Way too early Louisville football depth chart preview: Pass catchers
By Jacob Lane
Others
- Christian Fitzpatrick (Freshman), Josh Johnson (RS junior), Chris Taylor Yamanoha (RS senior)
How deep is Louisville’s receiving core? When you have these three names listed as “others” on the depth chart, that means something special is in the works.
Christian Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick, Dez’s younger brother is among the freshmen expected to contribute right away. After an intense recruitment battle that saw him commit to Washington State before ultimately flipping late in the process to the Cards, he is not slotted to work right behind his brother and be the next big star in the making.
The issue for the younger Fitzpatrick may just be the depth in front of him. His brother redshirted his freshman year, and that may not be out of the question for Christian either, . It will all depend on how quickly he can get in and gain experience. It shouldn’t hurt being quarantined with a brother (and father) who already know the coaching staff’s expectations and are familiar with the playbook.
It will be interesting to see just how frequently Fitzpatrick is used in 2020.
Josh Johnson
Yet another highly coveted recruit at wide receiver, Josh Johnson has been buried on the depth chart after a series of injuries in 2018 and 2019. Most recently, Johnson tore his ACL, keeping him out for the entirety of last season.
Should he be good to go in 2020, there’s no reason that the speedster can’t turn some heads. Similarly to Harrell and Smith, he has great speed and was highly regarded as a recruit. Who’s to say he can’t see some action this season?
Chris Taylor-Yamanoha
Finally, Chris Taylor-Yamanoha is another name on a long list of talented skill position players who came in with high expectations under Bobby Petrino but never quite panned out.
For one reason or another, CTY has never found his way onto the field for significant snaps, but brings great size and athleticism to the roster.
If there’s a name among the “others” that could wind up being the star among the group, it’s probably the younger Fitzpatrick, but there’s truly not a player in the three deep that doesn’t have the ability to start at the power five level.