The Cardinals will try to carry a strong recruiting class into their first year in the ACC.
Louisville will be moving into the Atlantic Coast Conference next year and is already recruiting at a level that will allow the Cardinals to be competitive in their new digs. Louisville’s 2014 recruiting class is ranked 27th nationally according to the 247 Sports Composite index, good for second in their current conference, the AAC, and 5th in the ACC.
Like many of its future conference mates, Louisville is already well-accustomed to dipping into the Sunshine State for a healthy chunk of its recruiting class in any given year. The Cardinals have a whopping 10 commitments (40% of their total) from Florida prospects, and brought in a total of 32 Florida products during the four years prior.
The headliner for Louisville’s crop of Floridians in 2014 is 6’2, 170-pound receiver Isaiah Ford of Jacksonville. Ford has a massive offer list but the Cardinals’ major competition included BCS heavyweights like Florida, Florida State, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Ford is a three-star prospect and the 54th-ranked wide receiver prospect according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings.
The Cardinals’ most highly-rated commitment is 6’0, 285-pound defensive tackle Poona Ford of Hilton Head, South Carolina. Early in Ford’s recruitment, his preferences seemed difficult to pin down, and his favorite school bounced from Louisville to Ohio State to South Carolina to Tennessee (in no particular order) on a weekly basis up until he pulled the trigger on his commitment on Aug. 6. According to the 247 Sports Composite rankings, Ford is a four-star prospect, the 22nd best defensive tackle prospect in the country, and the 258th-ranked prospect overall in the 2014 cycle.
With 25 prospects already committed, Louisville’s class is getting close to full. One of the biggest names left on their board is Cincinnati defensive tackle Daniel Cage, who 247 Sports Composite index ranks as the 21st defensive tackle in the 2014 class and the 257th-best prospect overall.
Still to come — Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst
While Louisville is already recruiting at a level to compete in the ACC, it is not bringing in a level of talent that suggests it will compete with new division foes Clemson and Florida State.
Louisville is still looking to bring in four star defensive tackle Daniel Cage, a big defensive tackle from Cincinnati’s Winton Woods High School. He, along with other impact defenders, will be needed with the step up in conference competition.
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Louisville recruiting 2014: Cardinals already recruiting at an ACC …