Staying close to home, Brown's offense impacted TE C.J. Conrad

Highly-rated tight end C.J. Conrad of Ohio admits staying close to home “was a very big key” in his college choice and committing to Kentucky as he did Friday will make it “easy” for his family to drive to his home games.

“That was a very big key for me because I want them to be able to see me play and it will be pretty easy for our home games at least,” said the 6-5 1/2, 231-pound Conrad.

Conrad is ranked as the the No. 6 tight end in the country and the No. 8 player in Ohio's Class of 2015 by Rivals.com. He’s considered one of the nation’s top 200 players in the 2015 recruiting class.

“I have a knack for getting the ball in the air and want to go make a play on it when it is in the air,” Conrad said. “As I get bigger and stronger, I can do even better.”

That’s what offensive coordinator Neal Brown is counting on to give the UK offense a needed big-play threat at tight end.

“When I visited, I got to go to practice and the offense fits me perfectly,” Conrad said. “It puts me out wide and I also play with my hand on the ground a lot (along the line). I am really excited for it and coach Brown is really good with that offense.”

Kentucky has lacked a dominant tight end since the departure of Jacob Tamme to the NFL five years ago.

“I visited there for practice and he (Tamme) was there at the same time,” Conrad said. “I do want to be an all-around tight end like he was. Coach (Vince) Marrow will coach me up. I played more like a wide receiver as a sophomore and that’s why I still think I can get better every game.”

So does Rob Clarico, his coach at Keystone High School in northern Ohio.

“Growing up it was all about basketball for him,” Clarico said. “Then he got playing time on the varsity (football) as a freshman and then he really went for football. But we are also a small school and he’s not had the opportunity to test himself against great competition daily. Once he does that, he will get a lot better. He’s not even touched the limit of what he can be. He is without question one of the best I have ever coached.

“His athletic ability will jump out at you. He will be a mismatch in college. He will be too big for corners to cover and too fast for linebackers. Coach Brown knows how to use tight ends. The one he had at Texas Tech just got drafted and had the same skills.”

But Clarico added that Conrad is special off the field, too

“He’s from a real tight family and was raised right,” Clarico said. “He has great values and character and great leadership skills. When he was a sophomore and we were struggling, I told him we needed him to be a leader. That’s a tough thing for a sophomore, but he did it and that says a lot about him.”

Great quotes in the article. Despite our woeful first year, Brown has been able to get recruits to see the potential in this offense.

We don't have a lot of NFL players but the ones we do are doing a great job as role models for our recruits.

I am a little hesitant to read that Conrad's competition was a little questionable. The 4 star diminishes that but the SEC is a man's league and Conrad will grow up quick.

Lastly it seems so obvious but I am thrilled that Stoops and company are annexing Ohio for recruiting purposes. A populace state that produces football players, let's go head to head with the Buckeyes and see what happens.

I can't believe some of us, including me to some extent bought what coaches were telling us about Ohio. That that was Big Ten country, that in Ohio they thought we were a bunch of hicks, etc etc, in rationalizing why we couldn't recruit well there. Now I'm thinking we ought to get into Pennsylvania again pretty big. What are your thoughts there?

Yes, lots of very good, SEC caliber players in Pennsylvania, and we need to stick our nose to the ground up there and grab as many of the good players that we can.