Louisville Football: Who Should Cards Take To Finish their 2019 Class?

Louisville football still needs to add more depth to its 2019 class. We take a look at the most likely players to don the red and black in next years class.

Louisville football’s 2019 class has been rising in the rankings after a few recent commitments. Now, sitting at 52^nd nationally, the top ranked commits in the class are Austin Griffin (#1 rated JUCO TE), Jaden Johnson (20^th rated QB), and Denzel Daxon (the 40^th ranked DT). The class currently has 12 players in it and looks to be on the smaller size with possibly 18 to 19 guys come signing day.

With room for 6 to 7 more players, the Louisville coaching staff can be a little more picky going forward with who they accept a commitment from. Lets look at who is most likely to fill out the rest of the class for the Cards.

Running Backs

The staff seems poised to take another RB to go along with current commit Aidan Robbins. Tony Mathis or Jalen Mitchell seem to be the two that the staff have focused on.

Mathis is a 5’11″ 195 pound speedy back from Cedartown, Georgia. Mathis holds offers from Louisville, along with West Virginia, Purdue, and Wake Forest. Mathis seems to be leaning towards either Louisville or West Virginia.

Like Mathis, Jalen Mitchell is a speedy back from Rockledge, Florida. Mitchell is a 5’11″ 200 pound back who has the ability to break away from the defender, but also has the ability to take a hit and keep going.

I really like Mitchell’s tape, and think he just may take priority over Mathis. Mitchell currently holds offers from Louisville, Purdue, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, and UCF.

Wide Receiver

With the commitment of Stanley King this past week, the staff is still all in on Louisville’s own Milton Wright. Wright plays numerous positions for Christian Academy, but projects to wide receiver at the next level.

Wright is a 4-star on almost all recruiting services, and holds offers from Louisville, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio St, Purdue, Oregon, and Michigan St.

More from Louisville Cardinals News

This is a guy that Louisville really needs to keep home. Firstly, because it bodes well for keeping success in the city in the future. Secondly, Wright could come in and play from day one.

Wright stands at 6’3″ and has the ability to high point the ball and bring it in. He is athletic enough to make defenders miss and out run guys in the open field. Paired with King, this would give UofL two wide receivers that could be four year contributors.

Offensive Line

Melvin McBride is a 3-star offensive lineman from Memphis, TN who the staff has been making a priority for the recruiting cycle. McBride fields offers from Louisville, Arkansas, Indiana, Memphis, and Tennessee. At 6’4″ and 315 pounds, McBride is a nasty offensive guard that Coach Bobby Petrino could certainly utilize. I think that the staff will make sure to be in McBride’s ear until the end of his recruitment process.

Defensive Line

Another local star is Shawnkel Knight-Goff, a defensive end from Louisville’s Doss High School. Knight-Goff was a one-time Kentucky commit, who de-committed and now seems to be wavering between Kentucky and Louisville.

Knight-Goff is a tall, lanky end at 6’4 210lbs. I think the staff really wants to keep him home and seem to be making him a priority. It will come down to Louisville versus Kentucky for this talented defensive lineman.

JJ Weaver is another in-town defensive end that Louisville is making a priority. From Moore High school, Weaver is a 6’6″ 240lb monster. The competition is stiff for this senior, who recently named a top six of Louisville, Miami, Cincinnati, Purdue, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Weaver seems to like Louisville and Miami a lot, and I think it will come down to those two schools for his services. Weaver will make his commitment in November, and I think the Cards will keep the talented defensive end home.

Linebackers

Another local guy to keep your eye on is Ballard’s Jared Casey. The 4-star linebacker is a hard-hitting, running-stopping play maker. Casey boasts offers from Louisville, Oregon, Kentucky, and Cincinnati. It looks like Louisville, Kentucky, and Oregon are out in front for him. I think UofL stands a good chance with Casey, who will make his commitment known sometime this fall, and I see Louisville being his most likely landing spot.

Secondary

I think the last spot in the class comes down to either Jordan Clark or Raymond Woodie.

Clark is a 4-star corner from Baton Rouge who is down to Louisville and California. Clark is a lock down corner back, in a similar mold to what Jaire Alexander brought for the Cards.

Woodie is still somewhat harder to read, as he is down to Louisville, Florida St, Arkansas, California, and Northwestern. Woodie is a 4-star safety, and the son of Florida State position coach Raymond Woodie. A lot of recruiting sites are picking Florida State for him since his father coaches there, but Woodie has said before that he is open to leaving the state of Florida for college.

Woodie has been on UofL’s campus a few times and seems to enjoy Louisville. However, I think he ultimately ends up at Florida St, and I think Clark ends up at Louisville.

The 2019 class is slowly shaping up to be one of the best for coach Petrino in his time here. I believe that if the current commitments all hold, Louisville will add 6 more players:

Jalen Mitchell

Milton Wright

Shawnkel Knight-Goff

JJ Weaver

Jared Casey

Jordan Clark

Adding all these players would put the class somewhere inside the top 40 in the country. More importantly, it would give Louisville five 4-star players in a small class, which would add great depth to the roster.