By Derek DeBurger

National signing day has come and gone and the Cardinals have wrapped up one of their smaller classes in recent memory.

The 15-man class ranks 66th nationally and 15th in the ACC with no top-300 recruits, but Jeff Brohm and the coaching staff feel very happy with how it all came together.

With no new recruits likely to come in, let’s take a look at Louisville’s class of 2025 recruiting class.

CJ May

Four-Star Edge

It should come as no surprise that the lone four-star of the class had a very impressive offer sheet. Schools like Georgia, Notre Dame, Clemson and more wanted May due to his high motor, college-ready build and high ceiling. He also played both sides of the ball in high school showing his versatility, although he is only expected to play on the defensive line in college. May is currently better against the pass than the run, so he may see the field in spots in 2025 but is unlikely to burn his redshirt.

Mason Mims

Three-Star Quarterback

Mims is probably the player the staff has the most excitement about, and it shows when you look at his highlight reels. He has a strong arm and the ability to run around and escape the pocket when need be, but his scrambling is primarily to buy himself more time. Mims also has what good modern quarterbacks do and that’s the ability to change arm angles and still deliver accurate passes. I think Mims will see the field in 2025, but only in blowouts where Jeff Brohm makes a point to play as many quarterbacks in one drive as possible.

Micah Rice

Three-Star Safety

Rice is one of the handful of local kids in this recruiting class out of North Oldham High School, and he signed with the Cards over rival Kentucky. Rice has good size for a safety at 6-foot-2, but is a bit slight at 185 lbs. He is a very aggressive safety, however, so a bit more muscle would greatly benefit his style of play. Rice likely won’t see the field early on, but could develop into a very helpful player who becomes crucial in the run defense of future Cardinals defenses.

Jamarice Wilder

Three-Star Running Back

Wilder is another player with a very impressive offer sheet. Schools like Colorado, Indiana, West Virginia, Michigan State and more were all vying to get Wilder in their backfield. Chris Barclay has proven himself to be not only a fantastic evaluator of talent at the position, but a great developer, too. The Cards have had their running back room raided this transfer portal, so unless the staff can get some impact transfers to commit to the team Wilder will likely be the third-string back behind Isaac Brown and Duke Watson.

Cameron White

Three-Star Edge

Schools like Oregon, Miami, Texas A&M and Michigan offered White because of his experience at nearly every linebacker position and his high upside. White has played both as a coverage linebacker and a pure pass rusher, so there are a number of ways the staff could choose to develop him. The linebackers have been the weak link of the defense in the past couple of years, but White is unlikely to see the field much and even more unlikely to burn a redshirt.

Kamare Williams

Three-Star Wide Receiver

Williams was one of two flips of Louisville’s recruiting class after being previously committed to Arkansas. Louisville wasn’t the only school, however, trying to flip Williams as he had offers from Kentucky and Auburn as well. Williams is a possession receiver with strong hands and a strong body despite a frame that is not overwhelming. He offers something different than pretty much every receiver on the Cardinals’ roster, and could provide a great change of pace once he develops his skills in a redshirt season.

Caleb Matelau

Three-Star Linebacker

Keith Wynn of Card Chronicle described Matelau as his favorite player of Louisville’s 2025 recruiting class. It’s very probably because of his high motor and high success rate in high school when blitzing quarterbacks. He has good height for a linebacker at 6-foot-2, but, like most freshmen, he is a bit small at 215 lbs. I don’t expect him to see the field much, but if his pass rushing is too good to sit on the bench he may be a contributor next season.

Antonio Harris

Three-Star Cornerback

Harris is another local kid out of Male High School. At Male, Harris played just about every position on both offense and defense, so he clearly has the athleticism to be a major contributor at the next level. Harris will play at cornerback, and because of his offensive background he has unique ball skills for a defender. He’s very much a project, so in spite of the number of departures in the Louisville secondary I don’t expect Harris to see the field in 2025.

Gradey Anthony

Three-Star Inside-Lineman

Playing with Rice at North Oldham, Anthony is a local kid that is very much a project. The only other offer Anthony received was FCS Eastern Kentucky due to his small size as an offensive lineman. He has the height at 6-foot-5, but is only 266 lbs so he needs to put on some weight before he can see the field. His smaller size lent toward quicker play from Anthony, so we’ll see if he can maintain that as he builds muscle in the future.

Grant Houser

Three-Star Tight End

Houser is a great blocker at the tight end position, and especially for his age. He’s a work in progress as a pass catcher, but he has the potential to be a quarterback-friendly safety blanket across the middle. He will not see the field in the upcoming season, but he could see the field as a blocking tight end in the next couple of years before he gets his receiving-legs under him.

Dillon Smith

Three-Star Defensive Lineman

A contributor on a team that most recently competed for the Kentucky Class 6-A state title, Smith is a work in progress. He played both defensive end and tight end at Ryle High School, so he has incredibly unique skills as a pass defender on the defensive line. He had multiple career interceptions and pass break-ups on the D-line at Ryle, including one pick-six. Outside of his ball skills, Smith is a bit of a one-trick pony. He needs to develop both his size and skills before he can see the field, but if he ever does then he could give the Cards a weapon that no other college football teams possess.

Bailey Abercrombie

Three-Star Defensive Lineman

Abercrombie is a defensive tackle with a bag of moves and a high ceiling. He showed a tendency to use both bull rushes and swim moves, and successfully so against single and double teams on O-lines. He needs to bulk up before he can see the field, but he’s already working with a high floor with his skills.

Brock Coffman

Three-Star Wide Receiver

A flip from Ohio on signing day, Coffman is a Lexington native who decided to travel west for his higher education. Coffman racked up 261 catches, 3,715 yards and 56 touchdowns in his high school career, which are all top-10 in Kentucky state history. Coffman also won the Class 1-A state title this season at Lexington Sayre High School. Louisville has a deep receiver room, so Coffman won’t see the field much in 2025 but he has big upside.

Eric Hazzard

Three-Star Edge

Hazzard is an edge rusher with a high motor and good athleticism to compliment. He lacks any moves other than a plain bull rush on the line, but he had great results in high school with that one move. Hazzard also had offers from Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State, which are all good schools. He has great potential, but he needs to sit and learn before he can see the field.

Tyler Folmar

Three-Star Offensive Tackle

Folmar is one of the rare incoming freshmen who probably needs to lose a little bit of weight before he sees the field. To be clear, Folmar has incredible size at 6-foot-6 and 330 lbs, but to play tackle you need both size and mobility. He will probably have to lose some weight while putting on some muscle, all while working on his skillset. Folmar won’t see the field in 2025, but has big upside to make an impact in a Brohm-offense.

Photo by Vinny Porco