Ahmari Huggins-Bruce Louisville vs. James Madison 11-5-2022 Photo by William Caudill, TheCrunchZone.com

2023 Louisville Wide Receivers

Mark BlankenbakerAugust 23, 2023

Last year the Cards suffered from a lack of depth at Wide Receiver. Tyler Hudson was the lone standout hauling in 69 catches for 1034 yards and 2 TDs. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce was still very green at times and Braden Smith was coming off a terrible injury that he suffered during the 2021 season. Additionally Miami transfer Dee Wiggins only lasted 3 games before being lost for the year. The Cards were HAMPERED at Wide Receiver outside of Hudson as its veteran talent transferred (Tyler Harrell, Jordan Watkins) and the young promising players were still cutting their teeth.

Braden Smith and Dee Wiggins both transferred to Cincinnati with Scott Satterfield and freshman Chance Morrow transferred to Buffalo after his redshirt season. But as with most of the positions at Louisville Football in 2023 Jeff Brohm went to the transfer portal and transformed the wide receiver room.

Depth was a problem last year…… that isn’t the case in 2023.

To start Louisville went out and got Georgia State’s Jamari Thrash. Thrash was one of the most coveted WR transfers in the market as a result of last season’s 61 catch, 1122 yard and 7 TD season at Georgia State. Even more impressive? Georgia State only threw for 2443 yards last year meaning that Trash accounted 45.9% of the Panthers passing game in 2022. What does Thrash do in the Jeff Brohm offense?

Thrash is going to get a lot of attention…. but he’s not the only Card vying for the ball. Tennessee transfer Jimmy Calloway has brought a new level of competition to the wide receiver room. Originally from Georgia, Calloway was the #146 player overall in the 2020 class as a 4-star recruit. I’d expect Calloway to play a ton at multiple positions in this offense. Fans are going to notice.

Former Ballard Bruin Elijah Downing was with the Cards in 2022 and hauled in 1 catch. But it’s unlikely that Downing doesn’t impact the Louisville passing game in 2023. Downing has a BIG frame and in the open practices we were able to see, the QBs seemed to have a strong connection with him.

Louisville finally got Allan Houston to campus. This time it is Ballard, Tennessee Vol and New York Knicks’ legend Allan Houston’s son. Houston has 2 seasons of eligibility remaining, comes from the Ivy League’s Brown University.

My Projected Depth Chart

#1 Jamari Thrash 6’1, 185, R-Jr.
#7 Jimmy Calloway 6’0, 190, R-Soph
#86 Elijah Downing 6’5, 200, R-Soph.
#83 Allan Houston 6’1, 190, R-Sr.

Chris Bell has drawn rave reviews in practice. Bell was a true freshman in 2022 and managed to catch 7 passes. But Bell seems to be developing rapidly even though he was slowed this Spring with an injury. Bell’s frame, wide catch radius and physical play have him looking like a breakout year is on the horizon for the Mississippi native.

Chicago native Jadon Thompson comes to Louisville from the Cincinnati Bearcats where he hauled in 26 catches for 383 yards and a score in 2022. Jadon was a 4-star player out of high school and was the #5 ranked player in Illinois in 2020.

2023 4-star William Fowles comes to Louisville from Miami’s Dade Christian. Fowles attracted a lot of national attention as a result of his 1100 yard and 19 TD season as a junior. Fowles had his senior year cut short, but he’s healthy and looks like a legit talent on the field. This is a very promising prospect and a very talented group.

My Projected Depth Chart

#0 Chris Bell 6’2, 225, Soph.
#2 Jadon Thompson 6’2, 190, Jr.
#88 William Fowles, 6’3, 205, Fr.

SLOT

Jackson State transfer Kevin Coleman caught 32 passes for 475 yards and 3TDs as a true freshman playing for Deion Sanders. A St. Louis native, Coleman was a 4-star recruit (#54 player overall) out of high school with offers from all of the major programs in college football. Coleman brings a panache to the position…. and it’s a position that Jeff Brohm loves to use in the quick game.

Hopefully Coleman’s presence lights a fire under Ahmari Huggins-Bruce. Ahmari is simply too talented to disappear from focus like he did at the end of 2022. In the final 4 games of 2022 AHB caught just 4 passes for -2 yards. We’ve seen EXCITING flashes from Ahmari in his two seasons as a Card so hopefully we can see more consistency from him in 2023.

Cataurus Hicks comes from Miami Central with Cardinal Stanquan Clark. Hicks can just play football. He wasn’t the highest rated guy, but he did come from a powerhouse program and had several legit offers. I’m not expecting a lot from Hicks as a true freshman, but this receiver’s future looks bright. Also St. John Bosco freshman Jahlil McClain is also likely to factor into the mix as his freshman progresses. McClain also comes from a football powerhouse with an exceptionally strong offer sheet. It will be interesting to see when Jahlil emerges on the scene for college football.

My Projected Depth Chart