Louisville football team receives its first commitment for the 2026 class
By Ryan Stano
The Louisville football team is riding high off their big Week 1 win. They destroyed Austin Peay 62-0 in the season opener and they look to do something similar in Week 2. That performance was certainly helpful to their future as well because they had plenty of recruits in attendance.
Louisville's 2024 recruiting class wasn't very impressive in terms of the rankings. It wasn't a top-35 class in the country and had just 15 recruits in it. They are trying to improve on that ranking for both the 2025 class and beyond. The Cardinals have started working on their 2026 class too.
That 2026 class just got its first commitment on Thursday. Offensive lineman Max Merz becomes the first member of the 2026 class. Merz is an in-state kid who hails from Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He is currently unranked by the recruiting services but shows some potential.
Louisville football team gets first commitment for 2026
Merz stands at 6'4 and 310 pounds. He projects to play on the interior as he is not long enough to play tackle. He's someone who needs some work in order to be a top producer but Jeff Brohm clearly sees something in him. By this time next year, I can guarantee he'll be ranked by the recruiting services.
When it's all said and done I think Merz will likely be a three-star recruit. He has a chance to be a low four-star recruit if he really works hard in his senior year next season. As the first member of the 2026 class for the Louisville Cardinals, he will be looked at to help assemble the rest of the class.
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It's nice to get that first commitment for the class. Now it's time to build on that by having a strong 2024 season to attract even better recruits to the Louisville football program.