In 2019 Louisville struggled to generate a pass rush, stop the run, and defend the pass. They finished 66th in sacks, 79th against the pass, and 112th against the run. It would be unfair to place the blame for those woeful stats squarely on the coaching staff. The Cards started the season with a scaled-down roster that consisted of multiple walk-ons and grad transfers. Personnel issues played a large factor in last year's undesirable results and those issues must be addressed on the recruiting trail in 2021 to remedy the problem.

Luckily Louisville's offense was able to bail the defense out last year to the tune of eight wins. That trend will most likely have to continue until the staff can field a defense with their own guys. Until then, however, they will have to replace some of the top offensive weapons from the Petrino regime with some signees of their own.

Here are the top ten prospects Louisville has to land in this class for it to be one of the top in the ACC: