Commitment Analysis: Brewer lands his man, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce goes Cards
July 2, 2020- Ahmari Huggins Bruce has been Louisville receivers coach Gunter Brewer's number one target since March of 2019. The long game paid off today and the talented receiver prospect from Dillon, South Carolina committed to the Cards this evening. He chose Louisville over Duke and Virginia Tech. With the addition of Huggins-Bruce Louisville is most likely finished at the receiver position for the 2021 class. Perhaps it's time for Brewer to start a new long term recruiting endeavor if he hasn't already.
BY THE NUMBERS
Remaining Spots: Louisville now has 19 commitments in the 2021 class. They are expected to take 25 in this class so that leaves six spots remaining. On offense, the Cards are done at receiver unless a prospect they just can't turn away wants to jump on board. The remaining spots on offense are designated for a quarterback, tight end, and two offensive linemen. On defense there are two spots remaining, one for a linebacker and one for a safety.
Stats: Per MaxPreps, Bruce has played 27 varsity games and caught 102 passes for 1,927 at 18.9 yards per catch and 71.4 yards per game for 23 touchdowns. The longest reception of his career was a 97-yard touchdown as a junior.
2018: 13 games, 52 receptions, 930 yards, 11 touchdowns; 7 rush, 86 yards, 1 TD
2019: 14 games 50 receptions, 997 yards, 12 touchdowns; 7 rush, 28 yards, 2 TD
He also returned a kick-off 87 yards for a touchdown last season.
Film analysis: Huggins-Bruce is a dynamic receiver who can be utilized at any receiver position. At Louisville, he will most likely do most of his damage out of the slot but will also be used as a Z receiver which means he will be put in motion as opposed to the X receiver or split end who is tethered to the line of scrimmage. Bruce can take the top off of the defense with his 4.4 speed but he is more of a threat to break off large chunks of yardage after the catch. He has great balance and utilizes an efficient spin move to break and elude tackles. He also utilizes his twitch to make sudden jukes and jump cuts to set up defenders for failure.
Louisville fans will want to compare him to Tutu Atwell but I don't think that's accurate. He isn't as fast as Tutu but he's more polished as a receiver coming out of high school that Atwell. He looks like a quintessential slot receiver to me. He's quick and twitch and runs clean routes. He also has the shake to make defenders miss in the screen game and when he catches the ball over the middle. He's more like Harry Douglass than Tutu Atwell which I'm sure Cards' fans will be fine with.