RickyAbren

High School: Athletic defensive lineman chosen first-team all-state as a junior and senior by the Louisville Courier-Journal… First-team all-state as a senior and honorable mention as a junior by The Associated Press … Also tabbed for the “Class of the Commonwealth” listing of the top-22 seniors in the state by the Lexington Herald-Leader … Four-year letterman who started for three and one-half seasons at Hopkinsville (Ky.) HS … Played noseguard, defensive tackle, and linebacker on defense and played tackle on offense … Helped lead his team to the state semifinals all four years of his career, including two years in Class AAAA and two years in Class AAA, and a composite four-year record of 44-12 … Career statistics include 209 total tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 20 quarterback sacks, four interceptions, 11 fumbles caused, four fumble recoveries, and five blocked kicks … Named to the All-Western Kentucky Conference team for three seasons and also named all-area three years by the Kentucky New Era … Voted the team’s “Game Guy” for the will to play through injuries … Rated as the No. 61 defensive lineman in the country by Rivals.com/PrepStar magazine, All-Southeast Region, and the No. 9 overall prospect in Kentucky … “Ricky is very tenacious and explosive,” Hopkinsville Coach Craig Clayton said. “He also has great upper body strength” … Placed third at the state powerlifting meet … Top lifts include 430 pounds in the bench press and 580 in the dead lift … Member of the Beta Club … Chose Kentucky over Cincinnati and Wake Forest.

Personal: Full name is Broderick James Abren … Born 11-1-84 in Madisonville, Ky. … Son of James and Paulette Abren … Ricky comes from a very athletic family … A cousin, Jason Gildon, has earned All-Pro honors for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a linebacker under new UK defensive coordinator Mike Archer … Ricky’s brother, Greg, will be a senior linebacker at Campbellsville … Two cousins, Emanuel Jessup and Jimmy Wilson, play for Division I-AA national champion Western Kentucky … Last name is pronounced “A-bren” … Plans a major in business management.