There simply aren’t two physical specimen any more impressive than Gavin Johnson and Mikey Hager who both play 1A and both in the same district
🎶You're simply the best
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I've ever met🎶
Songwriters: Michael Donald Chapman / Holly Knight, 1989
October 24, 2025 in Hazard, Kentucky two teams who will both be in the thick of the 1A title hunt will square off against the other. These two teams will feature some of the best talent in the KHSAA’s 1A classification. Matter of fact, these two teams boast two of the best football players in Kentucky.
Let’s take a look at these two special players…
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Mikey Hager, ’26, Pikeville High School
Pike County, Kentucky: The Panthers from Pike County routinely play for titles. This year won’t be any different. Pikeville High boasts one of the more imposing physical specimen playing wide receiver anywhere in the commonwealth of Kentucky. His name is Mikey Hager.
High school WR/DBs running 4.4s-4.5s don’t grow on trees. In fact, one may discover those hard to find. We know where there is one.
Mikey Hager is such a guy. Hager is flying a bit under the radar coming into the ’25 season partly because Hager plays 1A football in the Appalachia mountains and partly because Hager was lost to injury, his junior year, after only six games.
Hager has had an incredible offseason. Hager has worked very hard and has impressed on the camp/combine circuit at numerous stops along the way.
The offseason work in the weight room looks to have paid noticeable dividends. Hager is built like a brick crap house.
Hager is 6’0,” and weighs 185-pounds. The ’26, two-way, WR/DB superstar was going along, great guns, in ’24 before being derailed by injury.
Through six games, Hager was averaging 18-yards a reception (17 for 306-yards) with 3-TDs. On defense, Hager had registered 15-tackles, a-TFL, and an INT in those same six games.
What really tells the story, to us, is what he did against Lexington’s Christian Academy (LCA). We place a premium on how well athletes perform against other great athletes. LCA’s roster takes a back seat to no one, at least not in the commonwealth of Kentucky.
Hager had 168 yards receiving against LCA last season
KHSAA statistical website
Last year, LCA won 11-games in 2A against only three (3) defeats, bowing out in the semis to Beechwood in Fort Mitchell, KY. On September 6, 2024, LCA beat Pikeville 40-26 in Lexington.
On a night where his team was a tad bit out-talented, and certainly outperformed, Hager put on quite the exhibition. Hager caught nine (9) passes covering 168 yards with two (2) TDs against the Eagles.
There aren’t too many guys who can ever say they had a night like that playing LCA. It gives you an idea what this prospect is capable of doing against next level athletes.
College programs, particularly ones with elite academics, seem to be taking considerable notice. Hager’s carrying a 4.0 GPA at one of Kentucky’s more elite high schools has helped.
Hager has camped at both Dayton (FCS, Division I) and Brown (Ivy-league, FCS, Division I). Hager has visited Centre College. Hager is getting recruited by programs like MIT and Johns Hopkins.
Hager’s performance at these camps makes it unlikely any of these programs intend to surrender. Hager’s running speed (4.44-seconds in the 40 at Dayton’s camp and 4.47-seconds, same distance, at Brown’s) and athleticism (35-inch, standing vertical) will insure he will continue to be courted heavily.
Hager has really put in the offseason work this summer. The 185-pounder has his bench press at 245-pounds, his squat at 350-pounds, and his power clean at 250-pounds.
So with the game on the line, in ’25, we have a simple suggestion. Give the ball to Mikey. Mikey likes it. Mikey can house it from (pretty much) anywhere.
Gavin Johnson, ’27, Hazard High School
Hazard, KY: Gavin Johnson is a freak. We don’t know what else to call it.
How can a kid, weighing between 190 and 200-pounds, who is 6’0″ to 6’1,” be able to jump vertically 43-plus inches off the ground? I mean, who does that?
We talked with his dad, Kevin. The elder Johnson, the one who practices law in Hazard, tells KPGFootball Gavin will be eclipsing 45-inches on the vertical before too much longer. That is crazy.
Besides all of the above, Johnson carries a 3.5 GPA. File this one under the category of “are you freaking kidding me?”
Now, if you look at the kid in the photograph we have provided of him on the right hand side a few paragraphs up, there are certain anatomical things which become obvious. First of all, the kid has plenty of length. Secondly, he knows where to find the weight room.
Johnson’s 43-plus standing vertical relates to a much faster 40-yard dash than his listed 4.58-second time…
Friday Night Fletch
Johnson had a special sophomore season on a team which won eight (8) games, were runner-up in its region, and now boasts three huge, game changing transfers from 4A to go along with most of last year’s components returning. If you are slow on the uptake, this means the Bulldogs should be in the championship race all year with a real shot at going to Lexington, KY in December.
Johnson caught 85-passes in ’24 for 1,069 yards receiving and 13-TDs. Johnson scored another pair rushing and housed a kickoff to be the team’s leading scorer as a sophomore.
Johnson played defense in ’24. Johnson had 55-tackles, a pair of INTs, a FF and a FR. Yessir, that is three-phase utility, a trait critically important at the 1A classification among star players.
Johnson has a really good frame for where he slots collegiately. Johnson has been listed at both 6’0,” to 6’1.” Johnson has been listed from 190 to 200-pounds. Johnson has a 43-45-inch vertical meaning has to run in the 4.4s if not the low 4.4s, no matter what he lists as his 40-time (4.58-seconds).
Johnson has really good length as his arms and legs are both gangly compared to him being both high-waisted and short trunked. With his vertical explosion and limb length, this is a kid who plays considerably taller than he measures.
Johnson has really special weight room numbers, particularly for his position. How many WRs do you suppose bench press over 300-pounds, squat over four (4) plates (405-pounds), and power clean over 270-pounds. Yeah, get on up there and jam this WR at the line, Bubba!
Johnson plays a plethora of sports for the bulldogs in addition to football. That is the type of versatile, athletic skill-set which makes college scouts drool.
Johnson will have a monster year upcoming and so will his Hazard Bulldogs. The year after that (2026) may be a “Mr. Football” candidacy.
You heard it here first.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball and KPI Newspaper Group, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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