Louisville Football Recruiting Outlook: Defensive Line

Disclaimer: The depth chart as well as position changes are just my guess or what I would like to see. There’s no way to know how these things will shake out.

WHO’S COMING BACK

Henry Famurewa

G.G. Robinson

Boosie Whitlow

Derek Dorsey

Caleb Tillman

WHO’S COMING IN

Mike Boykin

I’d argue that Boykin is the recruit that fans seem to be the most excited about. He committed to Louisville out of high school but needed to take the JUCO route for a year to get his grades in order. You can definitely pencil him in at defensive end in the two deep. He will be a heavily rotated player at the very least.

Jared Goldwire

Oklahoma made a push to get Goldwire before he committed to the Cards. He will likely end up playing inside where G.G. Robinson and Drew Bailey play right now. Goldwire is a high motor player that wasn’t highly recruited out of high school. I always have concerns about guys that become higher sought after once they get to JUCO. A lot of those guys hit a wall and don’t end up being impact guys like you want from two year players. My hope is that the heavy interest in Goldwire is a sign that he won’t be one of those types.

Antar Thompson

We’ve now reached the “Keith’s favorite player in the class” section of these posts. Thompson is exactly the type of player that Louisville needed in this class. They don’t have a true nose tackle on the roster so Thompson should come in and start immediately. He is a true impact player. A guy that can get push and disrupt things for the offense and he will make plays in the backfield. Lots of teams wanted this guy and Louisville getting him was huge.

Dejmi Dumervil Jean

Elvis’ nephew is a massive human at 370 pounds or so. Dejmi is a kid that I can’t totally put my finger on. I watched one of his games earlier this season and it concerned me that he played in a box. He didn’t show the ability to make plays down the line of scrimmage. But, he ended up with 8 or 9 tackles if I’m remembering correctly. I think he needs a redshirt year to get in true shape but Louisville doesn’t have enough size coming back and they might just need him to play.

Jarrett Jackson

I’ll put it out there that I watched as much of Jarrett Jackson as I could and I didn’t really get the hype. FSU offered him shortly before he committed so it’s obvious that some pretty good coaches see something in him. Jackson will likely end up at defensive end but he could be a redshirt candidate if the coaches feel good about Derek Dorsey as a depth guy.

POTENTIAL COMMITS

Dorian Gerald

UofL going after another JUCO defensive linemen is silly, to be blunt. Gerald is committed to Tennessee but he is scheduled to visit soon. Gerald is a really good talent and would definitely be a starter at end here, but at some point you have to put a cap on two year players.

Alfred Thomas

Thomas is a guy that’s flying under the radar a bit even though he’s highly rated and has a good offer list. If the Cards were to add another guy, I’d rather them get a high school kid that they can keep around for four years. They have to avoid being in another situation where they will have to reload with JUCO players.

DEPTH CHART

End

Tabarius Peterson

Boosie Whitlow/Mike Boykin

Nose Tackle

Antar Thompson

Henry Famurewa

End

G.G. Robinson

Jared Goldwire

OUTLOOK

Louisville will try to reload on the defensive line after they lose four seniors. They went the JUCO route to bring in players after completely whiffing on the line in the 2017 class. They were able to land some real talent to plug the holes and there’s a real chance they could be improved in the interior. Antar Thompson will be an immediate impact guy in my opinion and I think they will have some versatility with Mike Boykin being a 285 pound guy that can actually get after the quarterback.

Tabarius Peterson isn’t really a defensive linemen but I think that he will have the inside track in replacing Trevon Young. He’s got a full year in the system and he has the frame to add some good weight. That position “change” could be a good one to add depth where it’s needed.

This group will have more versatility than the current team. Depth helps but the right kind of depth is the key. Whitlow, Boykin, Goldwire, and Famurewa can all play multiple spots, so the defense should actually be able to be “multiple” as all coaches say they want. Louisville missing badly last year is ridiculous, but they bounced back fairly well.