Many Kentucky prospects anticipated to attend Louisville v. Clemson game
For the second straight season ESPN's College Gameday returns to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium to watch Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals take on one of the top teams in the ACC. The reigning Heisman Winer will take on the "attacking" national champion Clemson Tigers.
While there is a long list of anticipated visitors from the Southeast to the Midwest, the entire state of Kentucky is well represented and will run shoulders with some of the top prospects in the nation.
Here are the list of anticipated visitors for the game broken down by class:
Weakside defensive end
2 STARS
Louisville
RR: 5.2
Ht: 6'5.0"
Wt: 232.0
Class: 2018
-
POSITION
-
NATIONAL
-
STATE
Commitment status:
undecided
McDuffie is the rare example of a Senior picking up new offers after the summer. He has been dominant in the early going for Trinity recording nine sacks in four games to go along with an interception. His production has picked up new offers from Toledo and Syracuse. The Louisville staff has extended an invite to McDuffie personally and I wouldn't rule out an offer from the 'Cards at some point this season.
The only other 2018 Kentucky recruit to receive an invite was duPont Manual offensive tackle Dalen Horton. I haven't gotten a chance to take in a Manual game this season but I did see Horton at Louisville Light up the Ville came over the summer and the staff seemed to like him. Not sure if he will be on offer watch but I wouldn't be surprised if he was given a preferred walk on spot if he doesn't have one already.
Strongside defensive end
3 STARS
Louisville
RR: 5.6
Ht: 6'2.0"
Wt: 250.0
Class: 2019
-
NATIONAL
Commitment status:
undecided
Barber does not currently hold an offer from Louisville at the moment but the staff really likes him. The hold up is that at 6-foot-2, 250-pounds he is undersized for a DT and Louisville is uncertain if he projects at DE at the moment. If he can show on film that he has the get off and hands to play DE this season look for an offer. On the other hand, if he can bulk up he may very well land an offer as a DT.
Offensive tackle
3 STARS
Glasgow
RR: 5.6
Ht: 6'5.0"
Wt: 270.0
Class: 2019
-
NATIONAL
Commitment status:
undecided
Bowles is one of the best offensive line prospects in the state and holds an offer from Louisville. His biggest offer is from LSU, among others like Tennessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Indiana. Bowles is a certainly a high priority target for Louisville.
Offensive tackle
4 STARS
Georgetown
RR: 5.8
Ht: 6'4.0"
Wt: 290.0
Class: 2019
Commitment status:
undecided
Hudson is atmospheric on the recruiting trail, he's everywhere. I remember him popping up at FSU when I was down there for a Spring practice, then in NY for the Hershey Track and Field Indoor Nationals, later in the Summer I saw him at a Louisville camp, followed by two Kentucky camps I attended.
The 6-ffot-4, 290-pound left tackle holds offers from Louisville as well as Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, UNC, Duke, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Indiana, Rutgers, and Kent State. The Louisville staff has been recruiting Hudson hard and they will continue to push for the Georgetown native until the 2019 National Signing Day.
Weakside defensive end
3 STARS
Louisville
RR: 5.7
Ht: 6'3.0"
Wt: 210.0
Class: 2019
-
NATIONAL
Commitment status:
undecided
Rumors I have heard suggest that Knight-Goff is a Kentucky lean so the ESPN Gameday nod for Louisville is a big chance to show the Doss edge rusher what type of big time games he will play in if he stays home.
Defensive tackle
4 STARS
Notre Dame
Bowling Green
RR: 5.8
Ht: 6'2.0"
Wt: 295.0
Class: 2019
Commitment status:
verbal
The Notre Dame commit is one of the most dominant interior defensive lineman in the 2019 class and the Louisville defensive staff will fight for a flip until the end. Lacey appears very solid in his commitment to the Irish, attended their close lose to Georgia last week, and is an active Notre Dame supporter on social media. That being said, the 2019 national signing day is way off in the distance and he is one of Louisville's top priorities.
Outside linebacker
0 STARS
Barboursville
RR: 0.0
Ht: 6'2.0"
Wt: 210.0
Class: 2019
-
POSITION
-
NATIONAL
-
STATE
Commitment status:
undecided
Renfro is still awaiting his first offer but the Louisville staff likes him and he is very popular with most of the top in-state recruits in the 2019 class. He
Athlete
3 STARS
Louisville
RR: 5.5
Ht: 6'3.0"
Wt: 220.0
Class: 2019
-
POSITION
-
NATIONAL
Commitment status:
undecided
Robbins is a big fast athlete who works hard in the gym and runs track in the offseason. He and the duPont Manual Crimsons have had a rough start to the season so far but that hasn't stopped coaches from offering him as he just recently picked up a scholarship from Vanderbilt, adding to his list that includes Louisville, South Carolina, Toledo, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, and Miami of Ohio. Early indications suggest Louisville leads early for Robbins.
Athlete
3 STARS
Frankort
RR: 5.5
Ht: 5'8.0"
Wt: 171.0
Class: 2019
-
POSITION
-
NATIONAL
Commitment status:
undecided
Robinson is one of the most explosive players in the state and if they considered Juniors for Mr. Football he would be running away with the award right now. Robinson is also a standout on the baseball diamond and Louisville would be a good program for him because their football and baseball teams are usually top 25 caliber every year. In addition to Louisville, Robinson holds offers from Kentucky, Purdue, Syracuse, Virginia, and Cincinnati. Robinson does not claim a leader at the moment.
Weakside defensive end
3 STARS
Louisville
RR: 5.5
Ht: 6'6.0"
Wt: 220.0
Class: 2019
-
POSITION
-
NATIONAL
Commitment status:
undecided
Weaver is a talented athlete with offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Purdue, Vanderbilt, and Marshall. I last spoke to Weaver during summer practice and he told me Louisville is his leader at the moment but he is still giving an ear to other programs and hopes to camp at other schools in the summer of 2019. That being said, if things go well for Weaver on this visit I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled the trigger and gave Louisville his verbal commitment.
Wide Receiver
4 STARS
Louisville
RR: 5.8
Ht: 6'3.0"
Wt: 190.0
Class: 2019
Commitment status:
undecided
Milton Wright is one of the best athletes in the country and does it all for CAL playing receiver, running back, sometimes QB, lining up at Free Safety on defense, and returning kicks. He was the WR MVP at the Columbus Rivals Three Stripe camp this Spring and Rivals has him ranked as the second best player in the 2019 class behind Michigan commit Stephen Herron. Wright is one of the top priorities for Louisville's 2019 class, not just in-state but nationally. Getting the national recruit in-state recruit to stay home will be no easy task however, as the 6-foot-3 athlete already claims offers from Ohio State, Oregon, Kentucky, Purdue, Pitt, Illinois, and has drawn interest from many other national programs.
Another 2019 recruit who received an invite from the 'Cards was Owensboro Catholic RB Von Williams.
Athlete
0 STARS
Danville
RR: 0.0
Ht: 6'1.0"
Wt: 185.0
Class: 2020
-
POSITION
-
NATIONAL
-
STATE
Commitment status:
undecided
Landen Bartleson is an interesting prospect from Boyle County. He is one of the fastest track athletes in the state with a personal record of 10.95 in the 100-meter-dash as well as a 22.42 in the 200-meter-dash. It is uncertain where he projects at this point on the gridiron but if I had to guess right now it would be free safety.
Ben Bentley a 2020 offensive lineman from Belfry will also be in attendance for the Clemson game.
The 2018 class is likely finished except for AJ McDuffie who I think will eventually land an offer from the 'Cards. The question at that point will be did they wait to long to pull the trigger? It has been expressed to me by a source that Kentucky is also very high on McDuffie and he has very serious interest in both in-state schools as well as Ohio State, where he just visited with Rondale Moore last weekend, as well as Oklahoma, Oregon, Purdue,
Seems like the Cards have put a heavy emphasis on keeping the 2019 class in state with their RedGate19 initiative. Of those recruits they appear to be in the best shape with Aidan Robbins, JJ Weaver, and Milton Wright while being still in the mix for many others. It is still way too early to make a call on where any of that class will sign but for now Louisville is in the best shape with those three, and still in the mix for all the others.
