Vince Marrow thinks football recruits should play prep basketball

In order to recruit the best players, you have to find the guys that can do it all. At least that’s what Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow thinks.

After UK finished off their early signing period, Vince revealed that he really likes to see players that can play both basketball and football.

“I wish a lot of guys played basketball,” Marrow said. “That’s when you get a true evaluation of how athletic they are.”

There’s a lot of merit in what Vince is saying here. Athletes don’t care what sport it is. If someone is athletic, they should be able to play any sport with some form of success, especially the freak athletes.

This is true in many current and former UK players that have been recruited over the years. Some examples are: Linebacker Bud Dupree, Defensive lineman Jerquavion Mahone, Wideout Bryce Oliver, and Running Back Benny Snell.

Vince also talked about his experience during his recruiting:

“Going back to when Nick Saban was recruiting me. His philosophy was, he used to love going to basketball games,. I know when Mark and I are on the road, if they are basketball players we ask, ‘When is your game?” Marrow said. “We’re going to come do the home visit when you have a game.”

This is exactly what you want to see from your recruiting coordinator. Both Vince and Mark understand that as long as a player is athletic, you can coach them up to be the player you want them to be.

Here’s some more context on why Vince wants to see more guys play basketball.

“You get to see guys move. Eddie Gran saw Benny (Snell). That’s what sold him on Benny. I knew what type of player Benny was, but he saw Benny play basketball, he saw him move, playing point guard, playing defense, seeing guys move, change direction, hand-eye coordination.”

Based on how much Kentucky has improved as a program overall, Vince’s method continues to be proven right. This program has seen more outstanding athletes on the field than it has in a long time.

As long as Vince is at the forefront of recruiting you can expect this team to continue to get good athletes.