Kentucky football looking to build a pipeline with Groves family

Kentucky football already has one member of the Groves family committed to the program. Could the staff add a couple more?

On Wednesday, brothers Isaiah and Zach Groves announced scholarship offers from the Wildcats. They are the younger brothers of a recent Kentucky commit, four-star linebacker Elijah Groves, who is considered a top 300 rising high school senior by On3’s player rankings and chose UK in early July. All three play for Cross Plains (TN) East Robertson.

Isaiah is the middle brother of the trio. He’s a class of 2025 running back who clocks in at 6-foot, 185 pounds. He holds additional offers from the likes of NC State, UNC Charlotte, and UAB. As for the youngest, Zach, he’s a class of 2026 tight end/EDGE prospect and fills out at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds — already bigger than both of his older brothers.

Like Isaiah, Zach holds offers from NC State, UNC Charlotte, and UAB, but has also added one from Purdue. The Boilermakers offered Zach while joining Elijah on the latter’s official visit to Purdue in June. In the same vein, Zach and Isaiah joined Elijah on his official visit to Kentucky in early June.

Extremely blessed to receive an offer from @UKFootball !! @CoachHebertUK @vincemarrow @ER_CoachA @er_football @CoachBrooks33 @afite23 @BoBeasley15 @tagroves6 @JakeLancaster3 pic.twitter.com/NJrK0NIbEw

— Isaiah Groves (@isaiahgroves11) July 26, 2023

Extremely blessed to receive a offer from The University of Kentucky #AGTG @er_football @Mike_Stoops41 @ER_CoachA @CoachBrooks33 @BoBeasley15 @JakeLancaster3 @afite23 pic.twitter.com/MQ1m8U4Nu8

— Zach Groves (@Groves_Zach0) July 26, 2023

The football genes run deep in the Groves family. Ole Miss freshman safety Taylor Groves is a cousin of Elijah, Isaiah, and Zach. Taylor was a four-star recruit out of East Robertson and a top 300 prospect from the class of 2022.

Another Groves cousin, Carlus Groves, played four years of college basketball in the early 1990s — three at Tennessee and one at San Diego State — where he averaged 12.2 points per game. Elijah and Isaiah are also stars on the hardwood, having helped lead East Robertson to its first state title since 1989 after Elijah hit the go-ahead, game-winning three-pointer in the closing seconds last year.

This fall will be the final season that all three brothers play together at the high school level. Could they link up again in Lexington down the road?