Who's in Louisville football's 2027 recruiting class? Meet the commits – The Courier-Journal

Recruiting Kentucky will always be Louisville football’s priority. 
Since making that promise upon his hiring, head coach Jeff Brohm has held to that commitment heading into Year 4 at the helm of the program. 
And with the addition of general manager Vince Marrow, signing the best talent out of Ohio is second. During his introductory news conference in June 2025, Marrow — who’s also from Youngtown, Ohio — recalled a conversation he had with former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops about recruiting. 
“‘If I had Ohio that close to me, at Oklahoma, I would spend a lot of time there because it’s the fourth-producing state of D-I athletes and the fifth-producing state that produces NFL athletes,’” Marrow recalled Stoops saying. “My philosophy was, let’s get a six-hour radius. … Let’s build a fence around the state of Kentucky.” 
In his first full recruiting cycle with Louisville, Marrow and his recruiting staff have earned commitments from four of the top 25 players in Ohio — 12 of those players are currently uncommitted — and four of the top 10 players in Kentucky (two are currently uncommitted).
Trinity cornerback Allen Evans (the state’s No. 2 player, per the 247Sports Composite) and CAL wide receiver Ja’Hyde Brown (No. 5) are among five four-star recruits and headline a group of nine pledges from either Kentucky or Ohio in what’s currently 14-player class. Brown was previously committed to national champion Indiana in January, but decommitted March 12 and pledged to the Cardinals on March 30.
As of May 25, the group ranked 16th nationally and third in the ACC, per 247Sports Composite rankings, despite losing Jack Sorgi, who had been Louisville’s lone quarterback pledge in the class. The four-star Indiana native decommitted March 8 and has since committed to Wisconsin.
“I believe if we can lock down the state, go to battle in Ohio, go to Tennessee, I know they’ve (Louisville) got a great relationship down in south Florida … if you’ve got things like that, you have to keep the relationships,” Marrow said last June. “I feel I have a lot of great relationships over the years that I’ve built with certain people. In a nutshell, just a six-hour radius, I believe.” 
Here’s a list of Louisville’s Class of 2027 football recruits: 
High school: Corvian Community (NC) High School
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Commitment status: Verbally committed on May 18
What to know: The 6-foot-3.5, 250-pound Fields is the No. 19 player in North Carolina and No. 71 at his position nationally. He is the fourth defensive lineman in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class. Fields recorded 25 tackles and three sacks his junior season.
High school: Wilson (Pa.) High School
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Commitment status: Verbally committed on April 24
What to know: The 5-foot-9, 185-pound running back is the No. 24 player in Pennsylvania and is and the only player at his position for Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class. Hardy finished his junior season with 1,130 all-purpose yards and 21 touchdowns.
High school: Brush (Ohio) High School
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Commitment status: Verbally committed on April 22
What to know: The 6-foot-5, 145-pound edge rusher is the No. 23 player in Ohio and the only player at his position for Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class. Last season, Lewis finished with 55 tackles, nine sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and four pass deflections.
High school: Carrollwood Day (Fla.) High School
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Commitment status: Verbally committed on April 20
What to know: Maxey played on both sides of the ball during his junior season at Carrollwood Day. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound athlete recorded 42 catches for 764 yards and seven touchdowns on offense. On defense, Maxey had 37 tackles and two pass deflections. He is the No. 84 player in Florida.
High school: Cardinal Mooney (Fla.) High School
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Commitment status: Verbally committed on April 19
What to know: The 6-foot-2, 310-pound lineman is the No. 149 player in Florida and the third at his position for Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class. Last season, Exume recorded 78 tackles, 22.5 for loss, six sacks, 26 quarterback pressures, three pass breakups and three forced fumbles during his junior season.
High school: Thompson (Ala.) High School
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed on April 3
What to know: The 5-foot-11, 185-pound receiver is the No. 36 player in Alabama and the third wide receiver for the Cardinals’ 2027 recruiting class. He averaged 16.6 yards per catch, totaling 1,128 yards and seven touchdowns on 68 receptions over 14 games played for Thompson.
High school: Christian Academy of Louisville
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed on March 30
What to know: The 5-foot-8, 180-pound receiver made The Courier Journal’s all-state first team after totaling 98 receptions for 1,566 yards and 24 touchdowns, all of which ranked No. 1 in the state, to help CAL win its fourth straight Class 3A title. He had offers from Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama and Auburn, among other schools, and was committed to Indiana for about two months before reopening his recruitment process.
High school: Lakota West (Ohio) High School
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed on March 18 
What to know: The 6-5, 235-pound Ratica is the second tight end in the class, potentially helping to bolster a position for the Cardinals that has lacked continuity. The No. 43 player in Ohio and No. 56 tight end nationwide made eight catches for 114 yards during his junior season. 
High school: Bryan Station High School 
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed March 6 
What to know: Haskins is a two-way player for Bryan Station, serving as the team’s quarterback in addition to playing safety while ranking as the No. 5 player in the state and No. 30 safety in the nation. The 5-11, 180-pound athlete threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns on offense to go along with three interceptions on defense. He’s also a second-generation Cardinal, following in the footsteps of his father, J.T. Haskins, who was also a defensive back for UofL and is now Bryan Station’s head football coach. 
High school: South Fort Myers (Fla.) High School 
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed Feb. 7 
What to know: Listed at 6-4, 285 pounds, Tims is a multi-sport athlete and top-100 defensive lineman who tallied 74 tackles, 11 for loss, six sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in his junior season. He’s shown continued improvement after totaling 48 tackles and two sacks as a sophomore with high expectations heading into his senior season.  
High school: Taft (Ohio) High School 
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed Feb. 7 
What to know: Pouncy had the second-most tackles in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference (127) and tackles for loss (30) in addition to totaling a pick-six on three passes defended, helping Taft to be one of the best defenses in Cincinnati. Listed at 6-2, 207 pounds, Pouncy is a top-50 linebacker nationally and a top-20 player in Ohio. He had 16 Division I offers prior to his junior season but found a fit in Louisville, which has had a strong linebacker unit under Brohm. 
High school: Trinity High School 
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed Jan. 31 
What to know: Evans will have at least one teammate from high school joining him at Louisville with Blue also committing to the in-town university. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman is the No. 10 player in the state and, like Evans, played a key role in the Shamrocks’ championship run. Blue finished his junior season tied for third in the state with nine sacks to go along with 39 total tackles, seven for loss, and a forced fumble, earning a spot on The Courier Journal’s all-state defensive team.
High school: Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Ohio) High School 
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed Jan. 11 
What to know: White offers the size that Brohm likes in a tight end, listed as 6-6, 245 pounds and is the biggest player on his high school team. He’s the No. 10 player in Ohio and 14th-best tight end prospect in the 2027 class. White’s junior season was highlighted by him making three catches for 126 yards and a score in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III, Region 9 quarterfinal victory.
High school: Trinity High School 
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed Jan. 10 
What to know: Evans will fulfill his dream of being a hometown hero at Louisville. Listed at 6-1½, 182 pounds, the defensive back began to rise on the national stage as the No. 15 cornerback in the country and had offers from several Power Four schools. Once he signs in December, Evans will become Louisville’s sixth-highest-ranked recruit in program history. During his junior season, he totaled two interceptions and 28 tackles while only allowing nine catches, helping Trinity to a third straight state championship.
High school: Withrow (Ohio) High School 
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars 
Commitment status: Verbally committed Nov. 29 
What to know: Alexander had already decided to attend Louisville, but the Cardinals’ Governor’s Cup win over Kentucky, which also offered him, further solidified his decision. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver is ranked 12 among Ohio prospects and the No. 40 receiver in the nation. As a junior for Withrow, he averaged 17.6 yards per catch, ending the season with 369 receiving yards and six touchdowns, earning Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Red Division first team and Southwest District Division II second team honors.
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit. 
Reach sports trending writer Alaina Morris at amorris@gannett.com and follow her on X at @alainammorris.

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