Bowling Green's Jamale Carothers (23) carries the ball for a touchdown. The Purples defeated Fern Creek on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in the Class 5A state football semi-finals at El Donaldson Stadium. (Joe Imel/jimel@bgdailynews.com)

Jacob Lacey made a name for himself last season as the lone freshman starter on a dominant and otherwise veteran South Warren defense.

Now the rising sophomore is picking up scholarship offers from some major college football programs.

Lacey, a defensive tackle, was offered scholarships recently by Louisville and Tennessee. He also has an offer from in-state FCS school Eastern Kentucky.

Scout reported that Lacey’s scholarship offer was the first Louisville has made for the Class of 2019.

Lacey said “it feels unreal” to be receiving scholarship offers before he even completes his freshman year of high school.

“I just feel like a normal kid, but then when it comes to football it’s kind of crazy,” Lacey said.

The 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive tackle helped hold down the interior of a South defense that allowed just 5.9 points per game in 2015.

Lacey played in 11 games, was in on 33 total tackles and recovered two fumbles for coach Brandon Smith’s Spartans, who went 15-0 and won the Class 4A championship.

College coaches “like how I chase after screens, how I don’t give up on plays,” Lacey said. “They said I come off the ball really well and attack, even when I’m getting double-teamed and triple-teamed.”

Lacey has visited Kentucky, Louisville and Tennessee and went to a camp at Purdue last summer. He said he also plans to visit Michigan State.

Hayes picks up collection of offers

It’s been a busy few months for South Warren rising senior C.J. Hayes, who’s picked up about a dozen FBS offers since the beginning of the year.

The offers are split about half-and-half between his two positions of wide receiver and cornerback.

“It’s fun,” Hayes said. “It’s a great thing to experience. I’ve got my family going through it with me. Coaches call you, text you every day.”

Hayes said his top two schools right now are Cincinnati and Toledo, both of which want him to play wide receiver in college.

Cincinnati wide receivers coach Blake Rolan was one of the first coaches to recruit Hayes and has been active in pursuing Hayes throughout the process, he said.

Toledo has a new coaching staff but has also been persistent in keeping up with Hayes, he said.

“Toledo, they seem like they really, really care,” Hayes said. “They’ll call, they’ll tweet, they’ll send mail to the house, they’ll ask me how my baseball games have been going.

“They know things about me that I didn’t know they knew about.”

Hayes played offense and defense last season, helping South Warren to its first state championship.

Offensively, Hayes totaled 133 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and 219 yards and six TDs receiving.

Defensively, Hayes accounted for four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and eight tackles.

Some of Hayes’ other offers include Army, Marshall, Middle Tennessee and Navy. Hayes said he hopes to make a decision before the start of his senior season.

Marshall leading for Carothers

Jamale Carothers took a visit recently to Marshall, the only FBS school to offer him a scholarship at this point.

The Bowling Green running back, a rising senior, said the Thundering Herd of Conference USA is currently at the top of his list.

“Marshall is a great place,” Carothers said. “I could see myself playing at Marshall.

“There are a lot of good things there. The new indoor facility is very nice and they have a lot of great people there.”

Carothers visited a Western Kentucky practice last week. He also has plans to visit Louisville this spring.

Carothers hopes to make a college choice before his senior season at BGHS begins this fall, he said.

Carothers ran for 1,341 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. He also totaled 719 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns for coach Kevin Wallace’s Purples, the Class 5A state champions.

“Most coaches when they talk to me, they like my playmaking ability,” Carothers said. “They think I have the ability to change a game when I come in.”

– Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @Stephens_Brad or visit bgdailynews.com.