Louisville football has secured a commitment from one of the highest-ranked recruits in school history, DeAndre Moore. With a current top-10 crop in the fold, just how much better can the Cards’ 2023 class get?
California native and former Oklahoma commit DeAndre Moore pledged to the Louisville football class of 2023 on Tuesday, making him the fourth Top 300 player in the class.
Moore, a former teammate of Louisville’s cornerstone commit Pierce Clarkson, is a consensus four-star recruit and unanimously a top 5 receiver in the 23’ class. ESPN ranks him the 18th overall player in the class, and second-best wide receiver.
Louisville football only relatively recently entered the fold for Moore.
After the departure of Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, Moore de-committed from the Sooners, and not soon after, the Louisville buzz began.
He ultimately chose the Cards over his number two school, Texas, USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, and a host of high-level power-five schools.
At 6 feet and less than 200 pounds, Moore doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of a top 50 player. However, he plays the part of a physically imposing receiver and safety.
Moore has a strong lower body, runs well after the catch, and is a sure-handed playmaker. He can stretch the field but think of it more in the way that current Cards tight end Marshon Ford does. Moore is an every-down guy, but his ability to catch in traffic, bully his way through defenders, and also outrun the opposing secondary is what makes him an elite player.
Here’s what 247Sports analyst Greg Biggins says of Moore:
“Moore is a two-way player and a legitimate top 100 prospect nationally at receiver and safety. He has a solid frame, well-muscled but isn’t stiff and is fluid in how he moves. At receiver, he has very good body control, strong hands and is excellent in jump ball situations. As a safety, he’s a smart, high IQ player with a lot of range. He’s a physical kid who is always around the ball. He’s a willing hitter and solid in coverage as well. He has good ball skills and ball awareness on both sides of the ball and although he prefers receiver, he might have more long-term upside in the secondary. He runs well but can continue to improve athletically in both his short area quickness and long speed but has all the tools to be an impact player at the next level and has NFL upside as well.”
Another caviat here is that although these highlights are indicative of a five-star caliber player, Moore put up those highlights and some gaudy stats while playing injured in 2021. That is pretty wild to think about.
How high can the Cards fly?
With Moore in the fold, Louisville football has landed its big five targets from the state of California. Moore and Clarkson, plus CB Aaron Williams, athlete Jahlil McLain, and athlete Jamari Johnson.
However, the Louisville coaching staff still appears to have its sights set on more highly-ranked players.
The question that remains is just how good can this Louisville football class be?
Well, in the words of Michael Scott, “you have no idea how high (we) can fly”.
Moore told 247Sports that Louisville football still has its sights set on a massive class.
“This class isn’t done and we’re still building,” Moore explained. “We have some more skill guys coming in and we just need some lineman. I’m going to let Pierce (Clarkson) handle that and I got the skill guys, just wait for it.”
Clarkson and Moore have already made it apparent on social media who their next targets are. Let’s take a brief look at some of the players we’ve heard have mutual interest with Louisville football.
Running Back
It all starts with five-star running back Rueben Owen– A consensus top-20 player. Owen takes an official visit to Louisville in mid-June and has Louisville in his final four. There is a world where the Cards could land Owen and top-300 back Javin Simpkins– Who also has the Cards high on his list.
Average 247Sports Position Ranking: 10th
Offensive Line
It’s of massive importance that the Cards reel in some offensive linemen in this class, and Madden Sanker is the biggest name on the list for Louisville football. The top 100 player has had the Cards as one of his favorites. He will be joined on his official visit by high three-star offensive lineman Luke Burgess. Louisville is absolutely in play to land both Sanker and Burgess as well as center Koby Keenum. Throw rising star Jordan Church into the mix, and UofL has four offensive linemen who could be potential stars of the future.
Other names to look out for include Raymond Pulido and Trevor Lauck.
Average 247Sports Position Ranking: 39th
Defense
Louisville football is set to host defensive lineman Jaybron Harvey on June 17th. Local defensive end Micah Carter– a Louisville St. X product- is likely a future Cardinal or Kentucky Wildcat. Both are being pushed by Clarkson and company to join forces.
The Cards already have secondary players in the fold, but will also host stud safety Khalil Ali on June 26th.
Average 247Sports Position Ranking: 37th
Is a Top 10 Class Possible?
Given the traction, the Louisville football staff has gained and the sheer number of official visits that the Cards are getting from some of the nation’s elite prospects, it wouldn’t be surprising if the 2023 class was far and away the best in the school history.
Currently, Louisville has the No. 7 overall class in the country via 247Sports.
However, there is a long way to go in this recruiting cycle. Although the Cards already have 4 four-star recruits, it is going to take a lot more to keep them that high in the rankings.
Using recent history as an indicator, Louisville will have to land at least 4-5 more four and five-star commits to sniff the top 10 of the 247Sports Composite rankings.
The highest finishes in school history were 23rd when UofL landed 3 four-star commitments and 27th in 2011 when they signed 3 four-stars.
This Louisville class is on-track to blow any previous signing class out of the water.
How great the 2023 class can be remains to be seen, but Louisville football is right on track to shatter any previous rankings.
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