(former 2-star WR Harry Douglas – photo via Inside the Huddle)
As Louisville football prepares for a highly anticipated season following a landmark BCS victory and the rivals to the east are excited as they get ready for a season under an energetic new head coach, much debate this offseason has surrounded recruiting. UK fans have always been known to run their mouths with nothing to back it on, as that is who they are, but new head football coach Mark Stoops has definitely ignited some excitement in the fanbase with his excellent first-year recruiting. Louisville and Charlie Strong have had a very good recruiting year thus far as well with some of their highest priorites still set to make decisions. However, it is important (every year it seems) to remind fans that football recruiting analysts do not have all the answers, and the star system is not exactly infallible. Every year, players slip through the cracks to become stars and at the same time, highly rated recruits go on to bust. The jump from high school to college football is far bigger than it is for high school basketball. Players need further development, and without proper coaching, many players fail to blossom at the college level. Others, however, develop later, work their tail off, and become collegiate studs. That is an area that Louisville has thrived in over the last decade. Unheralded recruits commit to Louisville and become major college contributors sometimes worthy of NFL contracts. Bobby Petrino did it and Charlie Strong is currently doing it. The list below includes all of the recruits since 2003 that have been awarded only 2 stars (by at least one service) who made these analysts look back and scratch their heads, thinking, “How in the hell did we miss him?” The ratings are only from Scout and Rivals, as 247Sports is still fairly new and does not go back as far.
DL Amobi Okoye, 2003. One of the biggest diamonds in the rough in Louisville football history, Okoye played as a freshman for Louisville at the young age of 16. He was as smart of a human being as we can be made and could have gone to Harvard if he wanted, but chose the Cards. He also had offers from Clemson, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, according to Scout.com. By the time he left Louisville after his senior year, he had been named first team All-Big East and AP second team All-American. He was subsequently drafted 10th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, the highest any Louisville player has been drafted since the merger. He is currently an NFL free agent.
WR Harry Douglas, 2003. Not only rated a 2-star recruit by Scout.com, but the network also misspelled his last name, adding an extra ‘S.’ Think he might have been overlooked? Scout also lists offers from Clemson, Georgia and Pitt, but the talented WR of course picked Louisville, going on to become one of the best WRs to ever play for the Cards. Over the course of his 4-year career, he had ten 100+ yard receiving games, two 200+ yard games and three games in which he caught 10+ passes, including the Orange Bowl, in which he caught 10. He was named first team All-Big East twice, and like Okoye, was named second team AP All-American his senior year. Yeah…I think he might have been overlooked. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and despite missing his entire second NFL season due to a knee injury, he has been a consistent target of QB Matt Ryan’s and a valuable receiver out of the slot.
LB Malik Jackson, 2003. No other major offers listed aside from Louisville out of high school. Listed initially as a S/DB before moving to LB at Louisville. He eventually thrived at the position, earning second team All-Big East honors for the 2006 season, ranking second in the Big East with sacks and tackles for loss (led the team in each category with 9 and 16). In the Orange Bowl, he recorded 4 tackles (2 for a loss), 1 sack and recovered a fumble. He went on to sign an undrafted free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders after the 2007 season. He currently plays for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.
C Eric Wood, 2004. The big Ohio native with an eerie resemblance to Thurman Merman from “Bad Santa” graduated high school with three BCS offers: Indiana, Cincinnati, and Louisville. He ended up in a Cards uniform and became one of the best offensive linemen in the history of the program. He started every game at center during his Cardinal career (49 straight), was named a first team freshman All-American in 2005, second team All-Big East in 2006 and first team All-Big East the following two years. After graduating, he became the second Cardinal to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft in three years (following fellow 2-star recruit Amobi Okoye) as he was taken 28th in 2009 by the Buffalo Bills. He is currently the starting center on Buffalo’s underrated offensive line.
TE Gary Barnidge, 2004. Another player with no major offers, Barnidge came to the Cards in 2004 as an unheralded recruit. Yet, with his big 6-5 frame, he became a favorite target of QB Brian Brohm over his four years in Louisville, and recorded two 100+ yard games. He exploded his senior year despite the team imploding in Steve Kragthorpe’s first year, being second on the team with 53 receptions and named first team All-Big East. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers and currently is in his first season with the Cleveland Browns.
OT Breno Giacomin, 2004. Another guy with no major offers out of high school aside from Louisville, he was initially recruited as a DE, coming into Louisville at 6-7, but weighing 242 lbs. Over the course of his Cardinal career, he played tight end his first two seasons before he bulked up to a hefty 303 lbs, eventually moving to offensive tackle. He started right tackle his senior season, and was subsequently drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. While he never got off his feet in Green Bay, he was picked up off the practice squad by the Seattle Seahawks and is currently the starting RT for the popular Super Bowl favorite.
WR Scott Long, 2005. Another bright spot during the darkest of periods, Scott Long proved to be a valuable receiver for the Cards during the 2008 and 2009 seasons when healthy. He missed the first four games of 2008 with a foot injury suffered in camp, then appeared on his way to a huge second half of the season after catching 5 catches for 146 yards in his third game back, an upset win over South Florida. He unfortunately tore his ACL the following week and was lost for the season. A very well-respected player in the locker room, he bounced back to lead Louisville in receiving his senior year with 723 yards on 53 catches and signed an undrafted free agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers the next year. He is no longer in football and has since been very involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
WR Trent Guy, 2005. While Trent never was a #1 receiver type, he proved to be one of the best return men Louisville has had in several years. An incredibly resilient young man, too, he was somehow able to overcome a gunshot wound that could have killed him and dress the first game of his junior year. He accumulated over 1,000 return yards his senior year (914 kick return yards and 139 punt return) and no one has been as valuable in the return game since he left. He signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Raiders after college (and spent some time with the Panthers, too), but has mainly been playing in the CFL, most recently with the Montreal Alouettes (where he played under current Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman) where he made headlines with a 129-yard kick return TD.
RB Bilal Powell, 2007. Charlie Strong’s first testament to his coaching ability was the development of this young man. Powell was an overlooked DB prospect in Florida and chose the Cards over Southern Miss and Michigan State. His highlight reels made it look like Louisville got a real gem, but without proper coaching, he never lived up to the player in the video reels. Until a real head coach came in, that is. His senior year in 2010 he rushed for 1,405 yards on 229 carries, good for 6.1 yards per carry. His first three years combined did not exceed 1,000 yards rushing. That, folks, is doing work, and few players have made bigger jumps in production at Louisville than Bilal Powell. He did all this while missing 2 games his senior year, and in the 10 games he played, 7 of them he rushed for over 100 yards. 2 of those games, he rushed for over 200 yards. He only exceeded 100 yards once in his previous 3 years. He became a first round All-Big East selection and 4th round draft pick of the New York Jets, where he enters his third season and his first as the #1 running back. It’s amazing what a little coaching can do.
DE Greg Scruggs, 2008. A former member of the band who did not play football until his senior year, this is the definition of a “sleeper” prospect. Had he played all four years, he may have caught on to more programs, but Louisville was lucky enough to land him over some big-time programs like Tennessee and Michigan State. He proved to be a great defensive leader in four years, playing both tackle and ended being selected in the 7th round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, where he remains a member.
WR Andrell Smith, 2009. The big, 6-4 WR out of Miami picked the Cards over UCF in 2009. Definitely a raw prospect, he always showed flashed of potential and finally realized it under Charlie Strong. He proved to be a valuable deep threat with his size and length and his ball-catching ability, which was always an issue, was very much improved by the time of his senior year. He caught 4 passes for 55 yards against Florida, including some of the biggest catches of the game, and is currently a member of the Miami Dolphins, who signed him as an undrafted free agent.
WR Damian Copeland, 2009. Copeland had a few very impressive offers, including Ole Miss and South Carolina, coming out of high school, but ultimately chose to play for Louisville. The player affectionately known as “Honey Mustard” has fought through injuries to become one of Teddy Bridgewater’s favorite and most effective targets. Despite being lumped in with 4-star talents like Eli Rogers and DeVante Parker, Copeland led the Cards in receptions in 2012 with 50 cathces for 628 yards. He goes into the 2013 figuring to be once again a hot target for Bridgewater, and will certainly have the opportunity to prove he can play on Sundays next year.
S Hakeem Smith, 2009. The safety out of Jonesboro, GA whose only major offer out of high school was Louisville made a lot of people feel stupid when he was named Big East Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2010, and he followed that campaign by being named a first team All-Big East selection in 2011 and second team in 2010 and 2012. He was recently named a second team preseason All-American by CBS Sports, and he figures to be one of Louisville’s most valuable defensive members this season.
RB Jeremy Wright, 2009. Another completely overlooked prospect in the state of Florida, Wright’s only major offer was from Louisville. He battled injuries for most of his career, but he managed 4 100+ yard games and his 84 rushing yards against Florida in the Sugar Bowl were huge. He finished his junior year rushing for 824 yards and he was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent after leaving early. He has since been cut (mainly due to injury issues) and signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
G/C Jake Smith, 2010. After redshirting his freshman season, he has started every game at offensive guard for the Cards and was named a freshman All-American. He also had no major offers and goes into this season as starting center for the first time. His development under offensive line coach Dave Borbely has been extraordinary and standing at a respectable 6-4, 312 lbs., he has the physical attributes to be one of the top interior linemen in the country.
DE Marcus Smith, 2010. Senior-to-be Marcus Smith chose to play for Charlie Strong over Florida during his recruitment and has turned into one of Louisville’s premier defensive lineman. He is the product of an outstanding coaching job, as he came into Louisville without a set position. He tried quarterback, then linebacker, but has found a home at defensive end. As a sophomore, he led Louisville with 5.5 sacks and followed that up with 4 sacks last season. His huge sack of Florida QB Jeff Driskel on a two-point conversion attempt in the Sugar Bowl is just a sample of what the big man is capable of, and he is in for a huge senior year.
RB Senorise Perry, 2010. Bilal Powell 2.0 in a way, as he was also listed as a defensive prospect by Scout.com (safety) and switched to running back. His only other offer listed out of high school was Western Carolina. Primarily a special teams player in his first 2 seasons at Louisville, he showed promise at the RB position in a backup role his sophomore year. He followed up on that promise with an outstanding junior season, in which he was the Cards’ primary back for 9 games before tearing his ACL in the 10th at Syracuse. Through those 9 games, he was on his way to a possible 1,000+ yard season on the ground as he had 702 yards up to that point, and his 4 touchdowns against Syracuse were the most by any Cardinal since Michael Bush. He utilizes his electrifying speed to explode through the tackles and is near impossible to catch in the open field. Entering his senior year, he is nearly back to 100% after recovering from his ACL injury and was added to the prestigious presesason Doak Walker Award watch list. The award is given annually to the best RB in the country.
RB Corvin Lamb, 2010. Like Perry, another 2-star recruit, but that rating was not fooling many big-time programs, including Ole Miss, Michigan and Nebraska, all of whom offered the young RB prospect. It was Louisville that came away with Lamb, though, and while the jury is still out, he has been turning heads left and right in camp. He has yet to fully break out for the Cards, but has a knack for the big play. Last season, his 53-yard TD reception against Syracuse on a screen pass happened so quick, fans almost needed to put their TVs to slow-mo to fully catch it. He still will need to prove he can pass block consistently, but he enters his sophomore season as the likely 3rd down back and will likely put his big play skills on display once again.
TE Ryan Hubbell (2012) & LB Lyn Clark (2013). I put these two together because it is far too soon to make a statement on either. Hubbell, however, was a 2-star JUCO prospect at the TE position with no major offers and is currently listed #1 on the Cards’ depth chart, ahead of former 5-star and Army All-American Gerald Christian (which could change). Clark was originally a Tulane commitment, but switched to Louisville after a huge senior season attracted bigger suitors. He has received high praise from his coaches thus far on multiple occasions. These are two guys to look out for this season and the coming seasons.
These are just the 2-star recruits Louisville has had the luxury of having suit up for them. TWO star. As in the lowest rating that can be given following an evaluation. Furthermore, 4 and 5-star players have not always panned out for the Cards. Some of them peaked early and never developed any further. Louisville landed 4-star prospects CJ Peake (S/LB) and Dale Martin (RB) in 2007, and neither amounted to much. Martin actually transferred after his freshman year and has been unheard of since. UK fans may want to remember, too, that Morgan Newton was a 4/5 star QB who was a disaster and eventually usurped by former 2-star QB Maxwell Smith, who did an admirable job. This season, the battle for UK’s signal caller is between Smith and former 3-star Jalen Whitlow, while Patrick Towles, a formerly highly recruited 4-star, is on the outside looking in and will likely transfer.
Other notable 2-star prospects who played at programs besides Louisville include reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year and former 11th overall draft pick JJ Watt\; Indianapolis Colts starting LT and former first round pick Anthony Costanzo; former West Virginia QB Pat White; former NC State/Wisconsin and current starting Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson; current Patriots starting tackle and former first rounder Nate Solder; and many others. Again, those are 2-star, not 3-star, but 2-star prospects out of high school that went above and beyond what was expected of them.
There are also, of course, those who failed to live up to the hype. Take the stories of RB Bryce Brown, who was the consensus #1 player out of high school in 2009, and RB Darrell Scott, a top-10 player in the class of 2008. Brown played in 14 college games, only exceeding 100 yards rushing once and 50 yards rushing 3 times. He was somehow drafted in the 7th round by the Eagles in 2012, where he is currently a backup. Scott, on the other hand, spent his first 2 seasons at Colorado, where he never exceeded 100 yards rushing and only 50 yards 4 times. He transferred to South Florida after his sophomore year, where he spent one season. He improved there, cracking the 100+ yard mark twice, but still underwhelmed for the most part. He still thought he was NFL ready, though, and entered the 2012 draft after his one season in Tamps, where he was not selected and still remains a free agent. Need one closer to home? How about RB Joe McKnight, the #2 player in the class 2007 (per Scout and Rivals), the same class as Bilal Powell. McKnight had an okay, not great, career for the USC Trojans and was drafted in the 4th round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, the team that selected Powell in the same round the following year. McKnight, a former #2 overall player, is now a backup (not even the primary backup) of starter Bilal Powell, a former 2-star recruit.
The point here is that evaluating football recruits is HARD. There are so many players to evaluate, it is impossible to hit 1.000 and very easy to swing and miss on several recruits. It is not like basketball, where there are only 5 positions to evaluate, and even those can be interchangeable (a SG can play SF or vice versa, a PG can also play SG and vice versa, and some players have the ability to play both PF and C). Most of the top basketball players are very developed and college ready, unlike football prospects, who play a sport that takes much more physical development. Not just that, whereas there are 5 in basketball, there are 22 positions to evaluate in football. Yes, some are also interchangeable (offensive line/defensive line positions at times), but that is still a hell of a lot more than 5. There are also players playing out of position that are difficult to evaluate. For example, a kid who is playing quarterback could be much better suited at receiver or defensive back at the next level, but with no tape to go off with him in those positions, how does anyone accurately evaluate? Answer: it’s tough.
Long story short, everything eventually comes down to the coaching. Some coaches, like Bobby Petrino and Charlie Strong, find hidden talent and understand how to coach players up to a higher level. Other coaches, like Lane Kiffin and Steve Kragthorpe, are lost when it comes to player development. It is also always wise, before bashing a coach for recruiting a 2 or 3-star recruit, to check out the prospects offer sheet and understand the history of how that coach has developed his players. Of course, there are always 2-stars who never make it above that evaluation at the next level and 4/5-stars (like Jadeveon Clowney and Teddy Bridgewater who live up to the hype. Just remember that football players always develop differently, some later than others, and there is always hidden talent and potential out there. So the next time anybody is upset Louisville is not landing enough 4 or 5-star recruits, stop…take a deep breath…and check out the list of players above. All is well.