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Seneca High School coach Lavell Boyd likes that Lloyd Tubman “desires to be great now” and believes that one day his star defensive lineman will play in the NFL after his upcoming career at the University of Kentucky is over.
Boyd likes the track record UK head coach Mark Stoops and defensive coordinator D.J. Elliot have for developing “players with limited football knowledge and making first and second round draft picks” out of them.
“One thing Lloyd liked about UK was how the coaches developed young players. Lloyd has as much upside as anybody in the country.You do not see a kid 6-5, 225 pounds who can run like him and jump like he can. Those things are God-given talent. Once he learns more about football, then he will be a monster of a player.”
Tubman, a four-star recruit, signed with Kentucky in February. He had committed to Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt and then Penn State before actually signing with UK. Rivals.com ranked him as the fourth best player in Kentucky and 24/7 Sports ranked him as the 12th best weakside defensive end in the nation.
Tubman, who will run track this spring, decided he did not want to go “to a place like Alabama where they already have something going” on as a program. Instead, he bought into the challenge of elevating UK’s program.
“When we leave Kentucky, we are going to leave our mark,” he said. “I didn’t want to go somewhere and just be a number. We are going to be guys that put in work and have a positive outcome and really make something out of the program so I can be proud of where I graduated from.”
He’s glad in-state stars Drew Baker and Matt Elam are with him at UK.
“I had to make sure it was right for me, but they are both great athletes,” Tubman said. “Kentucky is doing a lot right. They are bringing in great guys. It’s kind of cool to have the best in-state guys coming here, too. Our class is going to be special. We know there are doubters, but we all believe we can be special.”
If that means redshirting him next season, he’s fine with that.
“I don’t want to be out and waste a year that I am going to need later,” Tubman said. “I know the coaches want the best for me. I am still learning football. College is a whole different level. I want to compete, but I also want what the coaches think is best for me. I am willing to learn. If redshirting is in my best interest and the team’s best interest, then I will do it. I want to learn all I can and know these coaches can teach me.”
Boyd said Tubman is one of those “that started playing a spot and did not know a lot about it” when he began.
“One thing he has learned from he is to have dreams because they are doable,” Boyd said. “He took a lot of good advice. The more he learns, the better he will be. I came to Seneca after his sophomore season. He had not played a lot. I got him around January (of his sophomore year) and started working with him.
“It helps that he has also grown. When I got to Seneca, he was 6-1, 175. He grew to 6-2 and then 6-5 in five or six months. He just hit a crazy growth spurt. He is a massive guy who is really cut. He has a physical nature to him. He’s still learning about the game, but he will put you in the dirt. He will hit you, run you down. All the stuff you are looking for, he does. He won’t really know football until he plays more. He will be learning on the college level and be with somebody who has a track record of making it work for kids like him.”
Boyd plays Tubman will be “one of the most athletics defensive ends ever to play at Kentucky” before he leaves.
“That is not me bragging. At the end of the day that will be his calling because of how athletic this kid is,” Boyd said.
To prove that, Boyd recalled the time last summer during a practice when Tubman had the quickness to chase down a squirrel that came on the field.
“That was amazing to see,” the Seneca coach said.
Tubman said he was “just messing around” when he chased the squirrel.
“I wasn’t thinking I was going to catch it. I was watching his moves and just waited for his break. It was pretty funny,” Tubman said.
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