Dominic Rulli, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound junior (2021) OL/DL, was offered by Kentucky Wesleyan, Morehead State and Hanover.

 

He is reclassifying to 2022 and leaving Cooper to enroll at the Taft School in Waterbury, Connecticut.

 

Per Rulli:

Twitter

"I am extremely thankful for @TaftSchool & @TaftFootballCT for the tremendous opportunity to continue my high school education at such an elite school. This opportunity provides 2 more years of eligibility. Class of 2022! Thank you Coach Whitley for believing in me."

 

Per Taft:

Twitter

"Welcome Dominic Rulli to Taft!

@rulli_dominic is a physical and athletic Center and interior DL. Dominic is a tireless worker with a division 1 mindset. He will step in immediately and provide great leadership and toughness up front!"

While a big blow for the Jags, this is a great opportunity for Dominic. This move will certainly help with his overall development especially since he would have been a young senior this coming season plus get him some additionally exposure from a recruiting standpoint. Best of luck to Dominic and Cooper in filling a big hole in their O/D-lines but I'm sure Coach Borchers will find the "next man up".

Michael Spencer from Cooper went the Taft route as well, correct?

Best wishes to Rulli! Hope to see this young man playing in a big school on Saturdays in the coming years.

 

Prep schools and the like seem to becoming more and more of an option in the region. Seems like I hear of rumors of top NKY kids going to prep schools fairly often now. Why is that? What has changed?

Michael Spencer from Cooper went the Taft route as well, correct?

 

That is correct. He will be at Vandy this coming season.

Best wishes to Rulli! Hope to see this young man playing in a big school on Saturdays in the coming years.

 

Prep schools and the like seem to becoming more and more of an option in the region. Seems like I hear of rumors of top NKY kids going to prep schools fairly often now. Why is that? What has changed?

 

Just my opinion. For whatever reason, NKY is simply not recruited heavily as Cincy, Lexington and Louisville even though there is talent in the area. It may not be in abundance year in and year out as the bigger areas but there are some diamonds in the rough that sometimes get overlooked. Getting that extra exposure somewhere else sometimes proves beneficial.

Just my opinion. For whatever reason, NKY is simply not recruited heavily as Cincy, Lexington and Louisville even though there is talent in the area. It may not be in abundance year in and year out as the bigger areas but there are some diamonds in the rough that sometimes get overlooked. Getting that extra exposure somewhere else sometimes proves beneficial.

 

Far too often kids from NKY are passed over. A ton of talent in the area.

Far too often kids from NKY are passed over. A ton of talent in the area.

 

Certainly, there is a lot of talent in NKY. But over the years, I don't think kids are getting passed over by big colleges. Many land at smaller schools, and only a handful end up having a big impact at an level. I hear this argument all the time, and it's really IMO, mostly because people are overestimating how good football is in NKY. It's certainly not bad. It's hard to get a D1 offer, especially a high level one, and so many of the top kids in NKY seem to be missing something. Maybe a little small, a step slow, etc. But all in all, more than a handful of kids still end up at FCS schools, or D2 and more than a few at NAIA or D3, and a couple do end up playing big time ball every couple of years. I think the college numbers are about right for this area based on what I've seen over the years.

Certainly, there is a lot of talent in NKY. But over the years, I don't think kids are getting passed over by big colleges. Many land at smaller schools, and only a handful end up having a big impact at an level. I hear this argument all the time, and it's really IMO, mostly because people are overestimating how good football is in NKY. It's certainly not bad. It's hard to get a D1 offer, especially a high level one, and so many of the top kids in NKY seem to be missing something. Maybe a little small, a step slow, etc. But all in all, more than a handful of kids still end up at FCS schools, or D2 and more than a few at NAIA or D3, and a couple do end up playing big time ball every couple of years. I think the college numbers are about right for this area based on what I've seen over the years.

 

While there may be some truth to your comments, I do not agree that there is a substantial gap in talent level between NKY, Lexington, and Louisville. If some of the higher level NKY talent played for a school in a larger metro area I would venture to say that those players would be receiving looks from larger schools.

 

Contrary to some belief, exposure plays a significant part in recruiting and while there NKY doesn't have year in and year out high level D1 players, there are several that get passed over simply because of location and it's not always not tall enough, fast enough or whatever.

 

To bring it back to the thread, this is true in Rulli's case. The young man, who's only 16, would have been one of the best linemen in the state for his senior season but going to Taft will provide him not only an additional year of development, it will give him some major D1 exposure as there is an abundance of big schools that come through on a regular basis. He will land somewhere some where big in '22 I am sure of that.

While there may be some truth to your comments, I do not agree that there is a substantial gap in talent level between NKY, Lexington, and Louisville. If some of the higher level NKY talent played for a school in a larger metro area I would venture to say that those players would be receiving looks from larger schools.

 

Contrary to some belief, exposure plays a significant part in recruiting and while there NKY doesn't have year in and year out high level D1 players, there are several that get passed over simply because of location and it's not always not tall enough, fast enough or whatever.

 

To bring it back to the thread, this is true in Rulli's case. The young man, who's only 16, would have been one of the best linemen in the state for his senior season but going to Taft will provide him not only an additional year of development, it will give him some major D1 exposure as there is an abundance of big schools that come through on a regular basis. He will land somewhere some where big in '22 I am sure of that.

 

I'm with you on the talent gap and exposure piece.

 

The extra year to grow and mature in a high visibility program will certainly help his chances to play at a higher college level.