Louisville football: 3 biggest needs remaining in class of 2021

Inside linebacker

Current roster: Dorian Etheridge (Sr.), C.J. Avery (Sr.), Monty Montgomery (RS Jr.), Dorian Jones (RS Fr.), Robert Hicks (Jr.)

There are a number of areas on the Louisville football roster that you could point to and make the claim that it’s the biggest need on the recruiting trail, but in my opinion, none are more prominent than at linebacker, specifically inside.

Bryan Brown and Cort Dennison were fortunate enough to take over a defense that returned multiple talented and experienced holdovers who were able to provide a major impact in their first season under the new staff.

Dorian Etheridge and C.J. Avery were two of the most experienced and productive players on the roster in 2019 and ultimately proved that again with their play on the field. They were joined by incoming JUCO player Monty Montgomery, who also provided to be a productive playmaker off the bench.

All three are back this season and are a big reason the defense is expected to take another big leap in year two, but only Montgomery will have more than one season of eligibility remaining after the 2020 season is over.

That leaves Montgomery, who will be a senior in 2021, Robert Hicks, and Dorian Jones, a redshirt freshman who his recovering from a torn ACL, on the roster. For a defense that rotates in a ton of players and will be replacing two of their top tacklers, that is not ideal for anyone and it’s why landing multiple playmakers will be crucial this year.

As Keith Wynne pointed out during a recent episode of the Big Red Louie Podcast (which you can catch here), Jones is a guy that should be able to step into a starting role when healthy and could make a nice pair with Hicks, a player who came into Louisville with a ton of time but hasn’t quite gotten the opportunity. Finding the guy who will play alongside Jones or in tandem with Jones and Hicks long-term is what we’ll see from the staff.

So who could that be?

As of now, there are a few players on the board for the Cards but none more important than three star’s Andrew Jones and Christopher Paul Jr. Jones has yet to make a decision on college, while Paul is currently committed to Nebraska and would be a huge flip if the staff can pull it off. Taking two players at this position doesn’t seem unlikely, and if somehow they can pull off landing both players at ILB….watch out.

New linebackers coach Derek Nicholson is known for his ability to recruit and with the position being an area where playing time is available right away the Cards should be able to land a high-level player.