Vince Marrow's attention to Ohio has 3-star TE Gavin Grover interested in Kentucky

If you scroll through the 2022 Kentucky football roster, you can pick out a trend — players from the state of Ohio make up a significant chunk of the talent. According to UK Athletics, there are 19 Wildcats who claim Ohio as their home for the upcoming season. The Bluegrass State naturally leads with 36 local prospects, but Ohio is arguably the second-most important pipeline state for the staff.

Recruits from Ohio have noticed Kentucky’s constant presence, too. Even more so when it comes to the tight end room. Of the six tight ends on the 2022 roster, half are from Ohio and the other half from Kentucky. Associate head coach Vince Marrow, who controls UK’s Ohio recruiting efforts, is already eyeing another potential addition that fits the status quo.

Gavin Grover is a class of 2024 three-star tight end who plays for Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, OH. The On3 Consensus tabs him as a top 20 overall prospect out of Ohio and No. 438 nationally. He received his very-first Division I offer just a few months ago in late April. It was Coach Marrow who came calling.

“I was just working out with my quarterback — it was before I reinjured myself so I was feeling good. I was working out and then (Olentangy) Coach (Wade) Bartholomew told me Coach Marrow was coming in town to watch me,” Grover told KSR on Tuesday. “So Coach Marrow came out there and watched us work out and after he was talking to us and he said I’d earned an offer from Kentucky, which was my first offer. That was super cool.”

Shortly after his Kentucky offer came in, Grover’s recruitment spiked. The likes of Michigan State, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and most recently Missouri, have all offered him a scholarship. During the spring, he took visits to several of those programs: Kentucky, Michigan (which has yet to offer), Michigan State, Virginia Tech, and Cincinnati.

“My coaches told me once you get one, you start to get a few,” Grover added. “Kentucky, I think them being an SEC school and Coach Marrow being the recruiter that I’ve heard of and know he is, that a lot of other schools pay notice to that.”

As for the aforementioned injury, Grover says he fractured his pelvis in February, just a short time after his sophomore season came to an end. He was feeling and looking good when Marrow came up to offer him a couple of months later, but unfortunately, he returned from his rehab just a bit too early ahead of camp season and was forced to sit out.

All that being said, Grover is confident in saying he’s now 100 percent healthy now. In fact, he recently returned from a run at volleyball nationals, where he’s one of the stars of an Ohio-based program called Vanguard. While at the event, he actually faced off against an opposing team that featured five-star Tennessee QB commit Nico Iamaleava, who also doubles as a volleyball star. Grover’s side lost, but he did say he got to talk football with Iamaleava afterward.

Volleyball is Grover’s second love when it comes to sports. Standing at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds with impressive agility, it’s no wonder he’s an imposing outside hitter. His 6-foot-4 older brother is attempting to go pro in sand volleyball, as well.

Grover added that he enjoys when football coaches talk with him about his passion for volleyball, which is exactly what he said Kentucky’s head coach Mark Stoops did. While in Lexington for his mid-June “camp” visit, Grover got to chalk it up with Stoops, who asked about family, football, and a little bit of volleyball. Grover also met up with fellow Ohio-raised tight end Josh Kattus, who is entering his freshman season with the ‘Cats. He made sure to talk plenty with graduate assistant CJ Conrad too, who was a special tight end in his own right while at Kentucky.

Thank you @vincemarrow @cjconrad1 @Ty_Williams16 and @coachharper45 giving me an awesome experience at Kentucky. Great to finally meet @UKCoachStoops. #BBN @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/zEbY2i3IOX

— Gavin Grover (@GavinGrover87) June 13, 2022

The interest is clearly mutual at this stage in his recruitment, but there is still a ways to go in the process. Grover hopes to visit Lexington for a game this fall where he will determine if an official visit with UK is on the table.

“I’m very interested in Kentucky,” Grover said. “I really like what they had to say and they’re a very talented team and a really good coaching staff. So I definitely would be interested in going to Kentucky (for an official visit).”

Looking ahead, Grover says he intends to focus on working with his teammates for most of July — their first practice was on Monday. However, he does plan to take a visit to Penn State at the end of the month on the 29th. The Nittany Lions, along with Ohio State and Michigan, are schools yet to offer Grover but ones showing significant interest.