Kentucky Football added another major piece to its 2027 recruiting class on Saturday with the commitment of 3-star running back Mason Ball.
And according to Jacksonville High School head coach Reggie Swinton, the Wildcats are getting much more than just a talented football player.
Ball, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound running back from Jacksonville, Arkansas, committed to Kentucky over Arkansas, North Carolina, and Vanderbilt. According to the 247 Sports Composite rankings, Ball is ranked No. 737 nationally,
the No. 57 running back in the country, and the No. 3 overall player in Arkansas.
Swinton knows Ball better than almost anyone. The former NFL return specialist, who played for the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and Arizona Cardinals, has coached Ball since he was five years old through his Arkansas Lions youth football program.
“His work ethic,” Swinton tells A Sea of Blue on what stands out most about Ball. “He has an uncanny work ethic. He works as hard as anybody that I have been around for a high school kid. He does things that many kids don’t do, many kids that are successful don’t do. So, as long as he stays healthy, he will be perfectly fine.”
Swinton said Ball originally joined his youth football program in 2015 as a five-year-old center before eventually growing into one of the state’s top skill players.
“As a six-year-old during practice, he got the ball, and he took off running, and he has never stopped running since,” Swinton said.
Ball rushed for 1,401 yards and 27 touchdowns during his junior season while averaging 7.61 yards per carry, while also adding 17 receptions for 131 yards.
Swinton believes Ball’s football IQ and versatility are what separate him from other running backs.
“Well, mentally, just teaching him the game, teaching him blocking schemes that he is going to need to know at the next level,” Swinton said. “He has gained a lot of knowledge, but also Mason has been playing with me since he was five years old, when I coached youth football, and Mason was part of my football program, and then this last year and now this current year. He has been with me and been in my system a long time.”
As for what Kentucky fans will love most about Ball’s game, Swinton pointed to more than just his speed.
“His speed and how smart he is,” Swinton said. “The kid is very intelligent. He has been on the 3.2+ honor roll since he was in the 9th grade, but the kid is a very smart kid. The kid can run, he can also double and be a receiver, or even be a safety and be very physical.”
Swinton also credited Kentucky running backs coach Kolby Smith for making Ball a priority throughout the recruiting process.
“I asked him a long time ago, where does he want to play, because most kids grow up wanting to be Razorbacks,” Swinton said. “I mean, that is what I did, I grew up wanting to be a Razorback, and he told me that the logo on the side of the helmet didn’t matter, it was the relationship that he wants with the coaching staff, and that he wants a relationship with the staff that he has with me, and we’ve been close for a long time.”
Swinton continued praising Smith’s recruiting approach.
“Coach Smith, when he was at Arkansas, he was actually Mason’s first Power Four offer, and Coach Smith did a great job of recruiting,” Swinton said. “When he got to Kentucky, he made Mason the number one target, and he recruited that kid like no other. I mean, Coach Smith, the running backs coach, did an awesome job of recruiting not only Mason, but his mom and me, Mason’s stepdad, and Mason’s brother. He treated all of us as if he was recruiting us to come play at Kentucky, and that is what stood out to Mason.”
Swinton shared a recent moment that perfectly represented Ball’s character off the field. During a ninth-grade parent meeting at Jacksonville High School, Ball voluntarily came to speak with incoming freshmen after touring the locker room.
“He is great with people, and there is not much you can say about this kid as far as negativity-wise,” Swinton said. “I mean, he does everything right. He is that kind of person that when you meet him, you love him, and Kentucky is getting a great human.”
Swinton admitted it is ironic how much his opinion on Kentucky has changed over the years. While playing football at Murray State in the 1990s during the peak of the Kentucky-Arkansas basketball rivalry, he openly disliked the Wildcats. But after visiting Lexington during his induction into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022, he fell in love with it. Swinton calls it a full-circle moment with Ball now committed to Kentucky.
Swinton also added that Big Blue Nation may soon have some Arkansas fans cheering alongside them.
“They got a few Arkansas fans now,” Swinton said, laughing. “We are excited about Mason coming up there, and we can’t wait to see what he does up there in Big Blue Nation.”
