With National Signing Day quickly approaching we take a closer look at the depth of the Louisville football 2023 recruiting class.
While another loss in the UK rivalry is disappointing, it is important to remember that the Louisville football program still has a big win on the horizon, and no, I don’t mean the bowl game. We are under a month away from the early signing day (December 21st), where Louisville looks to be signing one of the highest rated signing classes in program history. While there are many members of the class who are garnering a ton of excitement from our fan base, deservedly so, I want to touch on one player in this class who isn’t getting nearly enough hype relative to his talent.
Before revealing who I feel to be the most underrated member of this class, I want to start with three honorable mentions.
- Adonijah Green – Green is a very talented and versatile edge player who has only seen his play improve and national rating rise throughout his Junior and Senior seasons. He has a great skillset and length and could look to be a big-time disruptive force on the defensive line once he gets on campus and adds weight.
- Luke Burgess – Out of the offensive line group, Madden Sanker is getting most of the love from the Louisville fan base on account of his top-150 ranking, dominating play style, and his love for trash talk. Burgess, however, may not be far behind Sanker in terms of future impact for the Cardinal offensive line. He has physical tools you can’t teach and his mobility at his size jumps off the screen when watching his tape. Burgess has a bright future as a potential multi-year starter at left tackle.
- Jayden Davis – It’s hard to not get excited about what Davis could become for Louisville’s defense. He has size, athleticism, and legit ball-hawk ability. He’s the kind of player you can move around the defense to create mismatches and put him in position to make a play on the ball. Davis is a critical addition to a defense looking to create turnovers early and often.
All three of these players make a strong case for being the most underrated in the class, and each of them deserve more hype from the fanbase. However, the member of #FlyVille23 that I feel to be MOST underrated relative to their actual talent is Inglewood tight end Jamari Johnson.
Also Read: One thing Louisville basketball fans will not accept
What the film says:
Johnson’s tape is a joy to watch. Not only does he already boast a college ready size profile at 6’5 and 250lbs, but he is tremendously athletic for his size and is only scratching the surface of his potential as a player. Originally a quarterback, Johnson changed positions to receiver/tight end his junior year when he moved from New York to California. Despite only playing the position for a short time, he already showcases elite receiving ability for the position.
He has strong hands and explosive verticality, allowing him to attack the ball in the air and dominate smaller defenders. Additionally, Johnson already displays nuance in his routes, allowing him to shake free from defenders and find soft spots in coverage. His best attribute, however, may be his run-after-catch ability. Given his size and mobility, Johnson is extremely difficult to bring down as a ball carrier. He has demonstrated the ability to break through arm tackles and push off defenders with pure strength, as well as shake would-be tacklers off balance with well timed jukes and footwork.
The only real knock to his game is that in his current offense his role isn’t that of a traditional tight end and isn’t often attached to the line. Though he has plenty of size and play strength to do so, he doesn’t have much exposure to blocking bigger and stronger opponents on the defensive line. He has showed dominance when tasked with blocking defensive backs and occasionally linebackers, but he just isn’t tasked with a blocking-heavy role as it is. His physical tools leave no concern that this skillset can be developed but converting from quarterback to a receiving-heavy role likely means that he will have to refine this technique before blocking can be classified as a strength.
In summary, Johnson is going to be a very fun player to watch in a Louisville football uniform. He makes for an ideal choice to serve as the heir to Marshon Ford at the H tight end position and given his receiving prowess at this early stage of his tight end career, he may very well exceed the large shoes he is tasked to fill.
2 thoughts on “Who’s the most under-appreciated member of #FlyVille23?”