Miami Northwestern quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, a five-star prospect and No. 2 QB in the country according to Rivals.com, will take an official visit to Louisville this weekend according to Mike Hughes of InsideTheVille.com. Bridgewater will be joined on his visit by teammate Eli Rogers, whom ESPN lists as a four-star recruit and the 20th best receiver in the class of '11.
U of L defensive line coach Clint Hurtt made an in-home visit with both last Tuesday, and reportedly made a particularly strong impression on Rogers, who had verbally committed to Miami before the recent firing of head coach Randy Shannon. He now says the 'Canes are off his recruiting radar.
"I was surprised and it has a lot of impact," Rogers told the Orlando Sentinel after the firing. "Coach Shannon and I were pretty tight. We had built a pretty good bond."
Before the visit from Hurtt, Rogers had LSU, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati and Central Florida listed as his top four schools.
Bridgewater is still currently committed to Miami and told the Orlando Sentinel that nothing had changed when news broke of Shannon's firing last Monday.
"Nothing has changed really, except (Shannon's firing)," Bridgewater said a week ago. "That's the only thing that has changed. I'm as solid as I've always been."
Still, the expected rumors of Bridgewater's wavering have spread, and now comes today's news that he will be in the Derby City this weekend.
Here are highlights of the pair from their nationally televised game against Columbus in October:
And more from the kid they call "Heisman."
The odds of Bridgewater winding up a Cardinal are slim-to-none, but just getting him on campus is an enormous victory for Charlie Strong and company.
As for Mr. Rogers, I believe he, DeVante Parker and DaMarcus Smith could get along nicely for the next few years.
UPDATE: Teddy Bridgewater has decommitted from Miami.