'A different kind of kid': What 2024 Simon Kenton OL Aba Selm brings to Kentucky football

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Aba Selm is unlike any player Roy Lucas Jr. has come across in more than three decades coaching football. As Lucas puts it, Selm is "a different kind of kid."

Lucas, the head coach at Simon Kenton High in Independence, said the team knew what it had in Selm — a 2024 offensive line commit for Kentucky — almost immediately. In the middle of Selm's freshman year, the Pioneers called up Selm to the varsity team, where they plugged him in at center.

Within weeks, he'd established himself as the team's best offensive lineman.

It was unprecedented.

"I've had a few skill kids here and there who could compete at the varsity level as freshmen," Lucas said. "But I've never coached a lineman who could compete at that level as a freshman."

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Lucas has had his share of gifted players. Among the most notable: Charles Johnson, a wide receiver who played three seasons in the NFL (2014-16), all with the Minnesota Vikings.

Yet Lucas believes Selm — who also plays defensive line, his first love, at Simon Kenton and had 35 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and three forced fumbles in 2022 — is better than Johnson was at this stage.

"So I've been around a few kids who were very talented," Lucas said. "But I think Aba is probably at the top for me, personally."

One of the top prospects in the commonwealth and a consensus three-star recruit, Selm committed to Kentucky on Feb. 2. It came less than a week after a visit to Lexington for the program's junior day.

"I already was planning on committing to Kentucky, but I was like, 'Why not do it now? Why wait to get the '24 class started?'" the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Selm said.

Growing up in a home filled with Kentucky fans, the opportunity to play for the Wildcats one day is a dream come true for Selm.

Lucas is confident those feelings will be reciprocated.

"He's got a great personality. He's a great kid," Lucas said. "And I just think UK fans are gonna really like this kid. I think Kentucky fans will be very excited for him, being an in-state player, and just the kind of kid he is. I think he's gonna be somebody they'll really root for."

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Selm became the Wildcats' second commit in the 2024 cycle, joining Hayes Johnson, another in-state offensive lineman. The pair is building a bond and getting to know each other and could block one day for Kentucky's most recent commitment: four-star quarterback Cutter Boley of Lexington Christian Academy, the state's top-ranked player in the 2024 cycle.

"He's a great quarterback," Selm said. "I'm already picturing myself blocking for him. Our offense is gonna be a weapon."

And Selm would like to see the class grow. He calls Willie Rodriguez, a 2024 tight end from Covington Catholic, "my boy" and wants to be teammates in Lexington.

The only question now is where Selm will play for the Wildcats.

He originally was recruited to play on the interior, at either guard or center. But in a recent conversation Selm had with UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen, the coach said it's still to be determined.

"I don't got the height for a tackle, but I've got the arm length," Selm said. "I guess when I get there, they're gonna try me out at all the positions."

If it were left to Selm, he'd end up at one of the tackle spots. He enjoys the one-on-one nature of the position, fending off oncoming pass rushers. And he likes pulling on counter plays.

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There's reason to believe Selm might get his wish, Lucas said. He believes Selm has grown another inch — now closer to 6-foot-5 than the 6-4 listed on his profiles on various recruiting sites — and has room to grow. Lucas is confident that regardless of the position Selm mans for the Wildcats, he'll be successful — especially since he's still learning offensive techniques and fundamentals.

"He really doesn't struggle, especially for a lineman, from the conditioning standpoint," Lucas said. "He doesn't struggle because he's so athletic and he's in such good shape. I think once he gets around the college coaches and gets that daily coaching in that aspect, he's just going to continue to improve."

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky football recruiting 2024: Meet Simon Kenton lineman Aba Selm