Breaking Down Louisville's 2021 Early Signing Period
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While Louisville football might be coming off of a 6-6 regular season that was chock full of mixed results, the program took a step in the right direction on Wednesday. As part of the NCAA's 2021 Early Signing Period, the Cardinals were able to secure 17 Letters of Intent from their Class of 2022. It's a smaller class than normal due to the amount of current players who took advantage of an extra year of eligibility, but does have several high quality prospects.
Who are the signees?
The 17 student-athletes to put pen to paper are grouped as followed:
Quarterback
- *QB Khalib Johnson (Highlights and Evaluation)
Offensive Skill Positions:
- RB Maurice Turner (Highlights and Evaluation)
- *^RB Tiyon Evans (Commitment Article)
- *^WR Dee Wiggins (Commitment Article)
- WR Chance Morrow (Highlights and Evaluation)
- WR Chris Bell (Highlights and Evaluation)
- WR Devaughn Mortimer (Commitment Article)
- TE Nate Kurisky (Highlights and Evaluation)
Offensive Linemen:
- *OT Max Cabana (Highlights and Evaluation)
- OT Izaiah Reed (Highlights and Evaluation)
- OT Makhete Gueye (Commitment Article)
Defensive Linemen:
- DE Selah Brown (Highlights and Evaluation)
- DE Popeye Williams (Highlights and Evaluation)
- DT Tawfiq Thomas (Highlights and Evaluation)
Linebackers:
- *^MLB MoMo Sanogo (Commitment Article)
Secondary:
- *^Safety M.J. Griffin (Commitment Article)
- Safety D'Angelo Hutchinson (Highlights and Evaluation)
*Early Enrollee
^Transfer
Is Louisville still targeting anyone?
For those keeping track at home, the Cardinals had 17 signees on the first day of the Early Signing Period, but have 18 overall commits in the class. The one prospect not to sign is offensive tackle Sam Secrest, but he was never going to sign anyways. That's because he is blueshirting, meaning he will not officially be put on scholarship until next fall.
Even with this being a smaller class, Louisville's recruiting efforts in the cycle aren't done yet. Their next big high school target is St. John Bosco running back Rayshon Luke, who plans on committing on Jan. 8.
Of course, they're still planning on hitting the transfer portal. Satterfield said in his signing day press conference that they want to try and go after both an experienced edge rusher and an experienced safety. He also noted that he wouldn't pass up another offensive lineman, either.
Who was the best recruit to sign?
There are a couple that come to mind. While defensive linemen Selah Brown and Popeye Williams are two of the more well-known signees in the class, the top high school signee in the class has to be Devaughn Mortimer. Flipping him from Florida State is a massive deal, as he's the second-highest ranked recruit to ever sign with Louisville under head coach Scott Satterfield. He very much has potential to be the next Tutu Atwell.
As for the four transfers up to this point, it's hard to understate the importance of landing MoMo Sanogo. It allows Louisville to have very minimal drop-off at middle linebacker with C.J. Avery finally graduating, and one could even make the argument that it's an upgrade. He brings a plethora of SEC-caliber experience and reps to the fold.
Where did Louisville excel in the Early Signing Period?
While Louisville's defense has been making strides in the right direction since this staff took over, one area that has needed dire improvement has been the defensive line. The staff made this position one of their main points of emphasis in this cycle, and it was a success. Brown and Williams are two of the three four-stars signed in the class, and Tawfiq Thomas gives Louisville size in the middle that they desperately need.
Louisville also did well when it came to recruiting wide receivers. Mortimer is a huge pickup, as previously discussed, and Miami transfer Dee Wiggins could very well be a starter next season with Jordan Watkins and Justin Marshall no longer in the WR room. Chance Morrow and Chris Bell were underrated pickups as well.
Where was left to be desired?
In a class that you know is going to be smaller, you're going to want to put an added emphasis on the quality of the recruit you bring in, and not want to go after projects or diamonds in the rough. While that was certainly the case for most positions in the class for Louisville, it seemed like they settled way too much when it came to offensive linemen. Wake Forest is the only other Power Five school to offer Cabana, Secrest was a one-time Central Michigan commit, and Gueye is in his first year playing football period. Do they all have potential? Sure. But, you would think they would have gone after more known commodities on the line.
Who did the best job on the recruiting trail?
The majority of the Louisville coaching staff did an excellent job on the recruiting trail. While it is tempting to give the recruiting MVP to wide receivers coach Gunter Brewer for pulling off the Mortimer flip, it's hard to argue against defensive line coach Mark Ivey having the most profound impact on the class. Heading into the early signing period, he was the lead recruiter for Louisville's top two commits - Brown and Williams - as well as Thomas.
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY SPORTS)
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