Jacob Savage (RB/LB, Ryle)

Photo credit to Katie Stratman for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Among the favorites, Savage had one of the better Week 1s, scoring two touchdowns and running for 82 yards as the Raiders defeated CovCath in NKY’s game of the week. He was his usual active self at linebacker, as well.

Playing both ways gives him twice the opportunities to make plays compared to certain other candidates, like O'Hara and Hampton. 

NKY produced a Mr. Football somewhat recently who was also a two way stud that looked like a man among boys and imposed himself physically on the opposition. If Week 1 is any indication, Savage might be on a similar trajectory.

*This will be a season long thread, serving as an extension of the BluegrassPreps Mr. Football Watchlist and focusing on individual players as opposed to the wider net of the weekly watchlist.

He has perfect last name for how he plays like a savage.

There are a lot of solid players in the 2026 class, but if I'm starting a team and I can take just one, this is the guy I'm taking.  I don't know if that translates to a Mr. Football win or not, but I've been a big proponent of his ability for a while now.

Bump.

409 tackles Ryles all time tackler.

1 hour ago, MaddenCurse44 said:

409 tackles Ryles all time tackler.

He's going to put that record out of sight for future generations of Raider defenders. 

?: Ryle's X account

Congrats to Savage and Most likely would be broken this year, but the numbers for Mace are off. Mace broke the record the Boone county game in 2010 and still played 5 games after. Records were meant to be broken but should be half way through the year if they calculated it correctly. 

8 hours ago, mudruds1136 said:

Congrats to Savage and Most likely would be broken this year, but the numbers for Mace are off. Mace broke the record the Boone county game in 2010 and still played 5 games after. Records were meant to be broken but should be half way through the year if they calculated it correctly. 

Good catch. If you go to the old Ryle football website, it quotes a Nov 12, 2010 article put out via the Enquirer's website about Court Mace breaking Mark Gray's record. The article says "Mace, Ryle's defensive captain, has 416 career tackles and is approaching 140 this season, with 100 solo."

Ryle played 3 more games in 2010 after the article was published (Campbell County, Simon Kenton, and Trinity) and according to Ryle's stats on the KHSAA Scoreboard, Mace had 5 tackles in each of those games. That would put his career total at 431 total tackles.

Assuming the 431 stat is the correct one for Court Mace, then with Savage's 12 total tackles in 2 games thus far this season, that would put Savage on pace to break Mace's career tackling record in or around Ryle's game against Tates Creek on September 26th.

Savage has managed to make maximum impact with a modest workload, but the schedule is about to ramp up. He'll have golden opportunities against Cooper, CAL, and Highlands in consecutive weeks. CAL, in particular, may require more than the 11-12 carries he's averaged so far. I'd like to see what "full Savage" looks like in the next few weeks. 

Bump.

809 Yards Rushing 16 Touchdowns

3 more TD receiving and 1 passing

76 Tackles