Louisville football: Cards 2020 recruiting class needs a spark

There’s still plenty of time left to put together a solid recruiting class for 2020, but the Louisville football staff needs to land a headliner soon.

Louisville football is steam-rolling ahead establishing a new culture and brand under first year head coach Scott Satterfield.

On the heels of an ugly ending from former head coach Bobby Petrino, and one of the worst seasons in program history, Satterfield and Co. are starting from scratch.

The good news is that the Cards still have a ton of talent returning on both sides of the ball. However, how the new staff is able to utilize that talent, and how players respond is another thing all together.

The new coaches are proven winners at schools like Appalachian State and Florida International, but many Cards fans are very cautiously optimistic when it comes to this new era of Cardinal football.

On one hand, the players and staff seem to be gelling well, and players seem to be buying into the system. But, on the other, the immediate future of the program looks bleak if the Cards can’t land talent at a high level.

To compete for ACC championships and beyond, the Cards have to find their way into the top 25-30 in recruiting rankings. But, right now, it doesn’t appear that the staff is in on much top talent for the 2020 class.

The lack of recruiting success so far is the one glaring weakness of the new tenure. Though Louisville has never been known for landing tons of top-tier players, classes in the last decade have been littered with mostly 3-star and 4-star guys. In other words, the past staffs have recruited mostly players who are projected as 2-3 year power 5 starters.

Right now, Louisville is not in on many of those guys. In fact, they sit at the bottom of the ACC in recruiting at the moment. Here is a list of the number of commits each ACC team has, and what their current recruiting ranking is:

Boston College: 5 (ranked 30th)

Clemson: 11 (ranked 2nd)

Duke: 6 (ranked 28th)

Florida State: 7 (ranked 11th)

Georgia Tech: 6 (ranked 27th)

Louisville: 2 (ranked 68th)

Miami: 11 (ranked 4th)

NC State: 8 (ranked 16th)

North Carolina: 8 (ranked 12th)

Pittsburgh: 2 (ranked 66th)

Syracuse: 3 (ranked 56th)

Virginia: 3 (ranked 47th)

Virginia Tech: 3 (ranked 49th)

Wake Forest: 5 (ranked 33rd)

It’s not the end of the world, but Louisville needs new commits, and fast. The Cards currently have 10+ scholarships open for the upcoming season, and 21 more players will graduate at year’s end. That means that there will be 30 or more openings on the roster when the 2020 class signs at the end of the year.

There’s lots of time left for the Cards’s staff to put together a nice class, but in order to do so, Louisville will have to start landing some high-level talent.

Let’s take a look at some of the players that, were the Cards to receive a commitment, could catapult Louisville up the recruiting rankings.

Robby Ashford – QB

The duel threat quarterback from Hoover, Alabama has the Cards in his top 8 along with schools like Florida, Oregon, and Auburn- who is currently the favorite to land his services.

https://twitter.com/robby_ashford/status/1095049498030731269

Having the Cards on one of his final lists is a big deal. Ashford would be the biggest name quarterback to commit to Louisville since Jawon Pass, and would have face-of-the-program potential.

Keep an eye on Ashford’s recruitment throughout this summer.

Marcus Dumervil– Offensive Lineman

This is a name most Cards fans will recognize. Dumervil is the nephew of former Cardinal great, Elvis Dumervil, and is the brother of current Card Demji Dumervil.

Dumervil is an elite prospect with offers from the who’s who of college football. Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, LSU, and many more want him. However, Louisville still likely has a shot at landing him given his connections to the program.

https://twitter.com/marcus_dumervil/status/1118494998759182336

Though he is an offensive lineman, it’s hard to imagine Louisville being able to pick up a bigger name than Dumervil in this class. He is a prospect that would start on the line from day one, and would thrive under new offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford.

Dumervil will visit Louisville the weekend of April 20th.

Jeff Pietrowski – Defensive End

According to Jody Demling of Cardinal Authority, Pietrowski already visited the Cards recently. The 3-star edge rusher from Lakewood, Ohio wouldn’t be the biggest name of the class, but he could potentially be a huge impact player.

Pietrowski already has a college-ready body, and could potentially come in and impact the game right away for Scott Satterfield.

Vito Tisdale– Safety

Tisdale would be the headliner for the class, should Louisville close the deal.

The No. 1 rated player in Kentucky, Tisdale is a 4-star safety with elite-level potential. What’s most exciting about his recruitment is that the Cards are the favorite to land him according to the experts at 247 Sports.

The Cards are solid in the secondary for the next couple of years, but Tisdale is a can’t-miss prospect who would compete for a starting spot right away.

As a top 100 player, he would be in rare company by signing with the Cards. Louisville has landed many elite talents in the last 20 years, but very few have been a top 100 player coming out of high school.

Much was made of Bobby Petrino failing to recruit the state of Kentucky in his second stint in Louisville. It would send a huge message to the rest of the state if the Cards managed to land the No. 1 player and the No. 6 overall safety.

Anthony Romphf– QB

Romphf isn’t a big name guy, but he would certainly turn some heads if he chose Louisville.

The duel-threat quarterback from Southfield, Michigan recently visited the Cards. Any time you get a potential future quarterback visiting, it’s going to be a big story line to follow, but Romphf seems to fit the mold of a Scott Satterfield quarterback.

The ability to roll out of the pocket and make plays with your arm and your feet is crucial for Satterfield, and this is a guy who could very well come in and bring depth and talent to the quarterback room.

Malcolm Greene– Safety

Like Tisdale, Greene is another elite safety that would be an instant impact guy.

The 4-star prospect out of Highland Springs, Virginia is the 24th rated safety in the nation according to 247 Sports.

Though Greene has offers from Michigan and Clemson among others, he recently received an offer from Louisville. Again, safety will be one of Louisville’s more veteran positions this year, but in 2020, the Cards will be looking to add more young talent and depth.

Starting off the 2020 class with a top 300 player would be a solid addition.

John Young– Offensive Tackle

Maybe the most likely player to commit next for the Cards, Young could be a staple on the Louisville offensive line for the next four years.

A Louisville native, Young is a product of Christian Academy where former Card Stephan Lefors was the head coach, and current head coach Hunter Cantwell was a former starter for Louisville as well.

As a kid who grew up watching the Cards, and with head coaches who are more partial to Louisville, it’s not a stretch to think Young could be a Card when he commits on April 28th.

There are plenty of other talented players who would be excellent additions to this Louisville football class. However, landing one of these elite talents could really signify that the Cards are headed in the right direction.

There’s still plenty of time left for the coaching staff, and tons of high-level talent. But snagging a couple of big-time players in the 2020 class would signify that Louisville is still for real.