Preston Brown, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker out of Cincinnati Northwest signed with Louisville this afternoon to put a cap on Charlie Strong's first Cardinal recruiting class.

Brown, a close friend of Winton Woods (OH) quarterback Dominique Brown, is a three-star prospect. Dominique Brown signed with U of L earlier in the day.

Hialeah (Fla.) offensive lineman Chris Acosta is the only Cardinal commit yet to fax a signed letter of intent, something he is expected to do any minute now.

This means Strong's inaugural U of L class shapes up like this (via Rivals):

SIGNED LETTER OF INTENT	Pos	Stars	Ht	Wt	40	RR	Video	Enrolled	Hometown
Chris Acosta	OL		6-5	270	5.4	5.4			Hialeah, FL
Joshua Bellamy	WR		6-1	200	4.4	5.6			Oroville, CA
Harris Bivin	DT		6-2	290	5.1	5.5			Owensboro, KY
Jamaine Brooks	DT		6-4	310	5.1	5.1			Miami, FL
Dominique Brown	ATH		6-3	215	-	5.8			Cincinnati, OH
Preston Brown	LB		6-3	220	-	5.6			Cincinnati, OH
B.J. Butler	DE		6-3	240	4.65	5.7			Kissimmee, FL
Lacy Coleman	DE		6-5	235	4.7	5.6			Tyrone, GA
Dylan Curry	TE		6-5	245	4.81	5.5			Frankfort, KY
Jarrett Davis	WR		5-11	165	-	5.4			Tyrone, GA
Kai Dominguez	WR		6-1	165	4.6	5.4			Montvale, NJ
Brandon Dunn	DE		6-3	265	4.95	5.5			Louisville, KY
Michaelee Harris	WR		6-0	167	4.59	5.9			Miami, FL
Kamal Hogan	RB		5-11	196	4.44	5.7			Montvale, NJ
Zachary  Hundertmark	OL		6-5	275	4.75	5.4			Princeton Junction, NJ
Corvin Lamb	RB		5-9	191	4.52	5.6			Miami, FL
Jordan Paschal	DB		5-10	183	4.49	5.5			Trotwood, OH
Senorise Perry	RB		6-1	190	-	5.5			Summerville, GA
Chase Petersen	OL		6-4	280	5.2	5.5			Bentonville, AR
Stephan Robinson	WR		5-9	165	-	5.6			Louisville, KY
Deon Rogers	LB		6-3	197	4.48	5.6			Port St. Lucie, FL
Randy Salmon	DT		6-1	295	-	5.6			Hutchinson, KS
Jake Smith	OL		6-4	305	-	5.5			Jacksonville, AL
Marcus Smith	ATH		6-3	210	-	5.6			Columbus, GA
Luke Woodley	QB		6-2	194	4.9	5.5			Dallas, TX

Not bad for a class that was pegged somewhere in the 70s at the time Strong took over.

Though it would have been nice to have landed Chandler, Boone or Patterson, Torrian Wilson's surprise defection (rumored to be the product of a child on the way) was the only real major blow of the day, and Strong ended up getting a commitment from a player (Preston Brown) who most expected to head elsewhere this time a week ago. 

Not bad at all. 

Despite numerous reports claiming he would follow Miami Northwestern teammate Torrian Wilson to Central Florida, four-star wide receiver Michaelee Harris has signed with Louisville.

Though he stands just six-feet tall, Harris is billed as an elite route-runner with surprisingly long arms and phenomenal hands. Scout.com says he is the 31st best receiver in the country. 

Despite stating before the season that Miami, which offered him a scholarship, was his dream school, Harris committed to Charlie Strong and Louisville on Dec. 29.

With all due respect to Dominique Brown, this is my favorite player in the class and I'm thrilled he's still on board.

Wow. Central stud linebacker Tim Patterson will be a Wildcat.

Making this worse: the fact that I already had a "Patterson stops the bleeding, commits to U of L" post written out. 

Patterson, who had been rather infamously ignored by the Kragthorpe administration, is rated as the top player in the state by every major recruiting service.

"He's a big deal," recruitiing guru Tom Lemming said of Patterson. "I know Louisville took a commitment (Pleasure Ridge Park's Brandon Dunn) from Kentucky, but (Patterson) is the best prospect in the state."

Patterson was a four-year starter at Central, and led the Yellowjackets in tackling three times. He's ranked No. 31 at outside linebacker in the nation by Rivals. As a junior he had 95 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions and as a senior he had 92 tackles in 11 games before tearing a knee ligament and undergoing surgery. He helped lead Central to two state titles during his career.

Kadron Boone and Todd Chandler both spurning Louisville wasn't particularly surprising, but now word is breaking that four-star offensive tackle Torrian Wilson, who committed to Louisville on Jan. 17, and Miami Northwestern teammate Michaelee Harris, a highly-touted wide receiver who pledged his allegiance to Charlie Strong even earlier, are signing with Central Florida.

The Miami-Herald has confirmed that Wilson is headed to UCF, and multiple online sources indicate that Harris will follow his lead. 

U of L began the day expecting to sign three players from Miami Northwestern and hoping to snag another, but now it appears just one young man, Corvin Lamb, from the heralded prep program will be heading to the Derby City.

Strong has still done a tremendous job putting this class together in the time he was afforded, but having the rug pulled out from under you at the last second like this is a pretty bitter pill to swallow. 

Recruiting sucks. 

So the morning could have gone better.

Miami Northwestern standout Todd Chandler, the 37th best defensive tackle in the nation according to Scout, has chosen South Florida over Louisville. 

The three-star prospect was considered a USF lean heading into the morning, but some thought the fact that three of his teammates had already committed to U of L might sway his decision at the last second.

This pretty much leaves the announcement of Ohio linebacker Preston Brown as the only remaining mystery of the day. Brown's good friend, quarterback Dominique Brown, officially became a Cardinal earlier this morning.

National Signing Day got off to a disappointing, albeit expected, start this morning when wide receiver Kadron Boone chose LSU over Louisville. The move was not unexpected, but Boone would have been an enormous land for Charlie Strong.

For more on what to expect from U of L today, check out the following video from Jody Demling.

Stay tuned to Demling's blog for local coverage, but be sure to check out SB Nation's all-day thread for the best national coverage. 

Happy 18-year-olds making decisions they may or may not regret for the rest of their lives day!

Another gigantic land for Charlie Strong today as Winton Woods (OH) quarterback Dominique Brown has verbally committed to Louisville.

Brown, the D-II co-offensive player of the year in Ohio, threw for 723 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 1,998 yards and 32 TDs as a senior. He chose Louisville over Ohio State and Cincinnati, the school he had been committed to before Brian Kelly accepted the Notre Dame job in December. 

The commitment of this four-star recruit could very well lead to another from a three-star as linebacker Preston Brown, a close friend of Dominique Brown's, has previously stated that he plans to attend whatever school the quarterback picks. 

Charlie Strong's cool.

That's right. A quarterback who was headed to Florida changed his mind and has instead chosen to play football for Louisville.

Go ahead and soak this one up:

"If Louisville would have never been in the mix, I would have probably went to Florida," Smith said. "But I'm glad Louisville came into the mix. I like Coach Strong a lot, and I really wanted to play for Coach Strong."

I think it was about this time last year when we were hearing, "if Western New Hampshire would have never been in the mix, I probably would have went to Louisville."

This is better. 

Oh, and four-star Miami offensive lineman Torrian Wilson also committed to Louisville yesterday. He's rated by Rivals as the No. 2 offensive guard in the country.

I'm already pumped to read the plethora of "Strong looks to put Louisville back in national spotlight" preseason stories that will be written this summer.