Breaking Down Louisville’s 2023 Early Signing Period
The Cardinals were able to secure 14 National Letters of Intent on the first day of the early signing period.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a fantastic first year under head coach Jeff Brohm, the Louisville football program was able to parlay that momentum out onto the recruiting trail. On Wednesday, the first day of the 2023 Early Signing Period, the Cardinals were able to secure 14 Letters of Intent from their Class of 2024 high school commitments.
Unlike last season, this year’s early signing period featured much less drama and suspense. There wasn’t much chatter that any of Louisville’s commits could flip at the 11th hour, and the Cardinals were able to sign every single one of their scholarship high school verbal pledges.
As a result, we’ve very likely seen the last of Louisville’s recruiting efforts in the 2024 high school cycle. The staff did actively try to flip offensive tackle Kai Greer and wide receiver Kevin Levy at the last minute, but each prospect wound up sticking to their commitments and signing with Georgia Tech and Rutgers, respectively.
Don’t completely rule out Louisville potentially adding more high school talent during the traditional Signing Day in February, but from here, expect them to almost exclusively focus on recruiting the transfer portal to address remaining roster needs for 2024. Especially since we don’t yet know who plans on entering the portal after the Holiday Bowl.
Sure, when you go by pure recruiting rankings, Joseph “JoJo” Stone Jr. and Duke Watson were the two best high school prospects to sign on Wednesday, as both were top-400 prospects.
But there is a case to be made that quarterback Deuce Adams was the most impactful signing of the day. Louisville got involved very early with Adams to help establish a strong unwavering relationship, and he took a large step forward during his senior season in high school. Playing in the toughest district in Texas high school football, he completed 69.9 percent of his throws for 27 touchdowns and only one interception. Under Brohm and Co., the sky is the limit with his development at the next level, and he very well could start in 2025.
Given Brohm’s status as an offensive-minded coach who likes to light up the scoreboard, it’s no surprise that Louisville’s best work in this high school recruiting cycle came with recruiting the offensive skill positions. Isaac Brown and Duke Watson are an incredibly dynamic duo out of the backfield, Joseph Stone is a speedster who is excellent with the ball in his hands, Shaun Boykins was a tremendous local recruiting win that has long term potential, and Dylan Mesman has the opportunity to thrive in this offense.
