Louisville football: Predicting the next 3 commitments for the Cards in 2021

Darian “Duce” Chestnut – CB

Scott Satterfield and the Louisville football staff have done an incredible job over the last two recruiting classes of beginning to rebuild the defense that is just one year removed from having one of the worst seasons in power five history.

In the 2019, 2020, and now the 2021 classes, Bryan Brown and his staff have found players with great intangibles both on and off the field who are near perfect fits in the new-look scheme and should begin to pay off very quickly for the Cards.

As I mentioned with Quinn, the secondary for Louisville was a real problem area last year as big plays down the field and missed tackles plagued them through the majority of the season although they did improve mightily from the 2018 season. Chandler Jones, Anthony Johnson Jr., and Marlon Character all emerged as legitimate starters at corner for Brown in 2019, combing for 107 tackles and17 pass breakups but only two interceptions.

All three will return for 2020 and should make a big jump in their play and understanding of the system, but behind them is where Louisville will have issues especially long-term. Jones and Johnson will enter their junior seasons this upcoming year, while Character will exhaust his collegiate eligibility at the end of the season.

Enter Darian “Duce” Chestnut a player who could find himself as the next cornerback to pledge to the Cards. When people talk about the class of 2021 being one of the best for Louisville in a long time, a lot of that comes due to the staff’s ability to attract higher-level talent, much like Chestnut.

The 5’11, 180-pound New Jersey product rates as a composite four-star recruit with 247 Sports tabbing him as the 324th best player overall and 24th best cornerback in the class of 2021 and holds offers from numerous high-level power five programs including Michigan, Maryland, Miami, Baylor, Ole Miss and others.

There’s a lot of reason to be optimistic about a potential commitment from Chestnut, including recent comments written by Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst, Adam Friedman wrote in a piece detailing the final schools being considered.

Ranking Louisville as the top school in the running for Chestnut, Friedman wrote:

"1. LOUISVILLE The Cardinals have been stocking up on defensive talent lately and adding Chestnut to the mix would be a huge boost for this class. He hasn’t visited the campus yet but the coaching staff did do a virtual visit with Chestnut and he was very impressed. Look for the coaches to push for Chestnut to take a visit to campus as soon as the recruiting dead period is over."

There doesn’t seem to be a timeline as of now for when a commitment may take place, but the staff has to believe they are sitting pretty for what would be their third four-star player of the class.

Like others, Chestnut has expressed a desire to take visits to schools before committing, something that likely won’t happen any time soon. However, as we’ve also seen, players have recognized how unpredictable this year may be with the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to early commitments.

Adding Chestnut would give Louisville a versatile player who will bring great strength, size, and physicality to the corner position. “Instinctual and smart on field. Athletic and changes direction well. Tracks ball and is aggressive in coverage. Good in run support. Has body control. Strong tackler with technique. Plays physical and re-routes receivers with strong jam. Comfortable in press and off-man coverage,” wrote 247 Sports’ Brian Dohn.

Louisville needs “the next guy” at cornerback to go along with Rance Conner Jr. and hopefully, it will be Chestnut and hopefully, it will be soon.