Kentucky offers offensive lineman with deep connections to the program

This is one offer that's more significant than most that are going out, and the player that received it isn't even a high school junior.

Kentucky just offered Zeke Correll on Friday. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound sophomore guard from Anderson High School in Cincinnati (Ohio) has incredibly deep connections to the UK program.

Cincinnati was actually the first school to offer Correll, but the Bearcats didn't get much of a head start on Kentucky. Both schools offered on Friday, so Correll had a huge day and was excited when Cats Illustrated caught up with him this weekend.

He said Kentucky offered on Friday night.

"I actually called Coach (Vince) Marrow on Wednesday and he told me they were really close to offering me. I knew it was only a matter of time 'til I get an offer. I didn't know when it would happen and it's definitely very exciting."

Correll said he had first met Kentucky's coaches at some of the games he had previously attended in Lexington, but he didn't really start getting to know them until the junior day he attended at UK at the end of February.

"I think it's a great school. It's really nice. Their facilities are all new. The weight room's super nice and I really love all the coaches there. They're really nice people and just people down there in general are really nice," he said.

Gabe Correll, Zeke's brother, played for Kentucky through the 2012 season and was a significant contributor on the program's special teams unit. Correll's father, Steve, was a defensive lineman at Kentucky in the 1970's. His mother attended the school, and his grandfather, Ray, was an All-American defensive lineman at Kentucky under Bear Bryant more than half a century ago.

"I pretty much went to every single home game when I was younger," Correll said. "My brother played there so we drove down and watched all the games and afterwards we would go over to Canes and get a nice meal."

While Correll's connections to Kentucky run deep, he's not ready to name a favorite.

"It's too early to say as of right now," he said.

Kentucky's coaches think Correll will "probably" be a guard although he's still young and it's too early for them to make a final determination.

Correll is getting to know Cincinnati, too. He attended one of their spring practices a couple of weeks ago and he attended a workout at UC last night, which is when he was offered by the Bearcats.

Vince Marrow is Correll's lead recruiter for Kentucky.