Three offseason priorities for Louisville football heading into 2020

MIAMI, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: Dayna Kinnaird #57 of the Louisville Cardinals waits to take the field prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: Dayna Kinnaird #57 of the Louisville Cardinals waits to take the field prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – NOVEMBER 30: Dez Fitzpatrick #7 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates after a touchdown against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – NOVEMBER 30: Dez Fitzpatrick #7 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates after a touchdown against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Add three more impact players for 2020

The Early Signing Period was a big win for the Louisville football program as they signed 25 players and currently hold the nation’s 39th best-recruiting class in the country. As we just talked about and saw all season long, Louisville desperately needed depth and even more impact players at a ton of positions on the field.

With the momentum of signing a top 40 class combined with the bowl win over an SEC school in the Music City Bowl the pressure is now on for Scott Satterfield and his myriad of recruiters to find as many as three impact players for 2020 in the final months leading up to National Signing Day in February.

If you remember, last season after being hired in early December, coach Satterfield had just a matter of days to attempt to sign what small group of players he could in the Early Signing Period. Thanks to key relationships and eye for talent, the staff was able to land a few players, including Evan Conley at quarterback, while building momentum for the next period.

With more time to build relationships and find the right guys, they landed players of a higher talent level including four-star defensive end Ja’Darien Boykin and three-star outside linebacker Zach Edwards.

The game plan will be very similar this year for Louisville as they’ll look to fill three more spots with players who can contribute right away.

To me, these three commitments are crucial. There can be no waste. What I mean by that is in these three spots the coaching staff has to find three players who they believe can make an impact right away.

The offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, and secondary all have needs (which we saw in just about every game) and finding guys who can provide snaps, even if it’s not in a starting role, is a must. It can be a graduate-transfer. It can be a three-star player or a four-star player. There’s not much of a difference. There just can’t be waste.

With 2020 having such a high-ceiling, finding players who can contribute from day one should be a high priority for the Louisville staff.