2021 OL Michael Gonzalez chooses Louisville as Cards stay red hot in June
Michael Gonzalez just became the sixteenth commitment in Louisville's 2021 class and the fourth in the past two days. The six-foot-four, 260-pound lineman chose Louisville over Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech.
Gonzalez is being recruited as a prospect who can play anywhere on the offensive line. His position versatility is a common attribute of many players who have committed to Louisville during the '21 cycle. He felt Louisville's offensive scheme was best suited for his skill set.
"Louisville was the best fit. They have everything I need and the relationships I've built with the coaches are why I chose (the Cards). I was doing a lot of virtual visits with coach (Dwayne) Ledford and assistant coach (Pete)Thomas. Also, coach (Gunter) Brewer who is my area recruiter and then sometimes coach Satt (Scott Satterfield) would jump on there too so those guys are probably the coaches who had the biggest role in my recruitment," said Gonzalez.
Offensive linemen gotta eat. Meridith Ledford, Dwayne's wife, should get an assist on the stat sheet for helping get Gonzalez to the 'Ville. It's well known that she has opened up her home, and kitchen, to the Lousiville offensive lineman and her and coach Ledford treat the "Band of Brothers" to frequent buffet-style feast of Carolina style barbeque. The Ledfords' hospitality and Meridith's North Carolina side dishes helped move the needle towards Louisville for Gonzalez.
"Oh yeah, I've seen that. That's actually a big part that I really liked as well. Having that type of family and tradition that he has is a big part of it because I'm going away to college so I want to feel comfortable. I want to feel at home and it's easy to feel at home where you can go to your coach's house any week and they feed you good and they got those North Carolina sides," said Gonzalez.
Gonzales has yet to visit Louisville. A large number, perhaps the vast majority even, of players committing amidst the Covid-19 pandemic have yet to see the school to which they are pledged. This fact begs the question, will the prospect who just committed take visits to other schools once campuses re-open? In this case, the answer is no.
"I'm shutting down my recruitment. I know coaches will probably stay in touch and everything just in case like something changes, but I'm not going to set up any type of other visits," said Gonzalez.
The '21 Lousiville class has been a vocal group on social media when it comes to recruiting other prospects. Gonzalez is a humble young man from Shelby, North Carolina. If you spoke with him and then turned on his football highlights you wouldn't believe you were watching the same kid bullying defenders into the dirt. While fans shouldn't expect him to be the most vocal member of the class he'll still do the yeoman's work that's inherent to an offensive lineman's role on the team.
"If I see somebody that we're on the edge of getting and needs a little bit of talking to then I'll probably hit people up. I know there's probably a lot of people already doing that so I'll see what they need me to do," said Gonzalez
Gonalez plans to enroll early.