** Before the day even started, UofL had 3 impact players already signed and enrolled: Chris Williams, Kordell Slater, and Ronald Walker. With the defense having lost such players as Jermaine Reve, Sheldon Rankins, James Burgess and Pio Vatuvei it was important to bring in reinforcements to help make an immediate impact in these areas. Walker a physical defensive back as well as Williams and Slater, both athletic and versatile defensive ends, will bring an immediate presence to the defense.

** There are always surprises on signing day and this day was no different for UofL fans. Landon Iakopo, Malik Williams, and Gary McCrae ended up choosing the Cardinals and faxing in their LOI’s. Williams joins Malik Staples and Dae Williams to bolster the Louisville running back corps while Iakopo provides Louisville added depth in the defensive backfield. McCrae will help supplement the loss of Keith Brown and James Burgess at the linebacker position.

** While there are always surprise additions, there are also surprise subtractions. It has been reported that Jaquelle Green was a longshot to qualify and proceeded to sign with Texas San-Antonio. Also, RB target Brian Lankford-Johnson we fully expected to sign with Louisville this past weekend but it did not work out and Lankford-Johnson ended up signing with Purdue.

** I feel like there is a need to briefly address the offensive line situation. While Louisville will lose Kelby Johnson, Aaron Epps, and Pedro Sibiea they will “gain” Robbie Bell, Kevin Austin, Toriano Roundtree, Chandler Jones, and Danny Burns. I think Coach Petrino feels good about who he has on campus and I think the talent is definitely there to work with. With that being said, I think the staff would have liked to bring in another offensive lineman, I just don’t think they absolutely needed one and so they weren’t taking just anybody. Look for a late addition or grad transfer at this position going forward.

** Overall, I really like this class. I feel it is one of the most underrated classes I have seen at UofL. Just glancing through the signees and trying to project 3 and 4 years down the road (which can be very hard) I see a lot of potential NFL players.

Superlatives:

The biggest name: Jawon Pass.

  • Jawon Pass comes to Louisville as a U.S. Army All-American. He is the QB of the future for UofL. Pass is a consensus 4* prospect.

Runner-up: Dez Fitzpatrick

Most underrated player: Chris Taylor-Yamanoha

  • It is my opinion that Chris Taylor-Yamanoha, despite being rated a 4* recruit by some outlets may still be very underrated. Taylor-Yamanoha is an incredibly athletic football player that can play and excel at both offense and defense.

Runner-up: Dae Williams

Best position group in the class: Wide Receiver

  • Bobby Petrino has compiled a recruiting class of wide receiver’s that is 2nd to none. Keion Wakefield, Chris Taylor-Yamanoha, Dez Fitzpatrick, and Seth Dawkins put together a unit that is fast, athletic, and has great size.

Runner-up: Linebacker

Biggest miss: Rodjay Burns

  • Rodjay Burns would have filled a need at cornerback, he was a local kid, he was very talented, and he spurned UofL for OSU at the very end. Need I say more? It would have been very nice to land Rodjay.

Runner-up: Trayvon Mullen (Side note: He may have never had Louisville as his favorite but the fact that his cousin Lamar Jackson is a star here means we had connections to get this done at a position we would have liked to take another player at. It’s not that we had him and lost him, it just would have been really nice to land him.)

Most Underrated: Austin Cummins

  • Cummins is an athletic tight end that does not have a high rating on any of the major websites and did not receive a ton of interest/offers. Petrino and company think they may have found a future star for UofL. There may even be a chance he could change positions in the future, this is something we will keep an eye on.

Runner-up: Mike Boykin

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Chris Person

Father, Husband, Louisville Fan. Follow me on twitter @cpersonTCZ for Louisville recruiting, news, and analysis.

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