Louisville football: Cards lose out on top wide receiver target for 2020

Louisville football had the most ties to a 2020 wide receiver but it wasn’t enough to seal the deal.

The last name “Fitzpatrick” has become synonymous over the last two seasons for Louisville football with big-time playmaking, elite route running, and a lot of touchdowns.

Of course, the last name belongs to Dez and over the last few years we’ve watched a talented four-star receiver from Michigan, turn into one of the biggest playmakers for the Cards and a future NFL Draft pick.

While we have all been anticipating a big season from Dez in 2019 as a redshirt junior under the tutelage of Scott Satterfield and wide receiver coach and #freaktime leader Gunter Brewer, a lot of the conversation this summer has been centered around another Fitzpatrick.

Back home in Michigan, the younger Fitzpatrick, Christian, has blossomed into a big, and dare I say elite wide receiver in his own right, working with father Greg (aka Coach Fitz)  to become one of the bigger names on the board in the class of 2020.

Christian Fitzpatrick has been a target of Louisville now for a few seasons, visiting on numerous occasions and spending time with respective coaches. While that interest started with the previous staff, it didn’t stop when Satterfield and company arrived on campus – in fact, even with the wide receiver position currently overflowing, the interest only grew.

As Fitzpatrick’s recruiting exploded picking up offers from programs like Missouri, West Virginia, Penn State, Purdue, Oregon, and others Louisville was still thought to be the top target due to the connection with older brother Dez becoming one of the brightest stars on the Cardinal roster.

Just a few weeks ago I wrote that Christian Fitzpatrick was the number one target remaining on the recruiting board in 2020, and the commitment of Chubba Purdy and Tee Webb only meant good things for the program’s chances moving forward.

We talked with Coach Fitz on the Big Red Louie podcast a few weeks back, asking how the recruitment was going and where Louisville stood and it all seemed to be coming along great. Greg explained the recruitment of Christian and how he was going to go to the program who wanted him the most. That meant UofL was going to have to show the younger Fitzpatrick a lot of love, not relying on Dez and family ties, and showing him what role he would play in a Satterfield offense.

While it sounded like a commitment wouldn’t come until the season started, things clearly changed over the weekend. On an unofficial visit to Washington State, Christian Fitzpatrick announced his intention to shut down his recruitment and commit to Mike Leach to play in “the best passing offense in the country.”

First off, let me start by saying this is a great move on the part of Christian Fitzpatrick and one that I respect. I think it would’ve been easy for him to follow in the footsteps of Dez, and try to continue the “Fitzpatrick” legacy at Louisville.

Instead, he made a decision that was the best move for him and his future, eliminating any outside influences – something that any fan should be able to respect.

Louisville misses out on landing an elite route runner with great size and great instincts for playmaking at the wide receiver position. Regardless of what the roster looked like heading into the 2020-2021 season, the staff’s recruitment of Fitzpatrick indicated that they also saw how much talent he had and how good he could be down the road.

For Fitzpatrick, he’ll head to a program that has become one of the nation’s top passing offenses behind Mike Leach, finishing second in 2018 in total passing and in the top five every single year since 2013.

The wide receiver position will still be an important focus for Scott Satterfield and his run-first offense, but not like what we’ve seen in recent years, and it makes sense why Fitzpatrick looked to another pass-first offense to better suit his skills. Missing out on Christian hurts there’s no denying it, but it isn’t the end of the world as the Cards still have a few targets on the board and also have other positions of need that require more attention.

It’ll be interesting to see how the recruitment plays out down the stretch as Christian will likely be on Louisville’s campus several times this season as he watches Dez in action, giving the staff more opportunity to change his mind.

As a Louisville fan, I would’ve loved to have seen the younger Fitz wear the red and black, but for the future of a young football player and his family, I think that the right decision was made.

Best of luck to Christian at Washington State, Cardnation will be rooting for success from afar.