Division I offers are starting to roll in for a trio of Owensboro High School football players, and they’re each hoping that it’s only the beginning.
Rising junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt received an offer from the University of Kentucky on Tuesday, bringing his total to four D-I offers already.
Rising senior left tackle Justin Millay picked up his 10th D-I offer Wednesday, with all of them coming since early February.
Rising senior linebacker Austin Gough earned his first pair of D-I offers last month.
“College recruiting can be kind of a funny thing, and sometimes it’s all about getting that first offer, which kind of creates some momentum for each young man,” said OHS football head coach Jay Fallin. “I’m not the least bit surprised that colleges want to recruit these guys. They’re great leaders and young men in our program and excellent football players. We have every confidence in what they’re going to do at the next level.”
GAVIN WIMSATT
D-I offers: Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Murray State
Wimsatt turned in an impressive sophomore campaign in his first year as the starter. In 14 games, he completed 192 of 351 passes for 2,729 yard and 31 touchdowns. A dual threat, he also rushed 87 times for 564 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns.
“I feel like I did pretty good,” he said. “I definitely think I could have done better. I don’t think I finished out the year like I should have.”
It was still good enough to get looks from the top schools in the state, including UK.
“I’ve been talking to the school, so it wasn’t a big surprise,” he said of the offer made this week. “It was a reflection of what I’ve been working on. But it was a really big deal. I’m just glad to have this opportunity.”
Wimsatt said getting offers so soon in his high school career gives him even more motivation to continue improving.
“It means a lot,” he said. “It makes me want to work harder to earn more.”
Wimsatt is hoping to lead the Red Devils to a state title after they came up short in the semifinals last season.
“The expectation this season is the same,” he said. “We’re trying to win state. We’re going to work as hard as we can to do that. Last year we came up short, so we’ve got that monkey on our back.”
Fallin said: “He is young, but anybody who has been to watch us play has seen what an incredible physical talent he is. He has an unbelievably strong arm, and I’m not saying that lightly. His arm strength is rare. You combine that with his physical size and his ability to run, and he’s an incredibly dynamic quarterback. I think before it’s all said and done, he’ll have a bunch of D1 offers.”
JUSTIN MILLAY
D-I offers: Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Fordham, Illinois State, Indiana State, Murray State, Richmond, SEMO, UT Martin, William & Mary
Millay said it’s always been a dream to get a D-I offer and play at the next level. While he’s not surprised colleges have shown interest, Millay said he didn’t expect so many offers to come in so quickly.
“I thought it would be a slow process,” he said. “I’ve talked to other people about recruiting, and they said it’s slow at first but then it starts to speed up, but I didn’t expect them to come in that quick.”
Millay said it’s a big deal knowing he’s got a chance to play collegiately.
“It means everything to me because I’ll be the first one in my family to go play college ball somewhere,” he said.
Millay has been working out every day, trying to stay in shape and put himself in position to make a big statement this season.
“I’m expecting a big senior year,” he said. “I want to lead the O-line and win a state championship. That’s the goal, always.”
Fallin said: “He’s a prototypical offensive lineman from a size, height and weight standpoint. He’s very athletic to go along with that size. That’s the missing piece a lot of kids don’t have. He’s also a good student and a hard worker, and he’s got a great attitude. You combine all those things and you have a very special and unique young man who is recruitable as a Division I offensive lineman.”
AUSTIN GOUGH
D-I offers: Austin Peay, SEMO
D-II offer: Kentucky Wesleyan
Gough has known since he was 7 years old that he wanted to play D-I football. So when that first offer finally came, it was a big relief.
“It was huge,” he said. “You work so hard for that to happen. “Going through an injury like I did (last year) and then missing spring ball (this year because of KHSAA restrictions), and all those little setbacks, it felt like all my chances were going away. Once you get one, it’s like a snowball effect. Now I can’t wait to prove myself and get more.”
Though Gough had a stellar sophomore year, he missed the first half of last season with an injury. In just six games as a junior, he was still able to force and recover one fumble as well as record 35 total tackles (12 solo and one for loss) on defense. He also added one reception for an 11-yard touchdown.
He wants to come back better than ever this fall.
“I just want to go in and have the best season to where I can help my team reach a state championship,” Gough said. “I believe this team we have can take it to the top. I want to be the leader for all these younger guys and set the tone and break the mold.”
Fallin said: He’s as physically as strong a kid as I’ve ever coached and he loves the weight room. He has an incredible nose for the ball. He just gets to the ball and makes tackles and makes plays on defense. He’s a very cerebral kid who understands the game, a hard worker, tough and fearless. We’re very happy for him and we believe he’s going to do a great job at the next level.
