Louisville Football Recruiting: Antar Thompson and Jared Goldwire Commit

As we mentioned in the post reporting Dejmi Dumervil Jean’s commitment earlier today, interior defensive line is Louisville’s biggest area of need for the 2018 recruiting cycle. It’s not a position of need anymore. Not with the afternoon Louisville had. With Dumervil Jean the long term answer at defensive tackle, Louisville got it’s short term answer to losing De’Asian Richardson after this season by scoring commitments from two of the nation’s best junior college defensive tackles.

Antar Thompson (6’5, 310), a defensive tackle at Highlands Community College in Kansas and Jared Goldwire (6’6, 295) both committed to the Cardinals after weekend visits. It is impossible to overstate the importance of Louisville getting impact junior college defensive tackle help to go along with Dumervil. Thompson and Goldwire are those impact tackles.

Thompson’s 247Sports profile listed offers from an impressive list of programs including Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, Colorado, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. Goldwire’s profile lists offers from Alabama, Ole Miss, TCU, Miami, and Kentucky. For Louisville to get commitments from two players with those kinds of offers speaks to the ever improving football recruiting since the move to the ACC and the job LD Scott has done identifying impact defensive tackles that can help right away.

The defensive front seven figures to be the largest focus for the entire recruiting class of 2018. It’s June and Louisville has done a good job replenishing it already. In addition to Dumervil Jean, Thompson, and Goldwire, the Cardinals welcomed South Carolina transfer OLB Boosie Whitlow who must sit out the 2017 season, and have secured a commitment from Mike Boykin, a large (6’5, 285) junior college defensive end who signed with the Cardinals in 2016 but did not qualify. While there will surely be more additions to the class for the front seven, this is a very good start toward keeping Louisville competitive with the top of the ACC and distance from the bottom of the league.