Louisville football: 3 biggest needs remaining in class of 2021
By Jacob Lane
Cornerback
Current roster: Chandler Jones (Jr.), Anthony Johnson (Jr.), Marlon Character (Sr.), Telly Plummer (Jr.), Marqui Lowery (Fr.), Greedy Vance (Fr.), Jamel Starks (Fr.)
Committed players: Rance Conner Jr.
The other big need on the defensive side of the ball comes at cornerback, a position where Louisville is still working to build depth at all levels.
2019 saw the emergence of multiple new starters including sophomore’s Chandler Jones and Anthony Johnson, who we saw small flashes of in 2018 towards the back half of the season, as well as junior college transfer, Marlon Character. All three players are back in 2020 and once again, it’s the reason why there is so much hope in the defense taking a massive step forward.
Behind them will be where Louisville’s staff will have their work cut out to begin cultivating depth and developing players in order to be ready to step into bigger roles when the time comes.
Louisville did land three corners in last year’s class in Jamel Starks, Greedy Vance, and Marqui Lowery, all of whom will have opportunities to get onto the field this season as freshmen. Vance and Starks where two of the most celebrated incoming recruits in 2020 and have the most long-term potential to develop into starters while Lowery is a guy who with time could surprise some folks.
They also hold one commitment in 2021 at corner from Miami product Rance Conner Jr. who chose the Cards last month over Florida, Kentucky, Florida State, South Carolina and others. Conner is a guy that recruiting analysts are extremely high on as a long-term starter, as are the Louisville staff, but considering the majority of the group on campus are upperclassmen at least one to two more commitments are possible.
The big board comes with no shortage of options, headlined by Darian “Duce” Chestnut who could potentially be one of the next players to announce a commitment, as well as Omarion Cooper, Jordan Oladokun, and Kamari Lassiter.
Louisville has made the final group of schools for all four players and could honestly land commitments from any one of them even with more traditional powerhouse programs in the picture.
Next. Four incoming freshmen who could play vital role in 2020. dark
There has been so much progress over the last 12 months in rebuilding and reshaping a roster that was so poorly mismanaged. While depth will continue to be an issue for a few more seasons, the players mentioned throughout this piece would all be great foundational pieces capable of taking Louisville to the next level in the college football landscape.