By LARRY VAUGHT
It didn’t take Simon Vanderpool long after he got to Western Hills High School to know he needed to get Javelin Campbell on his football team.
The former defensive coordinator at Great Crossing High School was named Western Hills’ head coach in December, 2022, and once he saw the 6-5, 265-pound Campbell playing basketball he visualized how dynamic he could be on the football field.
“You could see this kid was very special athletically. I told our AD (athletics director) he was not going to be a college basketball player and he had a double-double that night.”
Vanderpool had watched 7-footer Malachi Moreno of Great Crossing and Reed Sheppard of North Laurel play in high school and knew what future big-time college basketball players looked like.
“He is a football player with his physicality. He is going to be a very big guy because he’s only lifted weights for a year. He’s going to be massive. He’s built like a football player,” the Western Hills coach said. “He’s our all-time leading basketball scorer and can’t hit from midrange. He just bullies you down low and scores. But with his speed and physicality I knew he could be something different in football, the kind of player you don’t get very often.”
The coach talked to Walker’s mother at a basketball game about him playing football and made his case his best future options would be in football.
“I told her I had coached seven Division I athletes in the last six years, including one who started at Tennessee, and I told her watching him he could have a shot to be a special football player. The rest is history,” Vanderpool said. “I told her we would take care of him because like any mom she was worried about him getting hurt. I told her I worried more about him hurting other people.”
Campbell had played youth football but no high school football yet he had 14 1/2 sacks in eight games in 2023.
“He is just gifted,” Campbell said.
The Western Hills coach reached out to college coaches who had recruited some of his players before and shared Campbell’s film and measurables. However, even before Campbell played his first high school football he had a scholarship offer from Eastern Kentucky.
“They saw him in person, saw his measurable, knew the success he had in basketball and they were good,” Vanderpool said.
The coach’s connections paid off again when Minnesota was Campbell’s first Power-Five offer. Then Notre Dame offered and Vanderpool said everything “took off” to the point that Campbell recently told Penn State, Florida State and others he was not interested and did not want to waste their time.
“He went from nobody knowing who he was until two months later everybody knew who he was. Now he can go any place in the country and play,” the Western Hills coach said.
Campbell plans to take official visits to his final five schools — Ohio State, Kentucky, Georgia, Auburn and Alabama. He has made unofficial visits to Michigan and Tennessee but does not have a scholarship offer from either one among his 22 offers.
“I think he has a really good relationship with all of those schools, particularly Kentucky and coach (Vince) Marrow. Coach (Brad) white has been very, very involved along with coach Stew (Anwar Stewart). Coach White messages him quite a bit,” Vanderpool said.
Campbell has an 83 1/2 inch wingspan, a 10-inch hand and 34 1/2 inch arm. Recent first round draft pick Dallas Turner of Alabama was measured at 6-2, 247 pounds with a 9 7/8 inch hand and 34 3/8 arm. Vanderpool said college coaches have told him Campbell would have been in the top five in measurables in this year’s NFL draft at his position.
“He is very long. His true height without shoes is 6-4. He checks all the boxes,” Vanderpool said. “He was on a visit to Georgia with Elijah Griffin, one of the top players in the nation, he was taller than him.
“Some coaches recruiting him have compared him to (former UK star, current NFL player) Za’Darius Smith. The only difference is they say Javeon is longer based on measurables when Za’Darius went to the draft. I had multiple guys tell me if he had been in the NFL draft this year he would have been in the top five in measurable at his position. Knowing what he can be and how he’s not scratched the surface of what he can do is just exciting.”
Campbell has been working at tight end during spring practice after playing only defense in 2023.
“He was new last year and we just focused on defense. We are trying to teach him things as simple as how to get in a stance but he looks good at tight end,” Vanderpool said. “He’s probably going to play both sides of the ball and special teams. We are even talking about playing him at linebacker so teams just can’t run away from him.
“Really, it just defies logic what he has been able to do. It just shows how talented this kid is with his combination of size, speed and tenacity. He is the type of kid who could play on Sunday (in the NFL). His story is almost unbelievable and it is even more special because he is such a phenomenal kid from such a great family.”
Utah Prep program director Shane Hayden has no doubts that Mark Pope will be a highly successful recruiter now that the former BYU head coach is the new coach at UK.
“We built a good relationship with Mark and some guys on his staff,” Hayden said. “Our players and coaches were able to be around his program. Last year they brought us in and had guys play pickup games with their guys and took us to a football game and got our kids on the field. I am really happy for Mark. He’s where his heart is.”
Hayden called Pope a coach who is a “X and O genius” but also a coach able to make changes.
“He is the type of coach who can take any talent and make the most of it. Whether it is future pros or under the radar guys, he will maximize their talent,” Hayden said. “BYU was picked near the bottom of the Big 12 last year and they ended fifth or so and got to the (NCAA) tournament and had a really respectable year with some great wins.
“You are going to see the 3-point shot a lot. He will get shooters and play fast, something Kentucky fans should really like.”
Hayden respected what former UK coach John Calipari did but knows Pope will do things differently.
“Calipari would bring in future NBA talent and use that talent to beat you. He kept it simple,” Hayden said. “Coaches like Pope or Greg McDermott of Creighton get you with scouting and getting deep into X’s and O’s.
“At BYU they had 70 different offensive sets last year. The players know and understand all that. It will be different after watching Calipari trying to beat you with talent and if you have the best players you can do that. I am sure Mark will get good talent and mix that with guys that fit his style but he will coach the elite players and other guys up the same way.”
Mark Pope will have Kentucky’s all-time leading high school scorer — Travis Perry of Lyon County — and fifth all-time leading scorer — Trent Noah of Harlan County — on his first UK roster.
Perry signed with UK and then coach John Calipari in November but unlike UK’s other Calipari signees opted to stay with the Cats. Noah originally signed with South Carolina but got his release last week and signed with UK.
Harlan County coach Kyle Jones coached against Perry twice, including the state title game, and watched him play other times. He thinks Noah and Jones, two long-time friends, will fit together well at UK.
“Both are elite shooters and are very high IQ Basketball players who always make the right plays,” Jones said. “They will fit well into the system UK will be using.
“Perry is a very humble kid and Trent is the same way. I think they will be perfect fits together. They will play with a lot of pride. There is just something about a Kentucky kid putting on that Kentucky jersey and knowing not only what it means to them but an entire state.”
Lexington’s Doug Flynn played 11 years in Major League Baseball with five teams, won two world championships with the Cincinnati Reds and won a Gold Glove Award in 1980 with the New York Mets.
He was managing a minor league baseball team when he got a chance 27 years ago to join Central Bank in Lexington. He’s done a variety of media work since then also and currently calls UK baseball games on SEC Network+ with Dick Gabriel.
Flynn said no current UK player has ever asked him about his major league baseball experience that includes playing with stars like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and others. However, he does have a “good relationship” with second baseman Emillien Pitre and shortstop Grant Smith — Flynn was a second baseman.
“I will go on the field before games for batting practice. They are good kids. I told (UK coach) Nick (Mingione) I saw some things that might help them speed up their delivery (on throws),” Flynn said. “Nick said if I saw something, talk to them.”
Flynn has enjoyed watching a lot of Kentucky players this season. Southern Cal transfer Nick Lopez has been especially intriguing.
“Last year he did not switch hit because his coach told him not to. Nick said if he wanted to switch hit, do it and he’s hit around .370,” Flynn said. “Ryan Nicholson transferred from Cincinnati after hitting 16 home runs last year. He has 16 this year and he can hit it a long way.”
Kentucky had the best defense in the SEC last year. This season it ranks third but Flynn notes that nine errors early in the season by the pitching staff cost UK being No. 1 defensively again this season.
“Kentucky has three shortstops in the infield. Pitre came her as a shortstop and now combines with Smith for the best double play combination in the SEC,” Flynn said. “(Mitchell) Daly came from Texas and moved to third base and has been outstanding.”
Flynn calls UK a “fun teach” to watch.
“What is is so cool is not only how well they play but the air of confidence they have without being cocky. They want to get better. They do play with no fear but they also love each other and play that way,” Flynn, a former UK baseball/basketball player, said.
Flynn wants to see UK finish regular-season play with a strong showing against Vanderbilt this weekend and then play well in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. Kentucky likely will need to sweep Vandy to win or share the SEC regular season championship for the first time.
“They have the mindset that they want to win the league and the tournament both,” Flynn said. “That will also help their (NCAA) seeding as well. Plus, if you are on a roll you want to play and not have a week off because you got beat early in the tournament. I hope they finish well and win two or three games in the SEC Tournament to get ready for NCAA play where I think they can do really well.”
Quote of the Week: “We kind of back our way into what I think is a really, really intriguing roster for us that fits for us. I think these guys fit together. I think every single one of these guys has elite-level character,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope on the Field of 68 podcast.
Quote of the Week 2: “You have a big animal, a big monster there that wants to get fed every year and it’s tough to keep fans happy. I don’t know if you can ever really keep the fans happy unless you make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament,” ESPN recruiting director Paul Biancardi on expectations for Mark Pope’s first UK season.
Quote of the Week 3: “Between our A and B lists we have about 13 guys that could be drafted. Remember 2018 we had nine guys go to the (NFL) combine and had a guy picked in each of the first four rounds,” UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow on his expectations for the 2025 NFL draft.