Interest picks up for Kentucky QB

When it comes to the quarterback position in the Bluegrass State, eyes are naturally drawn to Louisville and four-star national prospect Brian Brohm.

He’s hardly the state’s only top signal caller, however, and one player seems on the verge of making some news for himself.

Mason County standout Dustin Grutza has passed for more than 1,800 yards and 21 touchdowns this season in leading the Royals to a 6-1 record and a Top 10 ranking in Class 3A.

Grutza (6-3, 195, 4.65) is starting to see his recruiting interest pick up with some major conference schools.

“I’m hearing a lot from UK, Cincinnati, Northwestern and Wake Forest,” he said. “And Alabama is starting to show some interest. I went down there to camp and got to know the coaches this summer. They asked me to send some game film from this season, and ever since I sent them the tape, they seem pretty interested.”

He’s still waiting for his first official scholarship offer, but says he’s received indications from Northwestern and Wake Forest that they plan to offer. Princeton, which does not offer scholarships, has also made a strong push for his services.

“I’m still trying to keep things open,” said Grutza, who grew up a Kentucky fan and continues to follow the Wildcats. “It would be nice to play close to home at somewhere like Kentucky or Cincinnati, but I’m not going to eliminate any of my options, especially with good schools like Alabama and Northwestern and Wake Forest.”

He said he’s receiving weekly phone calls from UK’s Mike Archer, who recruits his area of the state. The Cats also came to see one of his recent games.

“I played great that night and we smashed the team we were playing,” Grutza said. “Ever since then, I’ve been hearing a lot more from them. They’ve started showing quite a bit of interest.”

Grutza is coming off a junior season which saw him throw for 2,693 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes. An all-around athlete, he also helped lead Mason County to the state basketball championship by averaging 13.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Academically, he maintains a 4.0 GPA.