2021 Football Recruiting: Predicting the Final Five

Louisville Football only has five more spots remaining in the Class of 2021, so we did our best to predict who will fill them.

In his first full recruiting cycle as the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, Scott Satterfield and his coaching staff have shown off their abilities out on the recruiting trail. As it stands right now, Louisville's Class of 2021 is ranked as the No. 20 class in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite and as high as No. 13 by Rivals - on pace to be the best recruiting class on paper in school history.

As a result of the latest pledge from ILB Jaylin Alderman, Louisville has now landed 20 verbal commitments in the 2021 recruiting cycle. Because of the recruiting hot streak the coaching staff has been on this offseason, a limited amount of spots in the '21 class are remaining - five to be exact.

A lot can happen between now and December's Early Signing Period & next February's National Signing Day. Recruiting is an inexact and imperfect science, and who we think Louisville could land to fill out the final spots could be completely different than what actually pans out. That being said, we're giving it our best shot and predicting who the rest of this class will shake out:

TJ Lewis - Quarterback

Louisville still needs to take a quarterback in this class after missing out on targets such as Justin Lamson and Shedeur Sanders. There's also other QB targets Louisville is pursuing like Nick Vattiato and Jaylen Henderson. But if I had to pick which signal caller Louisville will end up with, it would be TJ Lewis. The Brunswick (GA) Glynn Academy product recently named Louisville in his Top 5, and he has some fairly impressive film. He might be a tad raw in his throwing mechanics, but his athleticism is off the charts and he shows flashes of potential down the road.

Christian Pedersen - Tight End

Ever since Louisville landed Vic Mullen back in May, the staff has been searching for another tight end to pair him up with. Jordan Dingle, Mitchell Evans, & River Helms are all prospects that the Cards have been eyeing, but if I had to choose who will be commit No. 21 in the class, it would probably be Christian Pedersen. Louisville was listed as one of the Top 3 schools for the San Mateo (CA) Junipero Serra product, and is the presumptive favorite over Virginia and San Diego State.

William Parker - Offensive Tackle

I'll be the first to say that this is probably the pick that I have the least confidence in. Louisville is in the mix with a lot of different offensive line recruits; such as Diego Pounds, Mahamane Moussa, Michael Myslinski, Armon Bethea and a few others. Plus there could be otjher names come up in the future. Not to mention that SEC powerhouses Alabama, Florida & Tennessee are also heavily involved with the recruitment of the Nashville (TN) Pearl-Cohn product. Regardless, Louisville still needs another tackle in this class, and if I had to choose *right now* who that guy would be - it would be Parker.

Prince Kollie - Outside Linebacker

This is the target that most Louisville fans have their eyes fixated on, and for good reason. The Jonesborough (TN) David Crockett standout is a Top 300 prospect in the nation, and would be the highest-ranked recruit in the class should he commit to Louisville. The competition to land him will be stout though, as the Cards are going up against Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. That being said, Louisville is still in great standing to land him.

Jah'von Grigsby - Safety

Another secondary recruit? You bet. The Cardinals might already have six defensive back commits, but they're not done yet. While there are other secondary targets remaining in the mix such as safety Daymon David, cornerback Duce Chestnut and a few others, I believe the Cardinals will land Baton Rouge (LA) Scotlandville safety Jah'von Grigsby. Louisville recently made his top 10, but told 247Sports that the Cards are in the top half of those teams. Things could change in the coming days and weeks and Louisville could easily take a different defensive back or lean towards a different position altogether, but as of right now I predict that Grigsby winds up at Louisville.

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI

Twitter - @LouisvilleOnSI and Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp