A second Lorenzen humbly seeks football fun

If it takes you more than five seconds to determine Highlands junior Tayden Lorenzen loves football, you’re not paying attention.

The 6-foot-3, 230 pound Lorenzen says being a football player – he’s a tight end, linebacker and kick holder – is just part of the fun of high school sports.

“Having a relationship with my friends, not necessarily on the football field, but every day…weights early in the morning, and (making) relationships with new coaches,” he said.

Lorenzen was a force on the basketball court, too – he averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds a game last season and made 51.4% of his shots, including 41% of his 3-pointers. Still … 

“Football is my favorite sport,” he said.

And yes, Lorenzen is used to the comparisons. He is comfortable with being known as the son of legendary Bluebird and Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen, who passed away in 2019 at age 38.

“It just makes me happy to remember him and the impact he made on everybody else,” Tayden said. “Not just in Fort Thomas or in the Highlands community, but a bunch of people in the world, and maybe people overweight that he inspired to bring their life back.”

Similarities

Highlands assistant coach Mark Dill sees the son-father similarities beyond Tayden wearing Jared’s No. 22 for football and No. 34 during basketball season. He saw Jared Lorenzen throw for 6,151 yards in 1997-98, run for another 902 and 15 scores and win Kentucky Mr. Football in 1998.

“There is so much of Jared in Tayden,” Dill said. “Just mannerisms, the way that they walk, the way that they carry themselves. But then it carries out onto the field, you’ll see Tayden do things on the field, and you’re like, ‘I’ve seen that before,’ and I’ve only seen it from one other person.”

Highlands coach Bob Sphire watched Jared Lorenzen when he was head coach at Lexington Catholic. When he saw Tayden as a seventh-grader, he saw the same football intelligence.

“My first impression was, ‘That young man’s just got unbelievable football IQ and instincts’,” Sphire said.

Lorenzen isn’t sure his stride is anything special – he said there’s “a lot of arm swing.”

“It’s not nonchalant,” he said. “Bigger guys walk differently, and I don’t know if I got it from (Jared), and it’s just kind of how I’ve walked all my life.”

A play in Tuesday’s scrimmage at Ryle reinforced Dill’s recollections. 

Tayden Lorenzen took a screen pass from quarterback Rio Litmer, lowered his shoulder and crushed a Raider defender. What Dill noticed: Tayden’s large hand extending the ball with his large right hand to get an extra yard – a play that might lead to a fumble if other receivers tried it.

“Just like his dad,” Dill said. “It’s natural for him.”

Litmer recalled a similar snag in last year’s 5A quarterfinal against Pulaski County – his 20-yard touchdown toss to Lorenzen, the first of four in the Bluebirds’ 42-18 win.

“I threw (to) him over the middle, and I remember him catching it and just really manhandling the kid he was up against,” Litmer said. “And that was when I really realized, ‘OK, this kid’s special’.”

Tayden Lorenzen was everywhere last season – he caught 31 passes for 363 yards and eight touchdowns, ran for 190 and four scores and threw for another 83 and two TDs. He’s a tight end because Litmer has thrown for 3,901 yards and 53 touchdowns the last two seasons.

Early childhood heroics

Lorenzen didn’t want to be known as only a quarterback, but moving to tight end was an unexpected switch.

“Going into eighth-grade year, I couldn’t make weight, so I had to play guard,” he said. “And then freshman year came around, and I just kind of thought our team would work better with me at tight end rather than at quarterback.”

Lorenzen remembers a play when he was four years old and playing quarterback in the old Boone County Football League.

“It was an overtime, last-second play,” Lorenzen said. “I took the snap, faked the screen to the right, ran all the way around the left edge and scored to win the game. It was very memorable.”

Middle linebacker is a new position for Lorenzen. He’s trying it because “the team needs it.”

“We don’t specifically specialize in our depth, so I think all I can do is help,” he said.

Miami (Ohio) offered Lorenzen a scholarship in May; he said other schools are interested.

In the end, the life lessons Jared Lorenzen taught Tayden are maybe more important than anything on the football field.

“He was the most humble person I’ve ever met in my life, and he’s always taught me to be super-humble and flip that switch immediately when you get on the field,” Tayden said.