FRANKLIN – Standing at the podium with a microphone in hand, Tre Bass couldn’t say much.

Short of words, Bass offered quick sentences of thanks with glances between his classmates in the bleachers, the elementary school students he tutored and his mother, Carla Collins, seated to his right.

Words were few because the raw emotion was anything but. The recruiting story of Tre Bass didn’t come with stars, Power 5 – rather, Division I – consideration, even if his two state titles, two state MVP honors and school record rushing statistics might suggest such attention.

All Bass wanted was an opportunity, and he’ll have one as a preferred walk-on at Western Kentucky. So as the 5-foot-8 running back walked back to his mother, the tears started flowing underneath his WKU hat.

Dream fulfilled.

“I’ve had some as dedicated, but never more dedicated (than Bass),” FSHS football coach Doug Preston said. “When you see a kid have a dream, you see it burst at the seams with him since his freshman year. Each year it got more serious for him with the desire. To have the opportunity to go try to live it out, I feel great for him.”

Franklin-Simpson High School honored Bass and offensive lineman Jack Randolph on Thursday for both continuing their football careers at WKU. Randolph was announced as part of the Hilltoppers’ early signing class in December and he’ll enroll at the university later this month.

Bass set the single season rushing and scoring records for the Wildcats as a senior in leading the team to a second-straight Class 4A state championship.

Online recruiting services Rivals and 247Sports have Bass rated as a two-star and three-star prospect, respectively. By 247Sports, Bass is considered the 15th best prospect in Kentucky’s Class of 2019. Bass is one of three in that grouping not committed or signed to a Power 5 school.

Before committing to WKU, Bass previously only had scholarship offers from Morehead State, Southeastern Missouri and a few NAIA programs.

Murray State offered the 5-8, 180-pound running back a preferred walk-on spot before he committed to WKU.

“Western is where I felt at home,” Bass told the Daily News. “Yeah, I didn’t get a scholarship, but I have a chance to get up there and prove myself and I’ve proved myself for four years here, so it’s nothing new. I just feel like I can engage the challenge, go up there and do what I do.”

Bass this season set the single-season rushing record with 31 touchdowns on a record 2,101 yards. That comes one year after he rushed for 1,437 yards in a backfield shared with two other 1,000-yard running backs in 2017.

Bass set new records at Franklin-Simpson in two years as the featured piece of a multiback system while also returning kicks and punts. The numbers are more impressive considering most of the work was done mostly in one half with Franklin-Simpson building large enough leads to insert junior varsity players after halftime.

As Bass impressed each week, the recruiting never took off. Bass thinks maybe his height was a factor, but didn’t let that affect his playing style.

“It got really frustrating,” Bass said. “I see all these people growing up who said, ‘He’s a Division-I baller and all that,’ and I’m getting small school. At first, I was getting stressed out. Then I had to realize the bigger picture. Going to school anywhere at the next level is a blessing. I just have to be humble and just take what I’ve got.”

Everything will be comfortable for Bass at WKU, which in itself was worth more to him than a scholarship at a smaller school further from home. He’ll be there with Randolph, who cleared running lanes for Bass in Franklin-Simpson’s run to three straight state final appearances. He’ll also stay close to home and his mother, who he acknowledged at Thursday’s ceremony as raising him by herself since he was 3.

Ex-WKU coach Mike Sanford originally offered Bass the preferred walk-on, and Helton honored that offer upon meeting Bass in person at FSHS just a few days after his hire.

No running backs were a part of WKU’s early signing day and five running backs currently sit on the roster having just completed their sophomore or redshirt sophomore seasons.

Bass said meeting with Helton further solidified his decision to stay local and commit to WKU now rather than waiting for more potential offers before the official signing day in February.

“It means a lot to have a coach come down here and believe in me like that,” Bass said. “Preferred walk-on is just motivation. It’s a challenge I want to attack. If I work hard and go up there and do what I’m supposed to do, I feel like I’ll get put on scholarship sooner.”{&end}