Jeff Brohm spurns Louisville to stay with Purdue: What it means for UK

The Louisville Cardinals won’t be getting Jeff Brohm of the Purdue Boilermakers.

After it was widely expected Brohm would jump to Louisville, it was revealed Wednesday night that Brohm will instead stay at his current job.

Everyone assumed Brohm would head back to his old Kentucky home to become the next coach of Louisville, replacing Bobby Petrino, who was fired with two games left in the regular season.

This, in turn, would have made a dramatic impact on the state of Kentucky recruiting when it comes to in-state battles with the Cardinals. But even though Brohm isn’t coming back to the Bluegrass, there will still be some major battles between Brohm and Mark Stoops.

It’s no secret that potential high school football recruits want to play in systems and programs that can highlight their abilities and give them a possible opportunity to move on to the NFL.

Brohm has had that type of system in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Even though his school sets a couple of hours north of the Bluegrass State, Brohm’s ties to Kentucky runs deep.

Brohm’s father Oscar was a letter winner as a quarterback at Louisville. Brohm and his brother Brian were very successful themselves as QB’s in the River City for UofL.

When his playing career ended, Jeff planted his roots in Kentucky as an assistant coach under Bobby Petrino, first at Louisville, and later at Western Kentucky. When Petrino moved back to Louisville for his second stint as head coach, Brohm succeeded him as the head man in Bowling Green.

After a highly successful run at WKU with a high powered offense in tow, Brohm’s named surfaced as a candidate at several high D1 programs before accepting the coaching position at Purdue.

Brohm is rebuilding the once moribund Boilermaker program into a Big 10 contender with regional talent, including talent from the Bluegrass State.

Need proof? Brohm signed in 2018 perhaps the top Kentucky high school recruit in Louisville receiver Rondale Moore, who has become Purdue’s top big play threat in just his freshman year.

All told, Brohm signed five of the top Kentucky products in the 2018 class.

So, what does Brohm’s success in mining top Kentucky talent mean for Kentucky and its in state recruiting efforts?

Obviously plenty. Although many would believe the Cats would hold any local edge when it comes to keeping talent from leaving the state, the fact is many programs are making the trek to Kentucky to fill its coffers with talent, Brohm included.

Brohm offers to his prospects his high powered offense, the opportunity to play in a top football conference, and be recognized nationally without straying too far from home. In order for UK to “put a fence up around the state,” they have to change with the times and do much the same thing.

Without question, Kentucky has had a watershed year at 9-3, will play in a New Year’s Day bowl for the first time since 1998, and play in the best football conference in America in the SEC.

And through the efforts of coach Mark Stoops and recruiting coordinator Vince Morrow, the Cats have made huge leaps in bringing talent to Lexington. The Cats recruiting efforts in Ohio, Big 10 territory, have raised the level of talent drastically. And with the signing of Kentucky four star recruit Wandale Robinson (who had Purdue in his top five schools no less), UK is recognizing the need to work hard in state to recruit.

Speaking of, Robinson himself admitted he would consider Louisville ‘if’ they hired Brohm. Now that the Cardinals won’t get Brohm, it’s safe to think Kentucky will hold on to keep the four-star recruit, who would go down as one of the biggest signings in the Mark Stoops era.

You’ve also got in-state recruits like JJ Weaver and Jared Casey who have considered both Louisville and Purdue in their recruitments. Kentucky is in the good shape for both, but had Louisville got Brohm, the Cardinals may have become a major threat for both of them.

Going forward, Purdue and Brohm are without question going to be a threat to steal Kentucky’s best high school players and bring them north to Purdue. The continued development of the Kentucky program could hinge on it.

The good news is, for now, it appears Kentucky will win the remaining recruiting battles it had with Purdue and Louisville, though it certainly helps that they won’t be teaming up.