Louisville Football Building Depth with Quality Walk-Ons
(Photo of Nathan McElroy: Matt Stone/Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At this point, it's no secret that Scott Satterfield loves his walk-ons. Not only has he welcomed close to 40 of them since taking over as Louisville football's head coach after the 2018 season, but he has also given them their fair share of playing time.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re on scholarship or a walk on in this program, you are going to have an opportunity to play," Satterfield said last year. "We are going to get some more guys that are going to be in the mix from local high schools. I think our walk-on program is going to be what’s really exciting with all of the local talents we have here."
Not only have walk-ons received their fair shake under Satterfield, but many of them have turned into impact playmakers to the point where they earn themselves a scholarship. Tight end Marshon Ford, offensive tackle Tyler Haycraft and placekicker James Turner are just a few examples.
Now heading into his third season with the program, Satterfield is once again slowly bringing in another crop of walk-ons. This time around however, it could arguably be his most talented group yet.
So far, Louisville has landed 10 walk-ons during the 2021 recruiting cycle, with many of them receiving significant interest from across the Power Five.
Sporting a thin quarterback room in 2021, the Cardinals added a pair of solid signal callers in Tyler Jensen and Nathan McElroy to help improve depth at the position.
As juniors, Jensen threw for over 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns to help guide San Diego (Calif.) Lincoln to the Division I CIF-SDS Championship, while McElroy threw for 2,597 yards and 31 touchdowns to guide Trinity to back-to-back Kentucky Class 6A state championships. Jensen was previously committed to Northern Colorado and has a PWO offer from Washington, while McElroy flipped from Butler.
Transitioning to the running back room, Louisville is welcoming a pair of in-state back, including another Shamrock. Bradley West is coming over from Trinity, while Azariah Israel joins from George Rogers Clark HS in Clark County.
West was named the Kentucky Class 6A Championship Game MVP two years in a row, rushing 122 times for 697 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final year at Trinity. Thomas averaged 6.8 yards per carry en route to rushing for 946 yards & 11 touchdowns as a senior, and had offers from Western Kentucky, Liberty and others.
So far, Louisville is arguably getting the most experience out of their wide receiver walk-ons, which again consists of a pair of in-state guys. Jaelin Carter is transferring from Eastern Kentucky, while Hopkinsville's Reese Jesse is also hopping on board.
Carter played in 32 games while starting 10 for EKU, hauling in 37 receptions for 449 yards and five touchdowns. Jesse finishes his high school career with 121 receptions for 2,427 yards and 24 touchdowns, passing up offers from Kentucky, Missouri, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia and others to walk on at Louisville.
The tight end room also got a little boost when William Paar, a local product who plays for Christian Academy, decided to walk-on at Louisville. As a senior, he caught 17 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns, but also had 28 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks on defense.
Speaking of defensive, Louisville has also gained three walk-ons so far on that side of the ball. Belle Vernon (Pa.) outside linebacker Ian Maloney, Lawrenceville (Ga.) Archer safety Jaylen Williams and Western Kentucky transfer linebacker Damon Lowe Jr. are also joining the Cardinals.
Maloney logged 22 tackles in his senior year, but has PWO offers from Northwestern, Stanford and Wisconsin. Williams had 82 tackles and drew interest from Wake Forest, UT-Chattanooga and others, while Lowe had 15 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1.0 sack in his senior season with the Hilltoppers.
Louisville will kickoff the 2021 season against Ole Miss in the annual Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. on Monday, Sept. 6.
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