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Kentucky tight ends coach Vince Marrow is the Wildcats' top recruiter, but what makes him so successful?
By Joe Mussatto
June 28, 2017
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tight ends coach Vince Marrow was credited as the lead or co-recruiter for 10 of Kentucky’s 24 signees in the 2017 class. The four highest-ranked Kentucky signees — Lynn Bowden, Josh Paschal, JaVonte Richardson and Tyrell Ajian — were all recruited by Marrow.
Marrow was the only Kentucky coach inside 247Sports’ top-20 SEC recruiter rankings for 2017. Just before National Signing Day, Marrow was ranked the conference’s best recruiter by SEC Country.
Those are the accolades, but we wanted to find out why and how. What makes Marrow a good recruiter? That’s the question SEC Country asked Richardson, Ajian, Alex King and their parents and coaches on a recent trip through Ohio as part of our Next Generation series.
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JaVonte Richardson: “I think that what makes Coach Marrow so good at what he does is that he keeps it real. He’s so down to earth. He don’t tell you what you want to hear, he tells you what he thinks you should hear. That was my biggest thing with him. He kept it real.”
Devlin Culliver (JaVonte’s high school coach): “He’s from the city of Youngstown just like I am. Grew up on the south side of Youngstown. He understands language of the inner city. At the same time, he also understands the language of the suburbs. He’s able to make that blend and make himself presentable to every type of kid, every type of family. And he’s honest. I know him outside of football. But when I’m sitting there listening to him talk to players I can see why they want to go to Kentucky.”
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Tyrell Ajian: “I feel like Coach Marrow knows how to talk to kids and get along with them. It might sound funny, but the way that some people come off talking to you, like their sense of humor with things, it plays a big part. He definitely makes you feel comfortable.”
Nikki Ajian (Tyrell’s mom): “I ask a lot of questions, and he was able to answer all my questions. And if he wasn’t they were answered timely.”
Jamie Masi (Tyrell’s high school coach): “I don’t know. You’ve got to talk to some of the recruits that he’s getting. From where I’m sitting on this side of the desk, very similar to all the other coaches.”
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Alex King: “He knows what he wants, I know what I want.”
Andrea King (Alex’s mom): “I feel like when I asked him questions I got a direct answer. I didn’t feel like he was telling me things I wanted to hear. He was truthful and that was another thing. I would ask some other organizations, ‘Why now? Why did you wait to recruit him?’ He’s been there and done that. He’s played in the game. He’s a successful coach, he’s got a successful history in what he does and that plays a part, too. It’s good to have examples of people who’ve been there and done that. He’s a family man and is supportive of his own children. That was good to see.”
