MCEWAN | North Hardin football's Lovett, Wright strengthening pipeline to UK | Sports

RADCLIFF, Ky. (WDRB) -- The pipeline from North Hardin High School to the University of Kentucky is getting stronger by the year.

“Us playing high school together, we already created a good, strong bond,” North Hardin senior Jordan Lovett said. “It’s hard to break that. So, just imagine us starting at UK all together.”

Fellow Trojan senior La’Vell Wright and Lovett are both UK commits on track to join three former teammates turned Wildcats.

“You’re not making a four-year decision. You’re making a 40-year decision with these young men that are coming from the state,” North Hardin head coach Brent Thompson said. “They sold these guys on that idea.”

Wright and Lovett will join former teammates Octavious Oxendine, Darren Green and Isaiah Beasley at UK. Oxendine was a considered a huge get for the Wildcats as a four-star defensive lineman in last year’s class.

“(Oxendine) kind of started to put us on the map his sophomore year and get some other high offers,” Thompson said. “Then UK offered. He had a great feel. He enjoyed the coaching staff up there.”

This year, UK has the top two players from North Hardin. Wright, a three-star running back, holds offers from a host of schools including Tennessee, Purdue, Indiana and Maryland.

Lovett is a three-star safety whose own list includes Missouri, Indiana and Louisville.

“Staying home was just always something that my mom wanted me to do,” Wright said. “So, I chose to stay home and she loved it.”

“Once he committed to UK, he was telling me all the great things about the program,” Lovett added. “That boosted my interest, and I committed.”

Like Oxendine, both players said it was Kentucky’s coaching staff that sealed the deal. They’ll have their first chance to officially sign with the program in December.

Until then, the focus is on the upcoming high school season and the hope that there is one.

“It’s the mentality that everybody gives,” Wright said. “It started with Coach Thompson, but it started with the players, also. We feed off of everything that we do, and we always want to be great.”

“One goal I haven’t accomplished yet is trying to win a ring,” Lovett said. “We haven’t done that yet as a team. That and just feeling of being a senior, you know, the last game.”

The Trojans’ season opener is currently schedule for Aug. 14 at Franklin County.