Meet the 12 members of the first-team defense

Bullitt East’s Isaiah Hare (5) is committed to Eastern Illinois.

Here’s a look at the 12 members of The Courier Journal’s 2023 first-team All-State football defense, as selected by a statewide vote of coaches. A total of 126 coaches returned ballots.

Jerod Smith

Corbin High School defensive lineman Jerod Smith has been selected to The Courier Journal’s All-State football first team.

Corbin, defensive lineman

Height/weight: 6-3/265

Year: Senior

College: Committed to Kentucky

Why he’s on the team: Posted 90 tackles (64 solo) for a Redhounds team that went 12-1 and reached the third round of the Class 4A playoffs. Smith led the team with 20 tackles for loss and nine sacks and recovered two fumbles, returning one for a touchdown. Was named the Class 4A, District Eight Player of the Year by the Kentucky Football Coaches Association. He’s the No. 1-ranked prospect in Kentucky’s Class of 2024, according to 247Sports.com. Played at Somerset in 2019 and 2020 before transferring and playing at Connecticut prep schools in 2021 and 2022.

Coach’s take: “Jerod was a fantastic leader and an exceptional player for us this year,” Tom Greer said. “He made teams have to plan their offense around him. Teams couldn’t throw the ball downfield because he would get pressure on the quarterback, and they couldn’t throw quick game to his side because he would bat passes down.”

Austin Alexander

Cooper defensive lineman Austin Alexander has been selected to The Courier Journal’s All-State football first team.

Cooper, defensive lineman

Height/weight: 6-3/242

Year: Junior

College: Has offers from Akron, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Gardner-Webb, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Liberty, Louisville, Miami (Ohio), North Carolina, Notre Dame, Purdue, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin

Why he’s…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2023-kentucky-state-football-team-102956924.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2023-12-19 10:29:56

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