With August now in full swing, football teams across the country are preparing for another season. Some players have been on the football side of things for quite some time, but for [B]Mekale McKay[/B] (Class of 2012, Louisville-Moore, Kent.), he having to get used to everything.
After all, the two-sport athlete has spent the majority of July playing AAU basketball.
“I’m getting back into football form. I’ve been doing a lot of football workouts the past week,” said an excited McKay.
Moore High School completed an outstanding season last year, as McKay led his team to the first round of the state playoffs for the first time in decades. But that isn’t stopping the receiver from trying to accomplish even more.
“This year, we want to make it past the second round of the playoffs. Everyone’s main goal is to win a state championship, but that’s one of the first steps we have to conquer to get there.”
Personal goals were something difficult to get out of McKay, but in the end he has high standards for himself.
“I want to be a finalist for Mr. Basketball and Mr. Football in Kentucky, as well as finishing on the all-state team for both sports.”
But the recruiting process is still on for the 6-foot-5 athlete. In fact, just after his AAU season ended, he visited two schools: Central Florida and IUPUI.
“My visit to UCF was awesome. I saw the campus and got a tour of all the facilities, basketball and football,” he began. “When we went into the basketball arena, I met Dwight Howard. He was hosting his camp. Seeing him was crazy. It’s not something you expect.”
While his visit to IUPUI wasn’t as flashy, McKay still enjoyed the company he had.
“I met some of the players that were on campus; I actually knew a lot of the players too, so it was just nice and comfortable to hang out with them.”
Central Florida and IUPUI both have offered McKay in football and basketball, something he is looking to do in college.
In regards to football, Louisville, Kentucky, Marshall, Indiana, Illinois, UTEP, and Cincinnati have all offered the rising senior, and Tennessee is getting involved as well.
UTEP, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Rhode Island, and Georgia State have offered for basketball, and Cincinnati has said they will come with an offer soon.
Out of those schools, McKay has one team that he can say is recruiting him the hardest right now.
“UTEP really stays in touch a lot with both sports. I’m really good friends with both coaches, but the relationship is more on the basketball edge right now.”
As for choosing one sport if it came down to it, McKay says it would be hard to choose. “I can’t say. I go back and forth with each one.”
But there have been attempts to get the dual-sport athlete to play at Kentucky if that draws him to the school more. Despite not talking to the Kentucky staff lately, he still holds a lot of interest in the school.
“They haven’t came as hard as they were, but I think that is because I was involved with basketball stuff. I know Joker Phillips is a good man and they will be in contact with me soon, so they are still up there. I’m looking forward to hearing back from them,” he said.
Mekale McKay has an interesting decision to make as to where he will attend college, but he has yet to set a decision date. With his basketball, it could be a long time before he decides where he wants to go.
Nevertheless, Mekale is a unique talent and one to keep an eye on in the state of Kentucky this year.
Follow Garrett Tucker on Twitter [URL=”https://twitter.com/#%21/GTuckersports”]@GTuckersports[/URL] for more info on Kentucky recruiting.
