John (Hova)Herron

John “Hova” Herron is in his first season as the acquisition coordinator for Kentucky Football.

Herron plays a key role in the Wildcats’ roster management strategy, assisting in player personnel evaluation, transfer portal operations, and the overall acquisition and retention of talent within the program.

In his role, Herron works closely with the coaching staff, recruiting personnel, and supports departments to identify and evaluate prospective student-athletes. He also assists in managing the program’s transfer portal strategy and helping Kentucky to be competitive in both high school recruiting and player acquisition.

Prior to Kentucky, Herron spent the 2025 season at the University of Texas as a scouting consultant. Before that, he served as the director of recruiting at Louisville from 2022-25.

He also gained experience as the assistant director of player personnel (2019-21) and the director of player personnel (2021-22) at the University of Florida.

Additionally, he worked as the director of on-campus recruiting for the Gators from 2016-18 before spending the 2018-19 season at Florida State University as the director of player personnel/high school relations between stints in Gainesville.

Before beginning his career in collegiate athletics, Herron spent nearly three decades in education, serving as a special education teacher and head boys basketball coach at several Florida high schools. Most recently, he held those roles at Miami Southridge High School after previous stops at South Dade High School in Homestead and Eastside High School in Gainesville.

Herron, a native of Homestead, Florida, Exit 1, earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from UF in 1996.