By Trevor Joelson
When Bobby Petrino left the University of Louisville for the Atlanta Falcons, many thought that the Cardinal’s recruiting class was in shambles and many potential recruits began to reevaluate their options and started to look at other schools.
However, the Cardinals lost very few recruits since Petrino left. Brandon Walker, one of the top kickers in the nation, opted to switch his verbal commitment to Notre Dame University. Hargrave Military Academy teammates Kareem Crowell and Emmanuel Francis also both selected to pull back their verbal commitment.
Despite having very little time, new Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe was able to retain a good majority of the players that Petrino originally recruited, as well as bring in some new talent. These players will be able to officially become Cardinals on Wednesday Feb. 7, at noon, Cardinal Signing Day.
When it is all said and done, experts are saying that this could be the most talented recruiting class in Louisville football history.
The class is headlined by Louisville’s first ever “five-star” recruit, Woodny Turenne. According to Rivals, Turenne is the top junior college player in the nation. Turenne plays cornerback, a position that graduated seniors William Gay and Gavin Smart. He has been clocked as fast as 4.28 in the 40-yard dash and at 6-foot-2 he has the size to shut down bigger wide receivers.
The Cardinals also picked up verbal commitments from some other high profile junior college players. The most notable is Willie Williams who was rated the second best player in the 2004 class. Williams, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, has played at both the University of Miami and West Los Angeles Community College.
“Willie is a phenomenal football player,” said junior college football analyst Scott Eklund. “He’s definitely going to be a first or second round selection to play in the NFL, that’s how good he is.”
The Cardinals also got a verbal commitment from Chaz Thompson, a junior college cornerback from Weed, Calif. Thompson is a three star who, similar to Turenne, has both size and speed. Josh Chichester, a 6-foot-8 wide receiver who signed a letter of intent last year, will also be playing last year after attending a community college to get his grades up. The Louisville coaching staff is also still in pursuit of some highly ranked junior college players. Cornerback Kenny Graham, defensive end Alex Cook and linebacker Brian Ellis are all four stars that have showed heavy interest in U of L.
Louisville did a good job of keeping their local talent. Doug Beaumont, Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky, and all state running back Victor Anderson, have both given verbal commitments to the Cards. Both are listed as four star recruits. Beaumont attended Male High School and plays wide receiver, running back and quarterback. Anderson, who played at St. Xavier pulled back on his verbal commitment to West Virginia in favor of the Cards. St. X head coach Mike Glaser, who coached four current U of L players, called Anderson “probably the best player I have ever coached.”
Coach Kragthorpe also receiver commitments from some prospects that were very highly touted nationally. C.J. Peake pulled out of a verbal commitment to Wisconsin and passed up scholarship offers to schools such as Ohio State University and University of Michigan in favor of the Cards. Matt Simms was one of the Cardinals very first verbal commitments but reneged on his verbal commitment when Petrino left. After an in-home visit from Kragthorpe, he decided recommit to Louisville.
Much of the Cardinals success on the recruiting trail comes from their achievement the past two seasons. With continued recruiting prowess students feel the Cardinals could be seeing a lot of future success.
“The success of the football team, especially with the BCS win, has allowed the team to reload rather than rebuild,” said civil engineering major Alex Frommeyer. “This year’s recruiting class is a good example of that.”
