Louisville football has another weekend loaded up with official visitors for the 2022 class. WRs make up a high percentage of this group. There’s also a talented DB, a powerful OL, and two RBs. One is a highly touted prospect out of AR and the other is a local product that is actually camping today. So, let’s take a look at this weekend’s visitors:
Offensive Recruits:
Wesley Grimes:
- Position: WR
- Rating: 3 Star
- Height: 6’2
- Weight: 180 lbs
- High School: Millbrook
- Hometown: Raleigh, NC
- National Rank: 807th
- Position Rank: 109th
- Offers: 16 including Louisville, Duke, Tennessee, Wake Forest, NC State, and uk.
Wesley Grimes is a very talented WR. He’s got good size at 6’2 180 lbs. His speed is game breaking as he is able to outrun coverages. He can go up for contested catches or get clean releases and give the QB an easy throw to make. Grimes has excellent hands and hand-eye coordination, allowing him to make over-the-shoulder catches without slowing down and/or breaking stride. Utilizing him in the screen game as a weapon is something a team can do as he shows incredible ability to juke and cut to make defenders miss. Overall, Grimes is a hugely talented WR that would be a big get for the staff if they can land him.
Jaylin Lucas:
- Position: ATH
- Rating: 3 Star
- Height: 5’9
- Weight: 175 lbs
- High School: Terrebonne
- Hometown: Houma, LA
- National Rank: 1272nd
- Position Rank: 117th
- Offers: 29 including Louisville, Memphis, Indiana, Florida State, Maryland, and Virginia.
Jaylin Lucas is an incredible athlete. Despite his somewhat diminutive stature, he’s a monster on a football field. With the ball in his hands and just a a smidge of space, Lucas is a threat to make a couple of moves and take it to the house. Speed, shiftiness, and lateral quickness allow Lucas to be nearly uncatchable by a defender or a defense. Lucas plays both RB and slot receiver for his high school. I suspect he would play slot for UofL, but could maybe be moved around the field like a Swiss Army knife. His speed is definitely something any coaching staff would love to have and if the Louisville staff could land him, he could be special in a Cards uniform.
Chance Morrow:
- Position: WR
- Rating: N/A
- Height: 6’6
- Weight: 185 lbs
- High School: West Charlotte
- Hometown: Charlotte, NC
- National Rank: N/A
- Position Rank: N/A
- Offers: 7 including Louisville, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech.
Gifted with incredible size, strength, and athleticism, Chance Morrow is a WR dripping with potential. He’s got good speed that allows him to run past DBs and get open on go routes. Speaking of routes, he’s a good route runner that can get clean releases running slants, out routes, and posts. His hands are excellent and his physical nature allows him to make contested catches on jump balls and on balls thrown over the middle. He’s a good, strong blocker too. Morrow has a lot of qualities the UofL staff covets and I’m sure they will be trying to make a big impression on this big receiver this weekend.
Curtis Deville:
- Position: WR
- Rating: 3 Star
- Height: 6’1
- Weight: 180 lbs
- High School: Iowa
- Hometown: Iowa, LA
- National Rank: 865th
- Position Rank: 117th
- Offers: 7 including Louisville, Florida State, Purdue, Western Kentucky, North Texas, Tulane, and Southern University.
Curtis Deville has a blend of good size, great speed, and good elusiveness. His high school used him in a variety of positions offensively. They lined him up as a WR, a slot receiver, and a RB. Deville excelled in all 3 positions. As a WR, he can go long and make highly contested catches, sometimes ripping the ball out of an opponent’s hands and taking it to the house. He shows great ability to track the football in the air and adjust his body and route to make the catch. They also love to throw Deville bubble screens because he gets major YAC. As a RB, he shows great vision and bursts through the hole the offensive line provides. His elusiveness and strength shows up here. He can cut, juke, or run through defenders trying to stop him. In the slot, they love to use him to run that jet sweep Louisville did with Tutu Atwell. With his versatility and physical ability, Curtis Deville would be a nice pickup if the staff does end up securing his commitment.
Zavion Thomas:
- Position: WR
- Rating: N/A
- Height: 5’11
- Weight: 190 lbs
- High School: John Ehret
- Hometown: Marrero, LA
- National Rank: N/A
- Position Rank: N/A
- Offers: 7 including Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane, Louisiana, Southern University, McNeese State, and Nicholls State.
Zavion Thomas is the kind of under-the-radar guy this Louisville staff is always seemingly able to find. A stoutly built 5’11 190 lbs, Thomas is a slot receiver that is unique. He can make highly contested catches in traffic, adjust his body and route to make a catch on an underthrown pass, and outrun every DB on the field for a TD. He can make short and intermediate catches along the sideline or over the middle, take screen passes for big gains, and he can take a hit and hold on to the ball. My guess is at some point Louisville will make an official offer. I would also bet some other power 5 programs will start taking a look at Zavion Thomas as well. My gut feeling is Covid really made him an underrated prospect because his highlights show a gifted player.
Joseph Himon II:
- Position: RB
- Rating: 3 Star
- Height: 5’9
- Weight: 175 lbs
- High School: Pulaski Academy
- Hometown: Little Rock, AR
- National Rank: 934th
- Position Rank: 71st
- Offers: 16 including Louisville, Miami (FL), Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Memphis.
It’s hard not to watch Joseph Himon and not draw immediate comparisons to former Card Javian Hawkins. As a RB, he is able to find even the smallest hole and burst through it. What amazes me watching him run is his acceleration. He accelerates to top speed so quickly. His elusiveness is top notch, able to cut and juke and make defenders flail all around the field. When he does cut and juke, it seems like he never loses his speed which is special. His speed is plenty and he is a touchdown threat any time he has the football. He’s not easy to bring down either. He can break tackles. Also, he can line up outside at receiver and catch the ball. That leads me to believe he can be a pass catching weapon out of the backfield. It’s hard not to see how Joseph Himon is one of the top guys Louisville probably has on its board for the staff. He’s got the tools to shine in Scott Satterfield’s offense.
Jawaun Northington:
- Position: RB
- Rating: 3 Star
- Height: 5’11
- Weight: 185 lbs
- High School: DuPont Manual
- Hometown: Louisville, KY
- National Rank: 889th
- Position Rank: 74th (ATH)
- Offers: 6 including Indiana, Purdue, Cincinnati, Boston College, and Ball State.
Jawaun Northington is a local product that literally plays across the street from UofL at Manual. He is not officially visiting as the other visitors on this list are. He’s instead camping today. If he impresses, I would believe there’s a good chance he leaves with an official offer. Northington can run between the tackles or bounce it outside. He has good speed, great power, and excellent elusiveness. He can stop on a dime with various cuts and jukes and make defenders miss. He can break tackles with ease. His vision and ability to find the running lane and hit it are very good. He is a threat for big gains and TDs with each carry. His ability as a receiver makes him a truly intriguing weapon as he is comfortable catching the ball out of the backfield and occasionally lining up in the slot or wide. His potential as a pass protector is something I couldn’t gauge, but his potential as a runner is evident. I wouldn’t doubt that the staff will be paying a particular amount of attention to this young prospect that resides across the street and if he flashes the potential I saw in his highlights, I think he will come away with an offer and the staff will truly recruit him in earnest. Time will tell.
Bradley Mann:
- Position: OL
- Rating: 3 Star
- Height: 6’6
- Weight: 260 lbs
- High School: The Bolles School
- Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
- National Rank: N/A
- Position Rank: 129th (as a DL)
- Offers: 14 including Louisville, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, and Army.
Bradley Mann is a hoss. His natural strength is something to behold as he plays both OL and DL for his high school. It seems many colleges project him as an OL. His quickness from out of his stance at the snap is amazing whichever side of the ball he’s lined up on. His strength allows him to throw guys and push guys hard into the ground. He’s a pancake maker extraordinaire as he is constantly putting guys on their backs as his RB goes by or as his QB is completing passes. I love his motor because he blocks literally until the whistle blows. He drove one defender 30 yards downfield on a play. There’s a lot of potential in this FL prospect. I think the Louisville staff sees an anchor for one of their tackle positions if they can manage to bring him in the fold.
Defensive Recruits:
Avyonne Jones:
- Position: CB
- Rating: 3 Star
- Height: 5’11
- Weight: 180 lbs
- High School: Southlake Carroll
- Hometown: Southlake, TX
- National Rank: 1047th
- Position Rank: 101st
- Offers: 24 including Louisville, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State (formerly committed), California, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.
Avyonne Jones is an amazing talent on the field. He’s a ball hawk as a CB, able to go up high to pick off passes. He can play pretty much any coverage well and can be depended on if a defensive coordinator wants to put him on an island. He’s a sure tackler that can put some big hits on opponents. His speed allows him to make up ground quickly if a receiver does manage to get a step on him. His instincts and intelligence allow him to know when to jump routes and when to break off his assignment to either intercept or pick off passes. He understands how to cover without interfering or making illegal contact. The fluidity in his hips allows him to seamlessly transition from his back pedal into a full run in any direction which makes him difficult to beat in one-on-one coverage situations. I could even see Jones as a S. I’m sure the Louisville staff is going to work hard on this one-time Oklahoma State commit to see if they can sway him to the Cards.
There’s quite an amazing talent pool in this crop of visitors, especially at the receiver position. There are 5 prospects at that position that all have the talent and ability to really make the Cards offense fly. Joseph Himon reminds me so much of Javian Hawkins as far as his running ability. His ability as a pass catcher would make him a wonderful fit in this Louisville offense. Bradley Mann is a big, powerful player that could really become a nice piece on the offensive line while Avyonne Jones is a DB that has versatility, speed, a nose for the ball, incredible athleticism, and good coverage skills. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the young men visiting this weekend to have their recruitments blow up and hopefully UofL makes an impression and they can land some of this talent.
