Louisville football hosted its most important recruiting weekend ever and rolled out the red carpet for players on their official visits. However, what led to the success of the trip was years in the making.
College football visits can provide some of the crazier NCAA-permitted moments we see in college athletics. For Louisville football, its coaching staff saw this weekend’s recruiting trip, which featured official visits for dozens of four and five-star players- as an opportunity to set itself apart.
If you follow college football recruiting, you are familiar by now with some of the cultural norms on these trips.
Each future NCAA athlete is allowed 5 OV’s per year, and locking in the right trips is crucial for most kids during the recruiting experience. On these visits, the school of the recruit’s choosing is allowed to foot the bill. Oftentimes, high-level schools spare no expense.
Players get to see the campus, experience the surrounding area, and trips often culminate in elaborate photoshoots.
Oregon often gets snaps of their players on a throne, adorning a cape and crown.
Alabama has a pretty easy pitch. Just hand them a few trophies. They have extras laying around.
At some schools, things can get a bit more… intimate.
While these guys got their horses in the back.
From the moment players and their families arrive on campus, schools roll out the red carpet.
Fancy hotel rooms filled with food, cakes, gifts, and more.
And plenty of trips to fun restaurants and other local establishments.
Over the last two years, Louisville football has taken the recruiting game to the next level for official visits.
When he arrived on campus, former Louisville football recruiting coordinator Eron Hodges sought to give players and their families a unique experience.
He was one of the first coaches to come up with the idea of partnering with a local dealership and allowing recruits to take photos in and around luxury vehicles.
“It’s a creativity thing,” Hodges told The Athletic earlier this year. “It does add a little something special that they don’t see or get on a typical basis. That’s our whole goal. Whenever we do something, no matter what school you’re at, you don’t suit up to be second.
“And the cars? That’s important because that’s what these kids aspire to have. Part of it is giving people a vision of what the future can be. It gives them something to reach for.”
Hodges left Louisville earlier this spring for TCU, but the ideas and creativity behind his strategies for OV’s were only just beginning to percolate.
For Louisville football, the 2023 class is a result of hard work and relationship building that dates back to 2021 and before.
Louisville recruiting director Pete Nochta and QB coach Pete Thomas were instrumental in landing a commitment from star QB Pierce Clarkson.
Clarkson and his father, Steve- A well-known QB guru in Califonia- have gone all-in on recruiting other big-name players to join the younger Clarkson in Louisville.
The Cardinals currently boast the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation and have been as high as 7th according to 247Sports composite rankings.
With the Clarksons squarely in the fold and coaching staff on a heater, Louisville had to culminate months of relationship-building with an unforgettable official visit.
The big weekend already led to the commitment of the No. 1 running back in the country, Rueben Owens. He is Louisville’s second-highest-rated commit ever. Two other top 100 players are considered Louisville leans, while a handful of top 300 players have placed the Cardinals in their top 5 schools.
But, what is it about Louisville football’s culture that has made a program that went 10-14 over the last two years a dream destination for the nation’s top recruits?
Let’s dive into Louisville’s most recent official visit weekend and what led to the excitement.
OVs that are changing the game
For months, the Louisville football staff had the weekend of June 17th-19th circled on their calendars.
Preparations were made and money was allocated to make it the most insane recruiting weekend on record for the program.
Players arrived in Louisville on Friday and, after checking in at the Galt House hotel downtown, were taken to an airplane hanger at Clark Co. Airport.
Awaiting them were things 16 and 17-year-olds dream of attaining: Private jets, luxury vehicles, red carpets, waiters serving them, and all of the lights and cameras kids dream of seeing on the biggest stage.
Players got the chance to hang out on private jets and pose for pictures among cars that cost more than your house.
Louisville commits and their prospective teammates took to Instagram live to showcase the scene.
Recruits’ families and coaches followed along, hanging out with other parents, getting to know coaches, and soaking in the opportunity- All on Louisville’s tab.
Day two of the visit featured tours and trips to Cardinal Stadium.
At the stadium, recruits got a chance to hang out with more luxury vehicles while staffers worked to put together uniforms tailored for each player.
The results were pretty cool.
Visitors capped their weekend with a trip to Churchill Downs for Downs After Dark.
Players got a behind-the-scenes look at the paddocks, hang out in a private box, and took in the sights on the rail at the finish line.
Louisville commit Jayden Davis’s mother put together a video recapping her experience, that seemed to not leave any stones unturned.
Dreams years in the making
Recruits called the trip everything from “a dream” and “tough to beat”, but continued to harp on their relationships with the Louisville football staff.
Many around the college football landscape have noted Louisville’s recent burst onto the recruiting scene and chalked it up as UofL taking advantage of the NCAA’s new Name, Image, and Likeness rules.
Others suggest that Louisville is paying players in some other way or using unsavory recruiting tactics.
As an outsider, it’s easy to assume that thought process.
Those close to the situation, however, vehemently disagree.
“People can say and think what they want, but it’s not about NIL,” the elder Clarkson told Jody Demling of Cardinal Authority. “It’s about trust, it’s about honesty, it’s about the staff, it’s about the city and the community.”
Those words are consistent with the actions of other players and their families.
The values of the Louisville coaching staff and current players in the program have never been disputed. Satterfield is a well-liked coach by those in his industry. Louisville offensive coordinator Lance Taylor has long been known as one of college football’s “nice guys”, and defensive coordinator Bryan Brown has been lauded by parents and fellow coaches as a tremendous leader inside and outside the lines. From the top-down, all the way to recruiting coordinator Pete Nochta, the Cardinals coaching staff has been one that extremely well-received.
It has been UofL’s play on the field and swings and misses on the recruiting trail that has led to some deserved criticism.
However, the 2023 class is one that coaches have been working to build since their arrival on campus in 2019.
“People Think This Louisville Football Thing Happened Over Night. But It Actually Started On March 3rd, 2019,” said former Sierra Vista High School coach and current college recruiting director Matt Villasenor. “When Pete Nochta Got (Premium Sports CEO Malik James) & MySelf On Campus. Pete Nochta Keep Building His Relationship With Fig/Myself!!”
It is clear that relationship building is what started the process years ago.
What people are seeing now- The planes, the cars, the expensive trips, and photoshoots- Are a culmination of a grander welcoming party than anyone has ever thrown.
That all began, though, years ago when the staff first took over. Making hundreds of phone calls. Sending constant texts. Logging thousands of miles.
Yes, NIL deals will be a factor for Louisville football both on the recruiting trail and when trying to retain players going forward. We spoke as much about this when 502 Collective- a Louisville-centric NIL collective- was officially founded this month.
That is a small piece of the puzzle, however. Every Division I program is in the NIL game, and the prospect of massive brand deals is already a factor for many programs.
What set Louisville apart started with recruiting pitches to kids during their freshman years of high school.
What we see on the outside is only scratching the surface.
