
“Obviously you have got to listen to him or he will get mad,” Dillingham joked. “If you are listening and doing what you are supposed to be doing he is the same person as the guy who recruited me. If you are not doing that, you see a different side and that’s what he (Ulis) helps me understand.”
Kentucky football wants to continue to make in-state recruiting a priority and Ohio has been a recruiting hotbed for UK since coach Mark Stoops and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow arrived 11 years ago.
However, on national signing day the Cats signed players from 11 states with only a combined nine high school signees from Kentucky (6) and Ohio (3). Kentucky also signed players from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee.
“Kentucky and Ohio will continue to be where our bread is buttered but we have been getting some pretty good players out of Michigan,” Marrow said. “(Offensive coordinator) Liam Coen being from the east coast has connections. It’s just a combination of having guys have areas where they have recruiting connections.”
Marrow still remembers when Bob Stoops, the UK coach’s brother, told them seven years ago that they had to keep in-state talent at Kentucky and then they had to go heavily into Ohio because of the quantity of college and pro players produced in that state.
“We are just branching out because our brand (seven wins or more in seven of the last eight seasons) has been pretty good. Guys watch us play in the SEC and Kentucky is the closest thing to being up north for them,” Marrow said.
“I love the way our recruiting department works. It is a big machine that we have to have. Now I think that is going to grow to where we have a high school department and then a transfer department. If we want to keep this thing going we have got to keep bringing the horses in.”
Quote of the Week: ”He is knocking on the door of the lottery. He’s arguably the best shooter in the draft, while showing high-level pace and vision, whipping passes around with his terrific feel for the game. His defensive playmaking instincts have also stood out vividly,” ESPN NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givens on UK freshman Reed Sheppard.
Quote of the Week 2: “What a warrior she is. I am so happy for her. She is a starter now. The perseverance she has shown to become a major contributor for this team is kind of inspiring,” ABC-TV sports director Jeff Piecoro on UK senior Emma King.
Quote of the Week 3: “If you’re a Vol fan and you don’t like me simply because you’re a Vol fan you better stay on that hill. Don’t switch up now,” Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis to Tennessee fans who disliked him because he played at Kentucky.