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Scott Satterfield has landed himself in a very good situation as he now appears to have more guys to add to his first recruiting class than he has room for. Louisville still has about 4-6 players that were in town for official visits last week that are being predicted to commit to the school. Louisville also has a handful of visitors on campus this weekend as well as a few transfers that they’ve added to the roster.
So, Louisville is in a bit of a numbers crunch. They only have a couple of spots left before they hit the maximum of 85 scholarships but the coaching staff will likely “oversign” knowing that there will be attrition after the spring semester. Players will graduate and be done with football and some will look to grad transfer as we saw Jon Greenard and Trey Smith do after fall graduation. I would expect some players to look to move on because they don’t fit the new system. I wouldn’t be surprised if we also see some younger players that move on at the behest of the coaching staff. This program is going through a major culture change and I’d be shocked if every player is going to buy in to that change. The question is if Scott Satterfield will move on from those players that don’t get on board.
As of this posting, Louisville has three players scheduled to visit this weekend:
Louisville is still looking to fill a spot with a high school tight end and Dez Melton is being recruited for that spot. Melton played running back in high school but will make the move to a new spot at the next level. Melton was a really productive back and he should translate to a good pass catching tight end with some coaching in college. He reportedly finished second on his team in receptions this year. He also has a really great frame that will add good weight. I think he would be a really good addition with Louisville now going after another grad transfer at tight end. That would allow Melton to come in and possibly redshirt next year.
The numbers situation will factor in here because UofL could have four tight ends on the roster if they move Tobias Little to that spot and they land another grad transfer. However, I would be surprised if the staff didn’t want to take a high school player. Without Melton or Tyler Devera, they would put themselves in the same spot next year where they’re scrambling for bodies.
Louisville started to look hard at running back option last week and Jalen Mitchell is one of the three guys they targeted. Mitchell is a good fit for UofL because he has great footwork and balance. He also has an impressive jump cut, which you don’t always see in high school. Mitchell also runs through tackles regularly and has a nice stiff arm. The biggest question with Mitchell is his speed and his burst. While he does well to make one cut and get up field, I’d like to see him get up the field a little more quickly.
Miami got an official visit from Mitchell back in December but didn’t extend an offer. As of now, Colorado State and Toledo are the other schools recruiting him. Louisville will get his final visit and should be in good shape to land Mitchell if they still have a spot to take a running back.
Monty Montgomery was a JUCO All-American this past season and UofL landed a commitment from him last week. This weekend they’re hosting another JUCO All-American in Gervarrius Owens. Owens was originally at Kansas State before he went the JUCO route and he flourished there. He ended the season with 92 tackles and 3 interceptions in 11 games.
Owens is a great fit for Bryan Brown’s defense because he gets up the field and finishes tackles against the run. I have some questions about his abilities in coverage but I think he would play at the free safety spot if he were to land at UofL. In the games that I watched, the free safety played in a deep zone more often than the other safety spot and didn’t end up in coverage against receivers too often.
Scott Satterfield has said publicly that he prefers recruiting high school players but the two JUCO guys they taken a run at are both top players at that level and they both fit the defensive scheme well. They’re still being selective with the JUCO guys they’re looking at which is a welcome change. Minnesota has the edge with Owens as of now after he took a visit there last week. UofL hasn’t offered yet but that’s somewhat expected with the lack of space. As of now he might just be an option of things fall apart with other prospects.