Louisville football: How to Watch the All-American Bowl

Today is the day many Louisville Cardinals fans have been waiting for as the anticipation builds for the beginning of the All-American Bowl. If you are unfamiliar with the All-American Bowl, the All-American Bowl is a yearly celebration of up-and-coming high school talent. Debuting in 2000, it has become one of the most-watched high school events in the United States.

This year, there are several participants in the All-American Bowl that will have an impact on the future of the Louisville football program. Perhaps most notably is the public announcement of the decision of 2023 four-star athlete Jamari Johnson out of Inglewood, California.

Johnson has been verbally committed to the Cardinals since April 2022, but with the sudden coaching change in early December, he decided to take a step back and look at his recruiting again. Plus, Johnson also received late pushes in his recruitment from Oregon and Pittsburgh.

The addition of the composite four-star tight end would be an essential key to this recruiting class and could greatly benefit from the new offense that Head Coach Jeff Brohm employs. Brohm is noted for having an “air-raid” offense and the ability to obtain yards for tight ends and receivers would be fairly simple.

Johnson would join an incoming offense of Pierce Clarkson, Jahlil McClain, Madden Sanker, Luke Burgess, William Fowles, Keyjuan Brown, and Cataurus Hicks in this year’s recruiting class. Not to mention Jack Plummer, Kevin Coleman, Jimmy Calloway, and Jadon Thompson through the transfer portal.

Four-star quarterback Pierce Clarkson will also be participating in the All-American Bowl, and is reportedly headed straight to Louisville from the All-American Bowl. He is arguably the prize of this incoming recruiting class and has stayed loyal to the city and the program despite the coaching change. Clarkson will be the future quarterback for the Cardinals and will make a lot of noise doing it. Prepare to watch him take the field today.

Below, Cardinal Authority’s Michael McCammon caught a picture of him with Jamari Johnson.

While Johnson and Clarkson are very notable storylines to follow this afternoon for the Cardinals, there is one more to keep an eye on. Another future potential impact player for Louisville is 2024 five-star linebacker TJ Capers. Capers, much like Johnson, chose to announce his college decision this afternoon.

The 6-foot-2 Miami, Florida native could become the highest overall recruit in Louisville history if he chooses the Cardinals over Georgia, USC, Miami, and Colorado. Head Coach Jeff Brohm and parts of his staff have only been in Louisville for a month so the fact that they still cracked the number one linebacker in the nation’s top five is mightily impressive.

From the depths of Twitter, it sounds like the retention of Defensive Assistant Mark Ivey and Recruiting Coordinator John Herron have been invaluable in his recruiting to the Bluegrass state. For the fact that he is in the Class of 2024, whichever school he does choose to play for, that school will have to fend off other suitors until he officially puts pen to paper this December. Capers is a generational talent and programs will be fighting tooth-and-nail to obtain his services.

Adding Jamari Johnson and TJ Capers to the Louisville commitments list would be astronomical for the future of the program because over the past few days, the Cardinals have already landed two impressive transfers in former Jackson State wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. and former Miami safety Gilbert Frierson.

Jeff Brohm has been active in recruiting both sides of the ball extensively and has the potential to continue that trend today. If Louisville adds Kevin Coleman, Gilbert Frierson, Jamari Johnson, and TJ Capers in a span of three days, then that would put any recruiting myths about him to bed really quickly, as if he hasn’t done that already.

Below is how to watch these athletes announce their commitments and witness one of the best high school football games of the year. Tune into:

TV Network: NBC

Stream: via Peacock

Time: 1:00 PM EST

Date: Today, January 7, 2023

Location: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas