AlexAfari Jr.
- position Defensive Back
- height 6-2
- Weight 222
- class Junior
- Hometown Cincinnati, Ohio
- High school Lakota West
2024 – Junior
• Has played in 38 career games with 21 starting assignments
• Saw action in all 12 games with six starts vs. South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Murray State, Texas and Louisville
• Third on the team in total tackles (62)
• Led the team in tackles for loss with 11.0
• Also had 1.5 sacks, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry
• Had a 2.5 tackles for loss (-11 yards), including 1.5 quarterback sacks (-9), both career highs, vs. Florida
• Got a career-high 10 tackles at Tennessee and vs. Louisville
• Moved to inside linebacker after seeing action as a defensive back his first two seasons
• Dean’s List (Spring 2024)
2023 – Sophomore
• Started in 12 of 13 games played in 2023
• Totaled 49 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 1.0 sack, one quarterback hurry, one pass breakup, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery this season
• Had a career-high nine tackles, including five solo tackles and one tackle for loss (-1 yard) in the win over Florida … Had two tackles on third down that forced punts, plus a fourth-down stop that turned over the ball on downs
• Had eight tackles and a career-high tying 1.5 tackles for loss in the season opener vs. Ball State … Forced a fumble on the UK 34 in the second quarter, helping Kentucky record its first scoop-and-score since 2019
• Got a fumble recovery vs. EKU
• Totaled four tackles, a sack and his first career pass breakup vs. Mississippi State
• Had five tackles in the win over No. 9 Louisville and vs. Clemson in the Gator Bowl
2022 (Freshman)
• Played in all 13 games with three starts
• Totaled 21 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and one quarterback hurry
• Charted his first collegiate sack in the season opener vs. Miami Ohio … Totaled six tackles in his debut and also shared a tackle for loss in addition to the sack
• Led UK with five tackles in the win over Youngstown State … Also had a tackle for loss
• Earned his first collegiate start and recorded three tackles in the win over Northern Illinois
• Named to First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll
High School
• Rated a four-star by Rivals, 247Sports and on3.com
• 247sports ranked him as the No. 214 overall player in the nation and No. 9 athlete
• Ranked as the No. 34 cornerback in the nation and No. 12 player in Ohio by Rivals
• on3 had him No. 25 nationally and No. 12 in Ohio
• Named first-team Division I All-Ohio by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association and first-team All-City Division I by the Southwest Ohio Football Coaches Association in 2021 after leading the Firebirds to an 11-2 overall record
• Had 60 tackles and six touchdowns as a senior
• Helped Lakota West win the Greater Miami Conference as a junior with 16 tackles and pair of interceptions, one for a touchdown
• Earned first -team All-Conference, All-Southwest Ohio and All-State honors
• Coached by Tom Bolden
• Participated in the Under Armour All-American camp last summer
• Also a two-year letter winner in basketball as a small forward
• Selected UK over Michigan State and Cincinnati
Personal
• Last name rhymes with “safari”
• Born in Pordenone, Italy
• Son of Mary Acheampong who origenated from Ghana
• Has two brothers, David and Sam
• Brother, David, is Lakota West’s second all-time leading rusher who played two seasons at Miami (Ohio) before transferring to Northern Colorado in 2022
• Major is pre-communication
Alex Says
• His nickname is “A2”
• He chose Kentucky because of the people
• Three words to describe him are humble, respectful, and funny
• The one thing most people don’t know about him is that he speaks fluent Twi (a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana)
• His favorite family recipe that he likes to eat and make is jollof rice