Could Louisville football pull off a major flip? Exploring how the Cards could land a 2-for-1.
After a hot summer on the recruiting trail that saw several west-coast prospects join #FlyVille23, the momentum has since shifted back east to one of the biggest talent hotbeds in the country: south Florida. Louisville football has already received commitments from Fort Meyers native, Jordan Church and a trio of Miami-area playmakers including Rayquan Adkins, William Fowles, and Stanquan Clark. There have been recent rumblings about Louisville catching the attention of a dynamic duo of prospects hailing from Miami.
Robby and Bobby Washington are twin brothers entering their senior season at Miami Palmetto High School, after transferring from Miami Killian where they played their past three seasons. The brothers committed to Miami back in March but have since told 247 Sports that they plan to take an official visit to Louisville this fall, indicating that the Cards are still very much in the running for the duo’s talents.
Bobby Washington is listed at 6-3, 215lbs and plays the linebacker position. He is ranked as a three-star prospect across all major recruiting sites. His brother, Robby, plays on the other side of the ball as a four-star ATH and is listed at 5-10, 185lbs. He takes most of his snaps at the wide receiver position, which is likely where he will translate best in college, but he has also spent time playing running back.
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What the brothers bring to the table
I’ll save a whole film breakdown for when I write their commitment article (fingers crossed), but let’s briefly discuss what makes both prospects appealing targets for the class of ’23.
Robby is an electric playmaker at the wide receiver position who has game breaking speed and zero to sixty acceleration. A legitimate threat to score every time he touches the ball, he can take the top off the defense with ease and can turn a slant route into a house call when he hits the open field. He is also a deadly return man and took multiple punts in for touchdowns during his junior year. He has demonstrated that he can win with more than just speed, showing a surprising level of refinement in his releases off the line. If he can improve his consistency with his catch technique, he will remind many cardinal fans of another Miami speedster, Tutu Atwell.
Bobby is an aggressive and hard-hitting linebacker prospect who looks to bring the pain to whoever is unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of his tackles. He is quick to trigger and come down hill to find the ball carrier and deliver a strike. His best work comes in the box against the run game and he has good size and athleticism to develop his game against the pass, although his best role may come as an outside rush linebacker. His biggest area of improvement is to develop his tackling technique and wrap up his targets when aiming to bring them down rather than always aiming for the kill, but he brings the right attitude and temperament that the position demands as well as ample physical tools to work with.
Keys to their recruitment
As previously mentioned, the brothers are both currently committed to the Miami Hurricanes. However, their willingness to take an official visit to Louisville football suggests that their recruitment battle, at least for the moment, is far from over. So how, despite the duo being committed to their hometown school since March of this year, have the Cards caught their attention? It all boils down to one simple concept: relationships.
Prior to transferring to Miami Palmetto, the Washington brothers played at Miami Killian, which was also where recent Cardinal commit Stanquan Clark played before transferring to Miami Central. Player relationships have already been a major trend in Louisville’s ’23 class so far, with connections to Pierce Clarkson being a paramount factor in the recruitment of several current commitments.
Player relationships are not all Satterfield and Co. have working in their favor, however. In my last article covering Clark’s commitment I briefly touched on the importance of John “Hova” Herron’s Miami connections. His role in re-establishing and maintaining Louisville’s south Florida pipeline cannot be overstated. Herron has made a tremendous impact already in his short time with the Cards and looks to be hard at work establishing a foothold in one of the county’s most talent-rich areas.
One coach who may also quietly be one of the biggest pieces to this puzzle is new recruiting coordinator Stanford Samuels. Samuels is also a highly respected presence in the sunshine state and, like Herron, has strong ties to the Miami area. He was born and raised in the Miami area, played high school ball at Miami Carol City, and went on to play at Florida State in college. Louisville football has quietly put together a strong tandem of Miami area recruiting specialists, and it already seems to be paying dividends.
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