Quarterback Nik Scalzo will get to Kentucky June 13 to start his collegiate career after taking an overdue family vacation.
“We were going to take a family skiing vacation at Christmas before he tore his knee and needed surgery (during a Florida high school playoff game in mid-November),” Jerry Scalzo, the player’s father said.
But once he gets to UK, he’ll have a familiar roommate — high school teammate Nik Ognenovic, a 6-6, 250-pound tight end out of Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale like Scalzo. Both are three-star signees who won a state championship as seniors and played together to win the Adidas 7-on-7 National Championship with South Florida Express in the spring of 2018.
“They are great friends and hold each other accountable,” Jerry Scalzo said. “We are all going up (to Kentucky) together. They give each other great balance and have just a great relationship. I think it is a big benefit to him (Scalzo) not to have to worry about who is roommate will be or what to expect from him. They know plenty about each other.”
Jerry Scalzo is an assistant football coach at Cardinal Gibbons. He’s a Ognenovic fan.
“You can’t teach 6-6 and about 245 pounds,” Scalzo said. “He was always a basketball player. He’s only been playing real football for about two years. Once you get him there (Kentucky) and he understands the reality of big-time football, he will excel.
“He has been training like an animal the last six months. He’s put on 20 pounds. He’s excited to get to Kentucky and get started. They both are. The season has been over for six months and they are ready to get on the field and get going.”
