Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville LB Commit Taj Powell

The Louisville football program is back on the board in the Class of 2026, as Taj Powell has flipped his commitment from West Virginia to the Cardinals.

Here is Louisville Cardinals On SI's full evaluation:

Prospect: Taj Powell
Position: Outside Linebacker/Safety
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 205 pounds
School: Springfield (Oh.) HS
Top Offers: Buffalo, Miami of Ohio, Ohio, Temple, Toledo
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.8711 (911st)

Taj Powell's Junior Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)

Frame: Powell has very good positional height and length to him. That being said, depending on his exact position in college, he needs to add a little more weight to his frame. Fortunately, he has plenty of room to add weight, and currently has a good wiry muscle tone on him.

Athleticism: Without a doubt, Powell's best athletic trait is his extremely explosive first step, which appears with regularity. He's also got good sustained open field and short area speed, which is paired with some decent side-to-side footwork. While Powell's play strength is a touch inconsistent, he has some real potential here if he can add more weight.

Instincts: As you can imagine given his athletic intangibles, Powell shines the brightest as a speed rusher off the edge. Not only is his first step off the line explosive, he has great closing speed, and more often then not takes good angles. While his best work comes as a true edge, he does flash some hard hitting ability on inside gap rushes. An underrated aspect of his game is that he is very good at reading and reacting, regardless of his assignment. That good first step translates well to his backpedal on pass coverage, he routinely reads the quarterback's eyes and adjusts well to wide receivers while playing in zone coverage, and rarely is out of position because of it. On top of that, when is striking distance of the ball, whether as a rusher or in coverage, Powell usually can make a play on the ball.

Polish: Because he is a pretty good athlete, Powell has a lot of position versatility. He usually plays as a true edge or a weakside linebacker, but sometimes drifts to a slot corner spot, and occasionally as a true downfield safety. He's also a mainstay on special teams, and is a very good gunner. On top of being a hard hitter at times, Powell is a fundamental tackler who wraps up more often than not. While most of his reps come on the edge, he doesn't have a ton of pass rush moves and is just okay at block shedding overall, usually relying more on his pure effort and motor vs. technique to get in the backfield. North-south agility is top notch, but lateral agility and overall footwork is just so-so.

Bottom Line: Overall, this is a pretty good pickup for Louisville. Powell is a natural to play the STAR position in the Cardinals' 4-2-5 defense, as he has the capabilities to be a playmaker both against the run and pass from multiple spots on the field. He'll have to bulk up some and work on various techniques as a rusher and in coverage, but he has the potential to have a very high ceiling.