The University of Louisville recently became the first college football team to offer a scholarship to Trinity High School sophomore defensive end Stephen Herron. The early gesture from the hometown Cardinals is one he won't forget even if his list of offers grows much longer in the coming years.
Herron, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound pass-rushing specialist who played at New Albany High School as a freshman but is transferring to Trinity this coming year, said he appreciated U of L seeing potential in him and being the first to act.
"It felt great to get your first offer from the school that's right in your backyard," said Herron, who has grown up in New Albany but is moving to live with his father in Louisville. "No matter if you're a Louisville fan now, everybody has grown up a Louisville fan at some time in their life if you live here. So it just feels great."
Herron is shaping up as one of the state of Kentucky's best prospects in the 2019 class.
After U of L offered him the scholarship after a camp on June 11, Herron added offers from Tennessee and Indiana. Notre Dame is also evaluating him closely after he performed well at camp. He visited Alabama for its spring game, and he thinks he may land an offer from the University of Kentucky, a team he rooted for as a young boy, when he visits in July. Herron mentioned Auburn, South Carolina, Missouri, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State as other schools he may visit in the coming months.
"He'll have 30-plus offers at the end of the day," said Chris Vaughn, who trains Herron at the Aspirations gym in Jeffersonville.
Herron said probably won't commit to a college until at least his junior year. He said U of L will remain firmly in the mix throughout his recruitment.
"Any school that's in your hometown is always going to be in the mix," he said. "I wouldn't mind staying close to home. I also wouldn't mind getting far away. It doesn't matter to me. But of course, a coach like (U of L defensive coordinator Todd) Grantham is always going to be in the mix."
Herron said his father is a lifelong Louisville fan who attended U of L's business school.
"He's tried to turn me onto them," Herron said. "When I was younger, I was a UK fan. Then I became an Urban Meyer fan. Then I was just a fan of everybody. I just love football. I don't have a team really.
"But (the elder Herron) loved (the U of L offer). He tells me all the time, 'Don't forget about Louisville. I don't care how big you get, don't forget about Louisville.' I'm just like, 'How could I forget about them? They're right in your backyard. Coach Grantham is a great coach.'"
U of L is recruiting Herron for its outside linebacker/rush end position in Grantham's 3-4 defense. Grantham, who is also U of L's outside linebackers coach, worked with Herron at the camp and "took me under his wing all day."
Herron had 75 tackles, including five sacks, and blocked three kicks last season at New Albany while being named to The Courier-Journal's Southern Indiana all-area second team.
"He's got some versatility," Vaughn said. "He can run. He's athletic, tall obviously. He has a big body, and he's only going to get bigger as he gets older. He's only 15 still. ... What sets him apart is his ability to rush the passer off the edge. Everybody is looking for those long, athletic guys who can get to the quarterback."
Vaughn said Herron has advanced hand skills for a pass rusher at his age, and he thinks that he projects as a 250-pound college player who could play from a two- or three-point stance off the edge.
Vaughn said Herron has benefited from training with other talented players from the area, including Waggener's Tahj Rice and Jairus Brents and Trinity's Rondale Moore - another New Albany transfer - from the 2018 class and Ballard's DeShon Washington in 2017. He's also worked out with former Trinity and UK linebacker Jason Hatcher.
"(Herron) is a very hard-working kid, a gym-rat kid," Vaughn said. "That's why he continues to excel at the rate he has. He has a burning desire. Some kids make up their minds early in life what they want to do, and he's one of those kids."
Herron, who has a grade-point average above 4.0 due to taking advanced classes, said academics will play a key part in his recruitment. That's why Vaughn expects elite academic schools like Notre Dame and Stanford to be in the running for Herron.
At the Notre Dame camp, the Irish were short on offensive linemen, so Herron was unable to compete in one-on-one drills, and the staff said its evaluation of him will continue. Herron said South Bend had a small-town feel that was "wonderful."
"Everybody has seen, 'Rudy,'" Herron said. "(The visit) lets you know how legendary the school really is."
Herron, Rice and Brents are among the handful of in-state players who have an offer from U of L. South Warren defensive tackle Jacob Lacy is thought to be the only other 2019 Kentuckian with one.
