Wynnedbag Wish List: Offense

Recruiting is picking up for Louisville and the staff seems to be in really good shape with some of their top targets. The staff has seven commitments in the class right now and the recruiting sites have them in good shape for around eight more guys at this time. I figured it would be a good time to go through the Louisville targets to figure out which guys I would like to see the staff add to the class.

I only included guys on the list that I know the staff is recruiting. These guys have also shown some sort of interest in UofL by visiting, stating so in an interview, or through my creepy internet sleuthing. The goal wasn’t to predict who will be in the class but some of these guys have been predicted to pick Louisville by recruiting industry folks that get paid to know these things.

QUARTERBACK

SHEDUER SANDERS - Louisville is in solid shape at quarterback with Micale Cunningham having another year of eligibility and Evan Conley and Tee Webb sitting and developing. Because of that, they don’t neccesarily need a quarterback who can come in and compete for the starting spot. Sanders fits that as he is a talented kid who could use a year to put on some weight and work on some aspects of his game.

Chayden Peery is another target for the Cards but I think Sanders is more polished and a bit better in the pocket. Sanders obviously has access to some high level training with his dad being Deion Sanders and to me, it seems as though that has paid off some. He still has plenty to work on like all high school players but I think he’s the guy UofL is targeting that seems to be the furthest along.

RUNNING BACK

JUSTIN JOHNSON - Louisville missed out on Corey Kiner when LSU came calling and apparently sold him on the program in one virtual visit. There’s no shame in losing a player to the defending national champions but it leaves Lousiville in a position where they have to play from behind a bit with some of their other running back targets.

Johnson is one of those guys as he seemed to be high on West Virginia and UofL a few months ago but WVU appears to have a step on the Cards now. Johnson is a versatile back who can catch the ball out of the backfield and he also has a frame that can add some good bulk to it. Johsnon will reportedly take his first official visit to WVU but there’s no way to know when that will be. That gives Louisville plenty of time to build on their relationship with him.

WIDE RECEIVERS

JOSHUA BURRELL - It appears that Louisville will be taking one outside receiver and one inside guy in this class. Burrell is my choice out of the guys that they seem to have a shot with. He has the size you want at 6-2/205 and I really love his speed and movement as a runner. He’s a fluid athlete who can also muscle up and make catches in the air or when he’s being closely guarded.

I’m not sure where his recruitment stands but UofL appears to be battling FSU and Virginia Tech for his services. Burrell has a twin brother who plays safety. I wouldn’t be all that shocked if they decided to play together in college.

AHMARI HUGGINS-BRUCE - For the slot spot in the class I think Huggins-Bruce would be a big pickup for Louisville. He has enough length to play outside but he has that speed and quickness combination that we see with Tutu Atwell. He also plays a “slot back” type of role in his high school offense which has him running jet sweeps and other plays that get the ball in his hands to let him go to work. The fit is obviously there but there’s a lot to like about his potential development. As he gets a big bigger, I could see him being a guy that they can use outside as well as in the slot. That will only help his value iin the offense.

As of now, Rivals has a couple of predictions for Huggins-Bruce with Dave Lackford of CardinalSports.com among them. Lackford has been perfect with his predictions so far this cycle so that’s a good sign.

TIGHT END

JORDAN DINGLE - Louisville already has Vic Mullen in the class so they need to add a player who fits at the H-Back role that Marshon Ford plays. That might be a nice selling point for Dingle. He has offers from Ohio State, UK, and Georgia Tech where his brother plays so UofL isn’t really in the driver’s seat. However, Stu Holt knows the Bowling Green area well and has a history of coaching guys who ended up in the NFL.

I’m not too optimistic when it comes to Dingle, but I do wonder if he ends up taking his time with his recruitment. Plenty of guys are committing now because they want to save their spot but Dingle doesn’t have to worry about that as he is likely at the top of the board for every school he’s considering.

OFFENSIVE LINE

MICHAEL GONZALEZ - Louisville has three spots left for offensive linemen in the class if they’re looking to take five guys again. That leaves three spots left and I think they’re in good shape to land guys that are at the top of the list right now. Gonzalez could be the second player that projects as a guard in the class. He has Louisville in his top five and I think if he’s willing to leave the North Carolina area, UofL will be his pick.

MICHAEL MYSLINSKI - Louisville is recruiting Myslinski as a center and I’m hopeful that Dwayne Ledford’s increased noteriety will help him pull in a guy that’s being recruited by some high profile programs. FSU and Texas are the big name schools that would typically stick out when you look at offers but Iowa is the team to beat when it comes to offensive linemen. Ledford gave him his first power five offer and he was able to visit campus before they were shut down, but he also took a trip to Iowa. We’ll have to see what happens here but I think that UofL has a good shot.

TYLER MARO - Diego Pounds is the higher profile target but I really like the trend of Ledford going after these ling and lean guys that have the potential to put on weight as they develop. Maro is a guy that UofL was in on early and since then he’s picked up a good amount of high level offers. He’s a kid from Iowa so I think that Iowa State has an early lead for him. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he were to wait for an Iowa offer.

Pounds seems to be the focus but since this is my wish list, I’m going with Maro as the guy I hope ends up in the class.