They both wear blue and white on Fridays, one in Independence, one in Park Hills.
Come fall of 2024, they’ll both be wearing blue and white on Saturdays in Lexington.
Covington Catholic’s Willie Rodriguez and Simon Kenton’s Aba Selm meet on the gridiron Friday night in Independence, the two committed to play football at the University of Kentucky next season.
While they’ll be opponents come Friday night at 7 p.m., they’re friends off the field, Rodriguez acknowledging Selm helped play a part in his recruitment and decision to head to play for Mark Stoops next season.
“We live 10 minutes away from each other, we hang out a lot,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve been on multiple visits together. So yeah, he has definitely helped a lot, same with Cutter (Boley) and all those guys down there.”
Selm had already made his decision in February to commit to the ‘Cats, Rodriguez followed suit in June after picking up over 30 Division I offers. The two went on an official visit together recently.
“I love Willie,” Selm said. “He’s a great guy. We went on our OV (official visit) a couple weeks ago and talked it up and chopped it up.”
Both are two-way players in high school. Selm mans the offensive and defensive lines for the Pioneers while Rodriguez is a tight end and linebacker for the Colonels. Selm is being recruited as an offensive lineman, Rodriguez at tight end.
Selm is currently rated as the fourth highest recruit in the state and No. 42 ranked interior offensive lineman in the country, the three-star at 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds. Rodriguez is rated eighth in the state and the No. 47 ranked tight end in the country, the three-star at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. The rankings are according to 247 Sports.
The Pioneers won their opener over Dixie Heights after overcoming five first half turnovers. Selm had six tackles, two of them for loss as they shut out Dixie Heights in the second half. Offensively he helped pave the way for a Pioneers rushing attack that finished with 229 rushing yards and overcame an injury to starting quarterback Tucker Ober, Brady Lee coming in for the second half to complete all four passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Even though he’s somewhat reserved, Selm’s leadership should help ignite a Simon Kenton team coming off an 8-4 season.
“By nature, Aba is kind of a quiet kid, not really outspoken, but has become more of a vocal leader. He’s really come out of his shell through the whole recruiting process, and that has brought him out a little bit,” Pioneers coach Roy Lucas said.
Simon Kenton had a weird Week 2 when they traveled to Versailles to take on Woodford County, but the game was canceled. The game was already slated for a late 9:30 p.m. start due to being the second game of the day and delayed due to excessive heat, then lightning delays canceled it all together.
Selm and fellow senior Jake Putthoff are helping groom an offensive line that lost three starters from last season.
“We were kind of senior heavy along the line last year, so some of our guys coming up to play varsity need to be a factor and step up and do their job,” Selm said. “We’re getting there, it’s just a matter of time.”
Selm has transitioned from offensive tackle last year to guard this year, vital in the Pioneers offense that relies a lot on pulling from their guards and runs a lot of run pass option.
“You’re the lead blocker so running backs right behind you with the ball. You got to at least take the right steps and make that correct block,” Selm said.
Rodriguez added roughly 30 pounds to his frame in the offseason – most of it muscle mass – as his impressive offseason brought a new offer almost every other day. He’s caught seven passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns as the Colonels are off to a 2-0 start.
Their high-powered offense that returned nearly everyone at the skill positions has put up 72 points in two games in victories over Ryle and Highlands.
The bigger frame means Rodriguez is a bigger piece to the Colonels run game as a blocker as they’ve amassed 298 rushing yards in the first two contests. He’s also added seven tackles defensively, two of them for loss.
On top of Selm’s nudge to help get Rodriguez get to Lexington, Rodriguez cited bringing offensive coordinator Liam Coen back to guide the Wildcats offense played a vital part.
“Just the staff you know, Coach Coen coming back, Coach Marrow, Coach Stoops and his staff. Really good offense, pro style offense they use in the NFL and I like the way it looks and the way I fit in it,” Rodriguez said.
With the recent success of Covington Catholic alum Michael Mayer in his standout career at Notre Dame and getting drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, some are starting to wonder if Rodriguez can take a similar path.
“One thing about both those guys is that they worked for it,” Colonels coach Eddie Eviston said. “You see a lot of guys that have a lot of talent and things don’t work out and you question…What happened? These guys are giving themselves every opportunity to get that recognition, get those offers and get that opportunity to advance by their work ethic.”
It had been nearly a decade since the last heralded Northern Kentucky recruit committed to the University of Kentucky when Conner’s Drew Barker did so in 2014. Highlands’ Patrick Towles in 2012 and Simon Kenton’s Miles Simpson in 2010 are the other standouts from NKY that headed to Lexington.
Now Selm and Rodriguez are making their path to Lexington. Come Friday night though, one will look to have the upper hand and bragging rights.
