Louisville football gets visit from speedy HB day before important decision

Louisville football is hoping a visit could lead to the commitment of one of the nation’s top running backs in the class of 2020.

Louisville football coach Scott Satterfield already has a deep crew of running backs at his disposal heading into his first season the Cardinals head coach, several of which seem to be set for breakout seasons at young ages.

But with the future in mind, the Cards are after several talented running backs in the class of 2020 to add to the stable.

With sustained success at the position for Appalachian State and an offensive system that highly values that position, it was only a matter of time before Louisville ball was in the mix for some of the nation’s most elite backs.

With his decision day less than 48 hours away, the Cards got an extremely important visit from one of the nation’s top running backs, Jo’Quavious Marks.

The speedy back out of Atlanta, Georgia, has over 25 offers from the who’s who of college football. Marks was a target of Scott Satterfield at Appalachian State and after getting to Louisville, his offer from 2017 was reaffirmed, and it’s not hard to see why.

While the visit from Marks is just an unofficial visit, it’s a huge deal that Satterfield and company were able to get him to come to Louisville the day before his expected commitment announcement.

With Mississippi State currently leading the way according to 247 Sports Crystal Ball, Marks is also considering Louisville, Tennessee, Texas, Purdue, Nebraska, North Carolina, FSU, Penn State, and Georgia.

Rated as the 14th best running back in the class of 2020, and the nation’s 163rd best player overall, Marks would instantly be the top of the group of commits should he choose to play his next years at Louisville.

As a junior at Carver High School in Atlanta, Marks put together a breakout season, rushing for 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns, while also doubling as a track star running the 200, 400, and 800-meter sprints.

As a junior, Marks amassed 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns on 140 attempts; good for an average of 10.7 yards per carry.

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With a real instinct for finding open holes in the offensive line and absolutely devastating homerun speed, Marks would be a candidate for immediate playing time regardless of where he chooses to play his college ball. Even at 5’10, 190 pounds, Marks has great power and ability to shake loose from opposing tacklers while showing great elusiveness to get out to the edge.

It looks unlikely that the Cards will be able to seal the deal with Marks, seeing as how he never used an official visit to check out Louisville, but it can’t be denied that getting him to campus the day before his decision could present the ability to steal him away from either the favorite Mississippi State or Florida State.

Continuing to get elite players on campus will be a priority for Louisville and the new staff, and don’t be surprised to see several choose the Cards due to the available playing time right away as we get closer to the season and the early signing period.

Don’t count Louisville out though. As mentioned, the Cards have a very running back friendly offense, one that could begin to become a pipeline to the NFL thus resulting in landing the cream of the crop at the position.