Louisville Ranked Inside Top-40 of 2024 247Sports Talent Composite

The metric examines and ranks every FBS team based on how their players were rated in high school.

Louisville defensive players celebrated while running off the field as the Cardinals defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 33-20 on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal and USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As any well-versed college football fan will tell you, recruiting is the lifeblood of a program. Being able to recruit blue chip talent is just as important, if not more, as having the right X's and O's coach in place when it comes to your championship potential.

When it comes to analyzing who the most talented teams in college football are, the 247Sports Talent Composite - which was updated for the 2024 season on Thursday - does a great job in this regard. It's a metric that examines and ranks every FBS team based on how their players were rated in high school.

While Louisville isn't known as a magnet for blue chip high school football talent, they have done a good job of bringing in productive players in the transfer portal since Jeff Brohm took over the program. Per On3, they had the No. 2 transfer portal class in the FBS entering the 2023 season, and have the No. 1 class ahead of their 2024 campaign.

So where do the Cardinals stand in the 247Sports Talent Composite ahead of the 2024 season?

According to the metric, Louisville has the 36th-most talented team in college football, and the sixth-most talented team in the ACC. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas and Clemson round out the top five nationally, while Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina and SMU were the ACC teams in front of the Cards.

But while there are plenty of teams in front of Louisville both nationally and in the conference, that does not rule out the possibility of a special season. They were the fifth-most talented team in the ACC and No. 28 overall in last year's metric before going 10-4 and making an appearance in the ACC Championship Game.

Even the College Football Playoff has had some Talent Composite outliers. Michigan was No. 14 in the 2023 composite while Washington was No. 26, and both teams made it to that season's title game. TCU was No. 32 in 2022, and was the national-runner up. Cincinnati was the 54th-most talented team in 2021, and made history by being the first G5 school to make the CFP.

Part of this is because the Talent Composite doesn't take into account talent development as a whole, or transfer portal ratings. Some of the top transfers in any given recruiting cycle were not heralded prospects coming out of college.

When looking at Louisville's schedule, five of their opponents rank inside the top-25, including Notre Dame and Kentucky. Seven are inside the top-50, and all ten of their power conference opponents are inside the top-65.

The Cardinals will kick off the 2024 season against Austin Peay at L&N Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31.

(Photo of Louisville players: Jeff Faughender - Courier Journal and USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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