Outstanding Young Men

The Mr. Football award is annually given to the best high school football player in the state of Kentucky, as chosen by members of the sports media. This year several of the front-runners for the honor are from the Louisville area, and if one of them wins the honor, there is no doubt in my mind that the award will be in very good hands. In the last couple of months, as I've written stories for the football preview issues, I've had the opportunity to meet, and talk with, several of the top players from the area. And the biggest thing that stands out to me about this group is that they are not only standout football players, they are standout people too. They are some of the best young men I've been around in my 10-plus years of covering high school sports. Here are some of my thoughts on each one: Trinity linebacker Jordan Whiting (6-foot-1, 232 pounds) is a man-child on the field, but off the field he's the proverbial teddy bear who is just as comfortable reading defenses as he is poring over a math problem. This year he says his goal is a 4.0 grade-point average. "I want to be known to be from Louisville, to be a student and nice guy and not just some big dude who thinks he's better than everybody else," Whiting says. Whiting's teammate and good friend, Tim Phillips is the diminutive, speedy running back for the Shamrocks. However, if height was based on personality he'd be 8-feet tall. He's very outgoing, but at the same time very humble. When I asked Phillips his strengths he responded: "I'd rather have somebody else tell you, I really don't like talking about my athletic ability." Central linebacker Ridge Wilson loves to talk. Yellowjackets coach Ty Scroggins told me a story about a college coach who sat down with Wilson. Even though this coach was from a smaller school, and Wilson is a major college recruit, the player talked the coach's ear off. That coach made a point of telling Scroggins that most other players in Wilson's position wouldn't even have taken the time to talk with him, much less for so long. "But even when it was over Ridge told him, 'Call me,'" Scroggins recalled with a smile. North Bullitt running back Dalton Cissell is equally likable. I talked to him for at least 30 minutes, but our conversation could've lasted an hour. He's run up some huge numbers for the Eagles, but it's his work ethic that may be his biggest contribution to his team. "The lineman take a lot of pride in what he does too, because when you've got someone who works so hard it makes them want to give 110 percent," North Bullitt coach Brett Newton says. "They take a lot of pride in doing things for him." St. Xavier running back Deuce Finch, like all the others, is a solid student and is all about the "we" not the "me." "I just want to help my team out in any way that I can," Finch says. "If I feel like I can help the team that's what I want to do." Like Whiting, Male's Justin Green is also headed to Ohio State. He is probably best known for his outstanding speed, he won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at May's state track & field meet), and was one of the state's top rushers last season. But that's not his best attribute, according to Male coach Bob Redman. "He's an outstanding individual to go with that," Redman says. "He's a coach's dream." That's the great thing about this group, they all are.