Brothers Kaden, Peyton Smith, have potential DI future after Taylor County
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (BVM) – The Taylor County High School football backfield had defenses seeing double. That’s because the Cardinals routinely deployed the Smith brothers, sophomore Kaden and freshman Peyton, as the team’s running backs and both were effective. After losing all-state rusher Wes Oliver to graduation, this combination was a welcomed one for Cardinals fans.
“They were hometown boys…so we knew from a pretty early age that these were two special young men,” Taylor County head football coach Sam Marple said.
Kaden, the older and bigger of the two, is listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. After playing in only three games as a freshman a year ago due to injury, Kaden became a critical two-way player for the Cardinals, proving both his athleticism and versatility. Kaden finished the season with 125 carries for 1,001 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns to go with a team-high 269 receiving yards on 10 catches and four touchdown receptions. On the defensive end, as a linebacker, Kaden with 41 tackles and team highs in sacks (4), fumble recoveries (3), interceptions (2) and fumble recovery touchdowns (1).
“Kaden has been the more physical body-type kid,” Marple said. “I’ve never seen a kid impact a game at our level in high school like Kaden impacts a game…he’s just a big, physical kid on the high school field. Defensively, he does a great job shutting down half the field. As we got further and further last year, you see more and more teams attacking away from him…He’s an impact player both on offense and defense and he’s only a sophomore so it’s exciting.”
As Kaden was proving his worth on the team, his younger brother Peyton burst onto the scene as just a freshman. During his first year with the Cardinals, Peyton outran his brother to the tune of a team-high 1,824 rushing yards, good for No. 7 in the entire Kentucky High School Athletic Association. His 153-yard average per game ranked Peyton at No. 6 in the entire state while his average of 12.7 points per game had him ranked at No. 17 in the state, just over his brother’s No. 23 ranking. Peyton also finished the year with 23 rushing touchdowns, 242 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Not bad for a player making his high school debut.
“Peyton was kind of the more athlete-type kid,” Marple said. “We obviously knew as he got older he was going to be a really special player. I don’t know if I knew he was going to be as good as he was immediately in high school because you never know…one of his strengths this year was being able to get those hard yards and first downs. He’s a really speedy, fast kid who can run outside and all over the field but he can bang the ball up in the trenches too and get yards when he needs to.”
In total, the Smith brothers accounted for 3,447 of 4,268 of Taylor County’s total yardage, good for over 80% of the team’s offensive production. The two also scored 318 of the Cardinals’ 428 points on the year, good for 74% of the team’s total scoring.
“I think they play harder together, I think it makes them more competitive,” Marple said. “Now having the two brothers together they really play for each other on Friday nights and they take care of each other and they compete. They’ll hold each other accountable like brothers do and they have higher expectations of each other and I think that helps.”
With production like that from two players who were both basically playing their first full year of high school football, it is understandable that the two got a lot of attention from around the state. Peyton would earn Class 3A District 2 Player of the Year honors while also earning an honorable mention selection on the Courier Journal’s all-state team.
Congratulations to our very own @peyton_smith123 on earning his spot on the Courier Journal’s All-State Team as a Honorable Mention. Tremendous honor to receive as a Freshman! Keep working hard P! #TCPride @SportsTaylor @TCFBRecruit pic.twitter.com/i2MlZrSABp
— Taylor Co. Football (@TCCardinalsFB) December 17, 2021
In addition to their in-state recognition, the pair was also selected to participate in the NUC All-American Game in Savannah, Georgia from Dec. 27-30. Not surprisingly, Peyton would walk away from the event with the program’s MVP award.
I had a great time at the NUC All American game today. I’m blessed to be named the MVP. Thank you @CoachSchuman for inviting me and letting me compete.@coachdycus13 @WalkerDycus @TCFBRecruit @astephens0222 pic.twitter.com/7QkQkOGrCi
— Peyton smith (@peyton_smith123) December 30, 2021
Due to their amount of success, the two got plenty of attention from Division I programs. During the fall season, the brothers took unofficial visits to Eastern Kentucky University and University of Louisville.
https://twitter.com/iamkadensmith1/status/1452056648848191497
After another visit to EKU in February, the two brothers also walked away with their first pair of Division I offers, putting other teams on alert regarding the duo’s recruitment.
“I’m excited for them,” Marple said. “To be able to get a little bit of praise and recognition that they deserve because they’ve been working and grinding I think it’s good. I’m excited for them, excited for all the kids and excited for the program.”
Congratulations to our guys Peyton and Kaden Smith on receiving their first D1 football offers from @EKUFootball #TCPride #TCFootball 🏈 #FireTheCannon #Expect2Win @TC_Schools_KY @TCCardinalsFB pic.twitter.com/FQeUozW1hp
— TC Athletics (@SportsTaylor) February 18, 2022
Coming off of a 9-3 season a year ago, the Smith brothers will look to help the Cardinals grow even more next season. With another year of experience and playing together, expect the Smiths to continue their dominating ways for Taylor County and grow their recruiting prospects in the process.
“Our goal is we want to win a state championship,” Marple said. “Our expectation is to raise our program up to the next notch. Any time you’re playing, you’re playing for the purpose of winning it so we want to try and win the whole thing.”
