Elite ‘24 LB T.J. Capers Reclassifies, Signs with Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program, already generating a lot of national buzz and hype ahead of year one of the Jeff Brohm era, is receiving a massive boost to their 2023 roster.

Miami (Fla.) Columbus outside linebacker T.J. Capers, one of the top prospects in the Class of 2024 and longtime Louisville commit, has reclassified to the 2023 cycle and signed with the Cardinals. The news was first reported by 247Sports and confirmed by Louisville Report. He was able to enroll in time for the last drop/add day for UofL’s final summer school term, which is Tuesday, and is expected to play this upcoming season.

Capers was originally offered a scholarship by Louisville in May of 2022 from now-former head coach Scott Satterfield and his staff. Thanks mainly to the relationship he has with recruiting coordinator John Herron, his interest in the Cardinals did not waver even after Brohm took their head coaching position last December, and he committed during the All-American Bowl in early January.

At the time of his commitment, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker/edge rusher ranked as high as the No. 5 prospect in the nation according to Rivals, and the No. 7 prospect by the 247Sports Composite. He currently ranks as the No. 48 prospect in the 2024 cycle by the Composite.

Landing Capers was not only a massive early recruiting win for Brohm, from a rankings standpoint, it's one the biggest for Louisville in the modern recruiting era. He currently sports a 247Sports Composite rating of 0.9737, which is the fourth-highest rating by a UofL recruit in program history.

His early addition also greatly enhances the linebacker room for Louisville, which is one of the weakest spots on the entire roster. While they able to retain players like Benjamin Perry and T.J Quinn while bringing in guys like Keith Brown and Stanquan Clark, depth was very much an issue. The Cardinals lost starters Yasir Abdullah, Monty Montgomery and MoMo Sanogo, while also seeing projected starters Dorian Jones and K.J. Cloyd hit the portal.

In 11 games logged by MaxPreps during his junior year at Columbus, Capers tallied 40 tackles (28 solo), 3.0 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. He helped lead the Explorers to a 14-1 overall record, securing a Florida Class 4M State Championship and the MaxPreps No. 23 national ranking.

The Cardinals will kick off their 2023 season against Georgia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, Sept. 1.

(Photo of T.J. Capers via Instagram)

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