by Will Muiter
The Paducah Sun
December 13, 2025
Used with permission
Paducah Tilghman High School hosted a signing ceremony for three football players on Friday afternoon, recognizing and celebrating their commitment to play football at the Division-I level. Jarvis Strickland (Louisville), Ben Myers (Kentucky), and Hank James (Troy) all signed their National Letters of Intent to play at their respective schools.
Jarvis Strickland finished his recruiting as a 4-star offensive tackle, and was rated the top 2026 recruit in all of Kentucky. Originally committed to play at Kentucky, Jarvis flipped his commitment with the departure of coach Vince Marrow, who is now the Executive Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting at Louisville.
The three-year starter at Tilghman has found a ton of success as apart of the Blue Tornado, winning the state championship last year and deep playoff runs the other two. Jarvis has been committed to Louisville for some time now, but is grateful to put pen to paper and make him officially a Cardinal.
“It feels great,” Strickland said about signing. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. My whole high school career I’ve seen everybody else sign, so now it was just my turn. (Tilghman) has been great. I couldn’t ask for anything greater. We won a state championship, came up short this year, but it was a great experience being here.”
Ben Myers signed to his dream school, the University of Kentucky, to also help out on the offensive line as an interior lineman. Myers transferred from Ballard Memorial in middle school, and has been with the Blue Tornado ever since. His incredible journey through adversity led him to this moment, one he is extremely grateful for.
“I’ve looked forward to going to UK for my entire life. It was a dream school of mine,” Myers said. “I’m very appreciative. I started out in Ballard County, and still live in Ballard County, but I moved here in middle school, and the coaches set me up with great opportunities. Jarvis kept pushing me every day, Martels (Carter) goes to UK. There were a lot of guys pushing me to get better.”
As for what drove him to Kentucky, a combination of the culture, coaches, and lifelong fandom were all moving factors towards wanting to play in Kroger Field.
“It’s the culture. I’ve been put here for tons of game day visits. The fans love it, the students love it,” Myers said. “Growing up in this area, it’s always been a basketball culture, but it’s always been about UK no matter what.”
Lastly Hank James, a three star safety drawing big in-state offers like Louisville and UK, chose family over everything to join his brother, Jack, at Troy University. He has had an impressive career as a Blue Tornado, tallying 157 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns in three years as a starter.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment ever since I was a little kid to go play at the next level,” James said. “I went up there this year, and went to a bunch of games. Just being around the coaches and players influenced me. I just like being at Troy. I liked the university, I had a great time.”
As mentioned, Hank will be linking up with his brother Jack, a quarterback coming off of his freshman season as a Trojan. Not only will they be teammates one again, but also roommates.
“It’s very special,” Hank said about reuniting with Jack. “I’ve been talking to him and I think we’re going to room in a house together, so we get to continue to develop our relationship at home and at Troy. I’m super excited.”
Overall these three football players have shown great success on and off the field representing the Blue Tornado. They will continue to carry with them the experiences at Tilghman to the collegiate level, as all hope to make an impact at their FBS schools. As these players ship off to college in the near future, we wish them luck as they venture into the world of college football.