Kentucky Sports Report - Feature on Mikel Horton

By: LARRY VAUGHT

It only took one game for Mikel Horton to realize just what playing in the Southeastern Conference meant.

“It’s a blessing obviously,” said the Kentucky freshman running back from Ohio. “Thankfully, I am playing on a team that is being rebuilt. It’s amazing how we bond. It’s a great opportunity for me and it’s just special to be on a SEC team.

“There’s nothing like playing here. Speed is so big. Agility counts. I have to still work on little things like reads when I am running the ball. If you do not get the right read, the play is destroyed. Little things like that have really opened my eyes.”

Horton graduated from high school early and ran 13 times for 70 yards, including a score, in UK’s Blue-White Game that ended spring practice. He was a four-star recruit who picked UK over Florida State, Louisville, Michigan State and Vanderbilt. Rivals.com ranked him as the third best prospect in Ohio and 12th best running back in the nation after he ran 178 times for 1,203 yards and 13 touchdowns his senior year at Lakota West High School. He also caught 19 passes for 249 yards and two scores.

He was so versatile that he wrestled and also ran on the school's 4x100-meter relay team in track.

“Back home they are very happy for me and my brother who committed to Western Michigan. They are very happy we are using the game to be in college,” Horton said. “What I have loved here is that practice is way harder than games and I am grateful they did that or I would not be playing in games. They make it so loud and so physical and keep the pacing moving so fast and have us running everywhere. That makes the games a lot easier. It just blows high school out of the water. It makes no sense how fast college is.”

Horton got a touchdown in his UK debut against UT-Martin, something he said that “boosted” his confidence.

“It made me see I could play the game,” Horton said. “I knew I could, but I never knew the game would be that fast and I could do it. I nearly threw up before the game because of the crowd, but other than that it was cool. I knew this I could do this again, so that helped my confidence.

“I wasn’t really nervous about the game because I fear playing no other team. It was just the atmosphere of the big crowd that kind of got to me. But once we started playing, I didn’t even hear the crowd.”

While quarterback Drew Barker was credited with being the leader of UK’s 2014 recruiting class, Horton also played a key role persuading other players to commit and sign with Kentucky. He’s continuing to try and be a leader in his part-time role on the UK offense.

“Maybe if I just got here in August, it would be a problem to be leading. But now I can take care of little things and still be a leader,” Horton said. “I am good for that. I can be a role player and still a player the coaches can depend on for leadership. Being here early helped get me ready for that.”

He says the bond among the 2014 signees has remained strong even though many of the players, including Barker, are being redshirted.

“The freshmen being together here on campus has only made the bong stronger than ever before,” Horton said. “We talked on Twitter when we were not here, but now we are together every day. We see each other daily in the dorms and participate in things together outside practice.

“We stress every day to the ones not playing this year to do a great job on scout team. I had to play scout myself the first couple of weeks. It makes you humble, but it also makes you better going against the No. 1 offense and defense. My roommate Dorian (Hendrix) is a redshirt linebacker and we go against each other daily.”

Horton says Hendrix is a perfect example of how a player redshirting can still make a big impact.

“The way he practices on scout and goes at it, he is not one to take anything lightly. He boosts everyone on scout and makes them want to practice,” Horton said. “I believe he will eventually be the best linebacker in the SEC. He has captain-type mentality. I trust him. If I had to follow him, I know he would get the job done. I trust him on any level. The whole scout team looks up to him.”