Louisville's 2027 Recruiting Class Trending Towards Best in School History

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In this day and age of college football, the transfer portal has easily become the most utilized aspect of recruiting. Most coaches tend to value experience over potential, resulting in a lot of programs putting high school recruiting on the back burner.

But make no mistake: even with the transfer portal proving to be an incredibly valuable asset, there is still very much a place for high school recruiting in the grand scheme of college football. While Louisville has done an phenomenal job when it comes to recruiting the portal under head coach Jeff Brohm, their efforts recruiting out of high school in his first three cycles had left a little to be desired.

That has changed in a drastic way with the Class of 2027. While there is still a long way to go between now and the Early Signing Period in December, their 2027 recruiting class is on pace to be the best in school history - and it's not particularly close.

With the commitment of Louisville (Ky.) Christian Academy wide receiver Ja'Hyde Brown on Monday, the Cardinals' 2027 recruiting class now ranks as the No. 7 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Only Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Notre Dame, USC and Washington are higher. It's a class that features nine prospects, which when put together, sports an average Composite grade of 0.8925.

Of their nine currently committed prospects in the class, five of them are regarded as four-star prospects. This includes Louisville (Ky.) Trinity cornerback Allen Evans, Cleveland (Oh.) Villa Angelo-St. Joseph tight end D'Angelo White, Cincinnati (Oh.) Withrow wide receiver Chuck Alexander Jr. and Lexington (Ky.) Bryan Station safety Jordan Haskins.

How does this class stack up historically with what Louisville has done in the past? See for yourself in the table below, which includes the final national ranking, average recruit grade and number of blue-chip prospects (four- and five-stars) in every one of Louisville's past recruiting classes in the modern recruiting era:

Class Year	Final Ranking	Avg. Recruit Grade	# of Blue Chips
2026	49th	.8753	3
2025	76th	.8641	0
2024	63rd	.8709	2
2023	25th	.8921	7
2022	56th	.8636	4
2021	42nd	.8626	2
2020	36th	.8590	0
2019	73rd	.8530	1
2018	37th	.8653	4
2017	35th	.8556	3
2016	39th	.8456	2
2015	31st	.8540	2
2014	41st	.8396	0
2013	39th	.8589	3
2012	49th	.8498	3
2011	30th	.8601	4
2010	44th	.8424	3
2009	57th	.8260	1
2008	46th	.8320	0
2007	49th	.8502	2
2006	24th	.8428	3
2005	36th	.8094	3
2004	63rd	.7999	1
2003	49th	.7981	1
2002	54th	.8000	2

*All stats are by 247Sports Composite.

In the modern recruiting era, Louisville has only finished with a class that ranks in the top-30 three times, coming in 2023, 2011 and 2006. Historically, the Cardinals have typically finished with a recruiting class that ranks from the high 30's to the mid 40's.

Going by average recruit grade, the only class that is even remotely close to being as good as the current 2027 class is their 2023 class, which also finished with the most blue chip prospects in school history. With roughly eight months left until the cycle's first signing period, Louisville's 2027 class already has the second-most blue chip commitments.

It's easy to figure out why Louisville is all of a sudden recruiting the high school ranks at an unprecedented level (by their standards). Last summer, the program made a significant splash in the recruiting department, poaching Vince Marrow from Kentucky after he had spent the past 13 years with the Wildcats.

"We're definitely excited about the newest addition to our staff," Brohm said at the time of Marrow's hiring. "I think coach Vince Marrow definitely has a reputation around the country as a football coach and as a recruiter. ... Definitely what he brings to us is someone who can build relationships with players, with recruits, with their families. It's genuine. He's been there, he's done that. He has a great gift to bring people in, and make them feel welcome, and come through for him on helping them achieve their goals."

Louisville's not done yet, either. The program is still in the mix for several more blue chip, with a handful of them expected to take visits to campus this summer and fall. A lot is left to unfold in the current recruiting cycle, but when everything is said and done, it would be surprising if the Cardinals' 2027 recruiting class didn't go in the books as their best on-paper class in program history.

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