James Graham

The misspelled "County" is so on-point... the jokes just write themselves.

CCH "rostered" all their frosh this year with the KHSAA. Now, all 8 of those you list may be dressing tonight. Smith will be dressed for sure because he is a varsity player and will see action. Not sure whether Miller is on any special teams or not.

For what its worth... I always thought the '82 team was the most talented. Hiawatha Francisco, DJ Francisco, Byron Larkin, John Shaffer, Shane Bullough

I know... I thought maybe the Guru would chime in first... Ha !!

12-0. Points for: 490 Points Against: 40... who was that D Coordinator ??

What level do you think he equates to, because it is certainly higher than FCS non-scholarship. I believe he's between an FCS and Group of 5 Safety or Receiver. The only questionable measurable for him is height. Biggest drawback is he has no film at receiver and I don't know what position he camped at. The recruiting process isn't the same as it was two years ago. Heck, it's not even the same as it was before July 1, 2025. I have no inside information, but my guess is there are several FCS schools that are closely following him on their boards. The two instate FCS scholarship schools would be crazy not to offer him. Same with any of the SoCon schools.

I disagree slightly. Certainly some FBS' are onto 27's, but they are still trying to solidify their 26 class whatever number that may be. Whether an FBS offer (group of 5) will ever come is a different question. Personally, I would be shocked if a scholarship FCS school doesn't come in and offer him during the season. Given the number of positions he can play and his speed numbers, he absolutely can play in the United, MVC, Patriot or SoCon and those teams will be filling their 26 classes into December. Roster management at the FCS level now is an absolute crap show... these FCS coaches are doing the best they can to fill rosters year to year. On July 1, about 15 kids per FBS team are now searching for homes and they have a grandfather tag they can use at the new school. So, its even harder now for the 26's, 27's and beyond.

I could be wrong, but I thought HUDL messages from coaches to players and back are "traceable," I.e. they remain on the HUDL message board.

I think you are both right. Culture breeds Talent. Tim Sullivan started the Cooper basketball program in 2007. Zero history. He created the culture and then some of the area's best talent found their way to Cooper or bought homes in the district. Combine that with the kids who were naturally in the district and that's how a winner was made.

When the Bandits first started it was a break away from BCPWFL and "boundaries" didn't really exist yet. The high school boundaries came a little later with the NKYFL so some of these kids were grandfathered if they lived outside the high school district. Nevertheless, I think its accurate to say that Noel will be much more involved with the feeder system, which remains only behind the Union Raiders in participation. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Noel doesn't push to change the name to the Hebron Cougars so that you start that Cougar pride in first grade. Dave Trosper is a Boone County High School legend, great football coach and leader of men and should be remembered as such. His philosophy regarding the feeder system, however, was always a little hands off. I think that changes as Noel will keep more players "in-house" if you will.

Cooper Lady Jags basketball under Coach Pro will come down to one question: Can she coach defense as well as Holthaus did? Of the four region championship teams, this past season was by far Holthaus' best "coaching" job. No real size. About 7 or 8 really gritty type players that upheld the Lady Jag defensive philosophy with a special player in Noel. They have two more years of Noel and should be the prohibitive favorite until she graduates with the caveat, of course, that some player movement at other schools is likely to occur or has occurred.

The problematic superiors reach retirement eligibility very soon.

Justin Holthaus is their only hope. Sure, the opening will probably get some pretty decent attention and even good applicants, but it won't be the same. Cooper had established greatness and instead chose to be milquetoast. Will take years to re-establish, if ever... look at the Ryle hoops program. Even if some of the current kids stick around, the pipeline kids at Bally and Camp Ernst will flee to Ryle, St. Henry, Conner or CovCath.

Great move by him... in this portal/NIL world kids can't watch the paint dry. I am sure he is the top linebacker on each schools board that made his top 7.

Makes sense... even Kentucky Week 6 was going to be tough to go outside the Commonwealth as Ohio and Indiana are usually playing "Conference" games that week.

CCH can't play Ohio or Indiana for Kentucky week 11 (10th game)... Ohio and Indiana are in playoff week 1 during Kentucky regular season week 11. If they pick up an opponent for their "10th" game it will have to come from Kentucky.

Anderson is going to be a tough hill to climb for the '25 Jags. Anderson's 2027 class has two high major recruits and because of that the Raptors have become a popular destination for tri-state kids. No telling how much better the roster will be even over last year's D2 runner-up team.

I would add that along with starting as soon as possible which staff is most stable. Like you said, this is pro football now with free agency every year and the QB position is the poster child for this wild west era. It is a given wherever he goes that the school will bring in a hired gun at least once during his tenure. Heck, even FCS schools are paying six figures for starting quarterbacks from other schools. The key word being "starter" so wherever you can start that needs to be the priority. That's why I think Clay Hayden made a great decision. I know he is a little "shorter" on the measurable chart, but if he is coming out before Covid he's probably got a spot on an FCS roster somewhere as he develops. Sadly, that's not the game anymore.

There is no single way to do these awards that is going to make everyone happy. CJ publishes the number of coaches voting for its all state teams... its usually around 40% of coaches in any particular sport. The ballots are emailed mind you...

Population is king in high school football. SW Ohio (Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont Counties) have a population of appx. 1.7 million. That is literally the population pools that schools like X, Moeller and Elder pull from. Lakota West and Princeton, etc. a little less so but its still apples and oranges compared to NKY. By comparison, NKY (Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties) have a combined population of appx. 400,000. So while there have been NKY teams competitive when they go across the river and of course years where they win games, the demographics alone suggest that it would be awful hard for any of the NKY teams to win conferences or championships across the river on a consistent basis. Its just a different animal when it comes to numbers.

And how could you... the record speaks for itself. Rather, I think the community feels like they got the next Dale Mueller sitting up there in Sycamore Township and if he wants to come home you make that happen. As for Moeller being a better job, if the rumors are true and, again, these are just rumors, Highlands is paying their coach more than Moeller does plus you have the KERS retirement. Pretty attractive to a young man if he has no further aspirations of coaching in college.

I would add the following to their issues: 1. Resurgence of Princeton; 2. Continued success of Winton Woods; 3. Ed-Choice vouchers so kids can go to LaSalle/Bacon if they live in Cincinnati Public Mt. Airy area instead of heading further down Colerain Avenue. Two things can bring Colerain back. 1. Rumor is very strong the district is going to merge the two high schools (Northwest and Colerain) into Colerain. This will create an immediate influx of athletes not unlike what Springfield experienced when they merged Springfield North and South. 2. the Little Cards program is still a LARGE operation and great feeder. They are just losing kids to the above mentioned high schools.

Probably slot Erin Boley in no lower than No. 4.

I think NKY football is a microcosm of Kentucky football as a whole. The product being put on the field by the top teams in NKY may be the best its ever been. Then after that... not so much... as evidenced by the mostly brutal statewide scores we saw in regular season weeks 6-10.

Trivia time... without cheating... name Faust's successor at Moeller High School... @theguru not allowed to answer.