By Dalton Ray–
Don’t look now, but the class of 2016 football recruiting class is almost complete. As of Oct. 14, the Cardinals have 21 commits. Last year the 2015 class consisted of 25 recruits, and it would be reasonable to think the staff will cap off soon.
There are only 13 seniors or redshirt seniors on the team but only 16 redshirt juniors who are academically ready to graduate.
The crown of the class comes in four star quarterback Jawon Pass. The Georgia native is rated one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation. At 6-foot-5, 210-lbs, Pass has a frame Head Coach Bobby Petrino can work with. Pass has a big arm and shows good in-pocket mechanics and awareness. He can definitely make plays with his feet, but he is still very raw as a passer.
One thing he’ll need to help him out is big time receivers, which is what Louisville has. According to ESPN, three of Louisville’s top five recruits are wide receivers.
The trio for the four letter network are Chris-Taylor Yamanoha, Seth Dawkins and Desmond Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is highly regarded by multiple recruiting outlets. Keion Wakefield is the other committed wide out for the Cardinals, hailing from Louisville’s own Male High School.
In the last two classes Petrino and his staff have brought in ten receivers. The top rated defensive recruits are the safety duo Jaquelle Green and Lamarques Thomas, both from come Mississippi. Former Cardinal and now defensive line coach LD Scott has beeen hitting Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi very hard.
“We’re gonna go back to when I was here before and really hit hard in the states of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and then recruiting hard, obviously, here in the state of Kentucky. And then we do have everyone assigned to different places across the country,” Petrino said. “Last year I think we signed guys from 11 different states, so it’s definitely been a good place to recruit to. We just feel like we have to get guys on campus.”
Louisville has also stayed in the city when it comes to keeping the in-state kids at home. Along with Wakefield, there are three other recruits from Louisville, including Trinity’s Rodjay Burns.
Between Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi, U of L has found 14 of their 21 recruits.
The class ranks in the top 35 in between the four major recruiting sites of ESPN, scout.com, rivals.com, and 247sports.
The remaining top targets include defensive tackle TJ London, cornerback PJ Hall, offensive line Brandon Hill, wide receiver Darnell Salomon and tight end Darel Middleton. If the Cardinals can pull these remaining recruits, the class could be wrapping up soon.
