Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Scalzo continues Kentucky’s inroads into South Florida
Cardinal Gibbons quarterback Nik Scalzo has been committed to Kentucky since May, but even he is surprised by the Wildcats’ performance so far this season.
“I think everyone was pretty surprised,” Scalzo said. “They’re playing in the SEC. It’s the hardest division in college football. Every single game you play is going to be a fight. They’ve just come out and done their job, and they’ve been winning.”
Kentucky is 7-3 this year, with their losses coming to Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M. If the Wildcats win their final two games against Middle Tennessee State and Louisville, they will finish with their best record since 1984.
“The whole culture there now, it’s changed over the past few years there,” Scalzo said. “They’re definitely a contender now.”
Part of Kentucky’s success can be attributed to recruiting South Florida. The Wildcats have 14 players from Miami, Broward or Palm Beach on their roster. Three South Florida players — Scalzo, his teammate Nikolas Ognenovic and St. Thomas Aquinas offensive lineman Jake Pope — are committed to Kentucky in this year’s class.
“That’s the key,” Scalzo said. “You see all these bigtime programs and the biggest players are from down here. We just breed talent down in South Florida, and Kentucky does a good job recruiting down here.”
Area’s best visit top college programs: Several of the area’s top senior stars took visits to major programs this weekend.
Cardinal Gibbons star defensive lineman Khris
Bogle went to Tuscaloosa to watch Alabama defeat Mississippi State, Wellington athlete Mark-Antony
Richards saw Florida come back to beat South Carolina, and University School running back
Kenny McIntosh traveled to Athens to see Georgia beat Auburn 27-10.
All four players are being heavily recruited by the programs they visited and more.
Bogle, the top player on the Sun Sentinel’s Broward top 50 list, is the No. 56 player and No. 3 weak-side defensive end in the 2019 class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He has offers from more than 40 teams, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Tennessee and USC.
Richards, the No. 2 player in Palm Beach County, according to the Sentinel’s top 30 list, is the No. 95 player in his class and the No. 4 athlete. He narrowed his top schools down to Auburn, Florida, Miami, Penn State and Tennessee.
McIntosh, the No. 3 2019 prospect in Broward, is the No. 186 player in the class and No. 10 running back. He has offers from Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma and more than 20 other schools.
Other recruiting notes
American Heritage 2021 defensive back James
Williams received offers from Alabama and Georgia. Williams is currently committed to Miami.
Palm Beach Central 2020 defensive end Griffin Lampton visited Notre Dame. Benjamin 2021 quarterback Santino
Marucci also took an unofficial visit to South Bend.
Dwyer 2020 defensive back Colby Dempsey added an offer from Boston College. Dempsey also has offers from Kentucky, Syracuse and Western Michigan.
Deerfield Beach 2019 defensive tackle Javon Denis committed to Georgia State. Denis picked the Panthers over Army, Cincinnati, UAB and more.
Denis’ teammate, Deerfield Beach 2019 wide receiver Donte Banton, picked up an offer from Baylor. Banton, a threestar prospect, also has offers from Kentucky, Nebraska, Utah and more.