Louisville falling behind for hometown 5-star as Notre Dame emerges early favorite

Louisville football is having a dominant start to its 2027 recruiting class as the Cardinals landed the second-best recruit out of Kentucky, Allen Evans, and three other 4-stars. Evans is the sixth-highest-rated Louisville commitment in program history, and he is a big reason why Jeff Brohm’s 2027 class is dominating early on.

Louisville football jumps Notre Dame in 2027 recruiting rankings after 4-star commit

Brohm and Vince Marrow have made it clear they want to dominate the state of Kentucky and try to earn these big-time recruits from their home state. And while they did that early in the 2027 recruiting class, they are now trying to do so with the 2028 recruiting class.

However, they are slowly falling behind for one of the best recruits in the 2028 cycle, and Kentucky’s No. 1 recruit, Kellan Hall.

Notre Dame becomes early favorite for 5-star Kellan Hall after recent visit

Hall is a consensus 5-star recruit who isn’t just a Kentucky native, but he is a Louisville native. The elite 5-star defensive lineman attends Christian Academy of Louisville, where he collected 53 tackles,  17.5 tackles for a loss, and 6.5 sacks his sophomore season, earning Rivals All-American honors.

Now, he is one of the top recruits in the 2028 cycle, as he ranks No. 11 overall, No. 2 among defensive linemen, and is the unanimous best recruit out of Kentucky. He is a consensus top 15 recruit in the 2028 cycle, and if Brohm wants to reach that next level and earn his commitment, he is going to have to beat some powerhouses.

Recently, Hall visited Notre Dame, and it was reported that the Irish are now the early favorite for the 5-star. Marcus Freeman and company left no doubt and continue to impress Hall, and now have the Irish as the early frontrunner.

The Louisville native has multiple visits scheduled as Hall will visit Tennessee and Kentucky later in March, and Ohio State, Indiana, and Georgia in April. He has already visited Oklahoma and Missouri, and he plans to schedule visits to Louisville and Virginia Tech, but the dates aren’t official yet.

Louisville is trying to dominate not just Kentucky, but its city, as Evans is a Louisville native, and the Cardinals are trending with 4-star 2027 wide receiver Ja'Hyde Brown, who also attends Christian Academy of Louisville.

Brohm has this Louisville football program soaring, especially with the path the 2027 recruiting class is on, but if the Cardinals want to land one of the best recruits in program history and their first 5-star in a long time, then Louisville has to get that date finalized and has to leave Hall speechless to compete with Notre Dame and others.

Related: Jeff Brohm and Louisville football in early heated battle for local 5-star 2028 DL

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