Looking Back at Louisville Football's 2017 Recruiting Class
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After Lamar Jackson became the first Heisman Trophy winner in the history of the Louisville football program, then-head coach Bobby Petrino had a golden opportunity. He needed to capitalize on that momentum, and translate that into a stellar 2017 recruiting class.
After signing a mostly underwhelming 2016 recruiting class, how well did Petrino and the Cardinals do in the 2017 cycle? Below is every scholarship signee from the class in alphabetical order, coupled with notes on how they panned out at Louisville:
Kemari Averett
Position: Tight End
UofL Career Stats: 15 receptions for 144 yards and three touchdowns (16 games)
Averett showed promise very early in his college football career, but was kicked off the team midway through his sophomore season due to accusations of rape. The charges were dropped, and he eventually found a new home at Bethune-Cookman.
C.J. Avery
Position: Middle Linebacker
UofL Career Stats: 349 tackles (199 solo), 20.0 for loss, 8.5 sacks, 19 pass deflections, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries (59 games)
Originally a safety coming out of high school, he made the switch to linebacker during his sophomore season, and turned into one of the program's most prolific tacklers of this century. He lead the team in tackles during his final three years as a Cardinal, and finished with the 10th-most tackles in program history. Despite that, he went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft, but signed a UDFA deal with with Chicago Bears.
Toryque Bateman
Position: Offensive Tackle
UofL Career Stats: None
Bateman never saw the field at Louisville. He redshirted his freshman year, then opted to transfer just a couple weeks into his second year, eventually winding up at Fort Scott Community College.
Mekhi Becton
Position: Offensive Tackle
UofL Career Stats: 35 games
There were plenty of quality contributors in this class, but Becton might have been its best player. He was a starter from the moment he set from the moment he set foot on campus, and quickly established himself as one of the best offensive tackles in the ACC. As a junior, he was named First-Team All-ACC and named the winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy. He declared early for the NFL, and was picked by the New York Jets with the No. 11 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Cole Bentley
Position: Center
UofL Career Stats: 52 games
Bentley was an underrated component of Louisville's offensive line, especially when Scott Satterfield took over. After making a permanent transition to center midway through the 2019 season, he was twice named to the offseason watch list for the Rimington Award. He went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft, but signed a UDFA deal with with Arizona Cardinals.
Caleb Chandler
Position: Offensive Guard
UofL Career Stats: 44 games
Chandler is one of three 2017 recruits still on the roster, and when everything is said and done, he could be the next offensive lineman to go high in the draft. He made the jump to starter in 2019, and put together a phenomenal 2021 season. Not only was he voted as a First-Team All-ACC selection, but was also named as one of PFF's Top 101 Players of the 2021 season. He opted to return for one final year in 2022.
Malik Clark
Position: Defensive Tackle
UofL Career Stats: 40 tackles (24 solo), 6.0 for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble (40 games)
Clark started as an outside linebacker, but made the transition to the defensive line starting in 2019. He went from defensive end to defensive tackle, serving as a key rotational piece in the middle during his last two seasons in college.
Malik Cunningham
Position: Quarterback
UofL Career Stats: 62.7 completion percentage for 8,096 yards and 62 touchdowns to 24 interceptions. 505 rushing attempts for 2,619 yards and 38 touchdowns (46 games)
If Louisville has a successful 2022 season, Cunningham has a chance to elevate himself as one of the top quarterbacks in program history, especially since he has a real shot to break Lamar Jackson's career yardage and touchdown records. He took over as the starter in 2019 following Jawon Pass' foot injury, and wound up setting the school record in single-season passing efficiency at 194.45. He regressed a little bit in 2020 due to 15 total turnovers, but had a career year in 2021. He finished with 3,972 total yards of offense and 39 total touchdowns, finishing just one passing touchdown shy of joining the exclusive 20/20 club and totaling the fourth-most rushing touchdowns in the nation with 20.
Dorian Etheridge
Position: Middle Linebacker
UofL Career Stats: 258 tackles (148 solo), 24.0 for loss, 4.0 sacks, 14 pass deflections, one interception, one forced fumble, four fumble recoveries (47 games)
Etheridge had a fast start to his collegiate career, being named a Freshman All-American by ESPN after leading the team in tackles. Combined with Avery, he helped Louisville have one of the better middle linebacker duos in the ACC during his time as a Cardinal. He went undrafted in 2021, but signed as a UDFA with the Atlanta Falcons.
Mitch Hall
Position: Long Snapper
UofL Career Stats: 55 games
Hall was a model of consistency during his time at Louisville. He never recorded a bad snap over his first two seasons as a Cardinal, and didn't register one until 130 snaps into his junior year.
Anthony Johnson
Position: Cornerback
UofL Career Stats: 43 tackles (34 solo), 4.0 for loss, 15 pass deflections, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, one fumble recoveries (32 games)
After redshirting his first year, Johnson was very productive as a rotational piece in the secondary, including a career year in 2019 where he had 27 tackles, a pick and three forced fumbles. When his role significantly diminished in 2020, he opted to transfer to ACC foe Virginia.
Josh Johnson
Position: Wide Receiver
UofL Career Stats: 24 receptions for 229 yards and one touchdowns (32 games)
Johnson is the third and final 2017 signee to still be on the roster, and he has had to battle a lot. He tore his left ACL not once, but twice, robbing him of over two years of eligibility. He got healthy for 2021, logging 16 receptions for 125 yards and his first career touchdown.
Kam Jones
Position: Linebacker
UofL Career Stats: None
Jones never saw the field in his two seasons with the Cardinals, and eventually opted to transfer to Chattanooga, where he is entering his final season with the Mocs.
Dayna Kinnaird
Position: Defensive End
UofL Career Stats: 16 tackles (6 solo), 3.0 for loss, 2.5 sacks (28 games)
Like Johnson, Kinnaird was also severely hampered by injuries. He also tore his ACL twice, and missed a few games due to COVID, including what was supposed to be his final game in college.
Justin Marshall
Position: Wide Receiver
UofL Career Stats: 36 receptions for 544 yards and one touchdowns (25 games)
After showing promise in 2019 following a pair of seasons where he seldom saw the field, Marshall was a guy who many expected to have a true breakout season, but it never came to pass. He did log a career-high 322 yards and his first career touchdown in 2021, but entered the transfer portal after the season and committed to Buffalo.
Nick Okeke
Position: Outside Linebacker
UofL Career Stats: 115 tackles (57 solo), 6.5 for loss, 1.0 sack, one forced fumble (45 games)
Okeke was a solid rotation piece on the edge for Louisville, even earning a handful of starts, but he always seemed to find himself buried on the depth chart behind either Yasir Abdullah or Rodjay Burns. He took a handful of snaps at middle linebacker in 2021, which didn't pan out, and he entered the portal after the season.
Rodney Owens
Position: Safety
UofL Career Stats: None.
He never saw the field at Louisville, and transferred after one season. He spent a year with Iowa Western C.C., and is now entering his final year at Memphis.
Corey Reed
Position: Wide Receiver
UofL Career Stats: 8 receptions for 145 yards (15 games)
Reed had an odd career arc. All of his stats came in 2017, then after a 2018 season where he logged no stats, opted to transfer to Western C.C. He spent a year there, transferred back to Louisville for the 2020 season, then after another year where he had no production, transferred to Jackson State.
Kaheem Roach
Position: Middle Linebacker
UofL Career Stats: One tackle (7 games)
Roach redshirted his freshman year, spent some time on special teams in his second season, but that was it. He transferred to Ferris State after two years with Louisville.
Ronald Rudd
Position: Offensive Tackle
UofL Career Stats: None
The lone JUCO signee in this class, Rudd could not crack the offensive line rotation. Even though he spent three years with Louisville, he never played a single snap.
TreSean Smith
Position: Safety
UofL Career Stats: 70 tackles (45 solo), 4.0 for loss, 1.0 sack, four pass deflections, two interceptions, one forced fumble (25 games)
Smith had a good start to his college career, establishing himself as a regular contributor over his first two years. Not long after Scott Satterfield took over, he was indefinitely suspended, and would up never playing again. He entered the portal after the 2019 season, committed to Illinois, but backed off his pledge extremely late in the 2020 cycle.
Lyndarious Strange
Position: Safety
UofL Career Stats: None.
Strange was another player who never played a down for Louisville, transferring to Iowa Western C.C. after redshirting his first year.
Colin Wilson
Position: Running Back
UofL Career Stats: 45 rushes for 277 yards and one touchdown (11 games)
Wilson had tons of potential that was stymied by an injury and regime change. He saw action in six games as a freshman before suffering an ACL tear, but rebounded to log 208 yards and his lone touchdown at Louisville in 2018. He entered the transfer portal no long after Satterfield was hired, ending up at Fort Scott C.C.
Russ Yeast
Position: Safety
UofL Career Stats: 137 tackles (88 solo), 4.0 for loss, 0.5 sacks, 10 pass deflections, one interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries (45 games)
The son of Kentucky great Craig Yeast and a highly touted prospect out of high school, Yeast became a regular starter for Louisville on the backend, but was inconsistent at times. Coupled with a perceived lack of fit under Scott Satterfield, he went to Kansas State as a graduate transfer for the 2021 season. He had a First-Team All-Big 12 caliber year with the Wildcats, and was later selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Jaylynn Nash - USA TODAY Sports
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