Looking Back at Louisville Football's 2019 Recruiting Class

Ten games into the 2018 season, the University of Louisville finally had seen enough, and opted to fire head football coach Bobby Petrino. The Cardinals were 2-8 at the time, and concluded the year with a 2-10 record - their worst season since the final year of the Ron Cooper era in 1997.

Three weeks later after Petrino's firing, Louisville hired Appalachian State's Scott Satterfield to take over the Cardinals. On top of making the jump to the Power Five, Satterfield had the task of trying to hold together Louisville's recruiting class in the 2019 cycle, while adding talent to the fold as well.

That being said, how did his first recruiting class at Louisville turn out? Below is every scholarship signee from the 2019 class in alphabetical order, coupled with notes on how they panned out at Louisville:

Position: Offensive Guard
UofL Career Stats: 21 games

Black was a fringe rotational player during his time at Louisville. He did have a start vs. Wake Forest in 2020 and had a role on the field goal unit this past season, but that was really it. He played 278 offense and special teams snaps in five seasons before transferring to Georgia State earlier this offseason.

Position: Defensive End
UofL Career Stats (22 games): 10 tackles (four solo).

Boykin was Louisville's highest-ranked signee in the cycle, but wasn't able to officially enroll and join the program until the 2020 season after not academically qualifying. His role never expanded beyond a back end rotational piece, and he transferred to Middle Tennessee after two on-field seasons with the Cardinals. He spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Blue Raiders, and is currently at UT Martin for his final year.

Position: Offensive Guard/Tackle
UofL Career Stats: 46 games.

Brown might have been ranked just inside the top-1000 coming out of high school, but he has undoubtedly had the most successful collegiate career out of anyone in the class. After redshirting the 2019 season, he went onto be Louisville's starting right tackle for the next three seasons, and made the transition to starting right guard the past season before a knee injury midway through the year cut his season short. Heading into his final year in college, he has logged 2,355 offensive snaps, with 40 of his 46 total games played being starts.

Position: Quarterback
UofL Career Stats (31 games): 54-for-95 (56.8%) for 740 yards and five touchdowns to three interceptions; 41 rushes for 146 yards and three touchdowns.

Conley was a last-second addition to the class, following Satterfield after originally committing to Appalachian State. He wound up seeing extensive run during his freshman year as the backup to oft-injured starter Malik Cunningham, most notably scoring three touchdowns - including the game-winner on fourth down - in the win at No. 19 Wake Forest. He didn't see nearly as many snaps under center over the next three years, and even wound up transitioning to primarily a special teams role for his final year last season.

Position: Outside Linebacker/Defensive End
UofL Career Stats (23 games): Six tackles (three solo), 0.5 for loss.

Edwards had a very minimal role on the defensive line over his first three seasons at Louisville, mainly seeing just a handful of snaps on the edge in blowouts. He played 80 snaps in 10 games during the 2022 season, but entered the portal afterwards, playing his final season at Troy last year.

Position: Cornerback
UofL Career Stats: None.

Ford joined Louisville from the JUCO ranks, but never played a single snap in his lone season with the Cardinals after suffering an injury in fall camp. He hit the portal after the season and spent his final three years at Montana, even leading all of D1 football in interceptions with nine as a senior in 2022.

Position: Center
UofL Career Stats: Six games.

Gregory was Louisville's lowest-ranked signee cycle and a two-star prospect, so as you can imagine, he didn't see much action. He played 32 total offense and special teams snaps over two years as a Cardinal, then transferred to Stony Brook after the 2020 season.

Position: Inside Linebacker
UofL Career Stats (37 games): 83 tackles (40 solo), 10.5 for loss, 4.0 sacks, three fumbles recoveries, one forced fumble.

Jones didn't seeing a ton of snaps over his first two years in college, partially due to tearing his ACL as a freshman. His role in the linebacking corps took a large step forward in 2021, even starting the final six games of the year. He was a key rotational piece in the final year of the Satterfield era, even having his best statistical season at Louisville (34 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 3.0 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and one forced). He followed Satterfield to Cincinnati for the 2023 season, and is actually back in the portal, still looking for his next home.

Position: Running Back
UofL Career Stats (24 games): 217 rushing attempts for 1,117 yards and seven touchdowns; 16 receptions for 154 yards.

While he didn't see his first on-field action until the back half of the 2020 season, Mitchell made the most of his opportunity, compiling 347 rushing yards in the second half to that season. He took on a starting role in 2021, rushing for 722 yards and five touchdowns while starting 12 games. Due in part to both an injury and a deep running back room, Mitchell's role on the team took a massive step back in 2022. He wound up entering the transfer portal, played the 2023 season at UConn where he had a minimal role, and is back in the portal looking for his final stop.

Position: Tight End
UofL Career Stats (26 games): Four receptions for 88 yards.

During his four years at Louisville, primarily during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Melton almost exclusively served as a blocking tight end in Satterfield's run heavy scheme. He did have three catches for 80 yards in 2021, but of his 233 total offensive snaps played, 151 were run blocking snaps. He transferred to San Diego State after Jeff Brohm took over.

Position: Inside Linebacker
UofL Career Stats (38 games): 160 tackles (96 solo), 23.5 for loss, 15.0 sacks, four pass breakups, three interceptions, seven forced fumbles.

Another signee from the JUCO ranks, Montgomery was an havoc-inducing linebacker who made an impact during all four years of the Satterfield era. He led the team in sacks his first two years despite not being a regular starter, and when he did step in to a starting role in 2021, he tore his ACL in the third game of the season. He rebounded in 2022 for his best season in college, logging 70 tackles, 11.0 for loss, 6.0 sacks and four forced fumbles. After receiving a medical waiver to return for the 2023 season, he instead opted to enter the portal, transferring to Ole Miss.

Position: Running Back
UofL Career Stats (Five games): Seven rushes for 51 yards and one touchdown.

A local product out of Manual, Robbins always found himself buried on the depth chart during his three years at Louisville, with his Cardinals highlight being a 34-yard touchdown run in the 2021 blowout at Duke. He transferred to UNLV for the 2022 season, where he broke out and ran for 1,0009 yards and nine scores, then added 485 yards and a score last season at BYU.

Position: Outside Linebacker
UofL Career Stats (27 games): Three tackles (one solo), 0.5 for loss.

Smith played almost exclusively on special teams during his time at Louisville, and saw a minimal role on defense. In four years as a Cardinal, he played 268 special teams snaps - typically coming on kickoff and punt returns - to just 22 defensive snaps. He spent the 2023 season at Florida A&M.

Position: Running Back/Cornerback
UofL Career Stats (One game): None

Starks' lone action at Louisville was a single kickoff coverage snap in 2020 against Syracuse. He would later enter the portal and play the 2021 season at Houston.

Position: Placekicker
UofL Career Stats (38 games): 47-of-59 field goal attempts, 124-of-127 point-after attempts, 265 points.

After redshirting his true freshman campaign, Turner went onto be Louisville's starting kicker for the next three seasons, and was a two-time All-ACC honorable mention. His 2022 season was one of the best in school history, going 20-for-22 on field goal attempts and 38-of-39 on point-after attempts. His 20 made field goals was good for second-most in a single season at Louisville, trailing only Art Carmody's 21 in 2006, while his 90.9 field goal percentage set the new UofL single-season record. He opted to transfer to Michigan for the 2023 season.

Position: Offensive Tackle
UofL Career Stats: None.

Despite being the second-highest-ranked signee in Louisville's class, Williamson never played a single game in two seasons at Louisville.