Many key recruits to visit U of L for UK game

One of the nation's best interior offensive lineman, a four-star running back and a three-star quarterback who recently withdrew a commitment from Mississippi State are among a big, top-notch group of recruiting targets expected to take visits to the University of Louisville this weekend and attend the regular-season finale against Kentucky.

With nine expected official visitors and about 20 others likely taking unofficial trips, it could end up as arguably the most impressive group of prospects the Cards have had on campus since Bobby Petrino was rehired as coach. It'll be a mix of highly regarded targets – both from high school and junior college - and players already committed to the Cards.

Here's a look at some of the noteworthy expected guests.

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•Josh Wariboko, a four-star guard from Oklahoma City who's rated the No. 77 senior nationally by Rivals.com, is expected to take an official visit to Louisville, and the former Oklahoma commitment will be accompanied by his brother Max Wariboko, a three-star defensive back/receiver in the 2016 class who has a U of L scholarship offer.

• Four-star Nashville running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, the No. 232 player nationally by 247Sports.com, will make a return trip to U of L for an official visit, too. He recently received an offer from Ohio State. Hometown Vanderbilt is a contender, too. Vaughn has rushed for 2,510 yards and 43 touchdowns this season at Pearl-Cohn High.

• U of L now shapes up as a major option for Chason Virgil, a highly regarded QB from the Dallas area who will be on official visit as he seeks a new option for college. Virgil, who was pledged to Mississippi State since May, is about to graduate from West Mesquite High and was due to arrive at MSU in January. But the Bulldogs informed him last week his offer was no longer good unless he delayed his enrollment an entire year, to January 2016, so he reopened the process. Ranked the No. 15 pro-style QB nationally by 247 and as a midyear enrollee, he becomes an attractive prospect for U of L, which already has a commitment from four-star Florida QB Lamar Jackson.

• Another Texan, three-star Lufkin High wide receiver Keke Coutee, who's ranked No. 21 at his position nationally by Rivals, will be on an official visit, too. Coutee has also had offers from Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas, but his official trip could be a sign the Cards are well-positioned. He's one of three targets at wide receiver expected to officially visit.

• Arkansas wide receiver commitment La'Michael Pettway, who's from Nashville, Ark., is another. Pettway (6-3, 194) is rated three stars and the No. 44 player at his position nationally by Rivals.

• The other receiver target visiting is three-star Duncan, S.C., prospect Tavin Richardson (6-3, 215), who can also play tight end. Richardson is possibly UK's top remaining target at receiver, and the Wildcats have been widely seen as the team to beat, so the Cards have an on-field opportunity to present a case as to why they're a better option.

• Nassau (N.Y.) College's Rasul Douglas – the nation's No. 3 junior-college cornerback by 247 - is expected to make an official visit as well. West Virginia shapes up as U of L's top competition, but he's also had offers from Florida and Florida State during the process. He's said he wants to make a commitment by early next month, then presumably enroll in January.

• Another junior-college target at a position of need – offensive tackle Matt Kellerman (6-5, 285) of Butler CC in Kansas – will officially visit, too. He's visited Illinois and Iowa State already. Oklahoma State is also recruiting Kellerman, who'll be a January enrollee.

• Another top current commitment, four-star Phenix City, Ala., receiver/multipurpose back Traveon Samuel, who has signed paperwork to enroll at U of L in January, is expected to make his official visit, too.

• U of L also is expected to have some key targets make unofficial visits, including three-star Ocala, Fla., offensive guard Geron Christian (6-4, 305), a brother of U of L tight end Gerald Christian. It was reported Wednesday by 247Sports.com that Geron backed off a months-old commitment from Miami and that he's not been in recent contact with the Hurricanes. Christian's coach told the site he also wants to take official visits in January to Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas, whose coach, Charlie Strong, recruited Gerald Christian to Florida, then U of L.

• In the 2016 class, Atlanta cornerback Ronnie Blackmon; Farmington, Mich., defensive end Khalid Kareem; and Tallahassee, Fla., cornerback Armunz, Matthews, all of whom are three-star players, are expected to visit. Matthews is committed to South Florida and is also a target of UK.

• In 2017, St. Joseph, Mich., defensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher, who figures to be a national prospect, will visit, too.

• The Wariboko brothers, who go to Cassady High School, would be big additions to what has an unexpectedly become a bit of an Oklahoma City pipeline for the Cards. Three-star Westmoore wide receiver Dahu Green, who's one of U of L's best commitments in the 2015 class, and four-star U of L 2016 quarterback pledge Keaton Torre of Edmond Santa Fe High will be at the UK game, too, on unofficials. Green and Torre are good friends with the Waribokos.

• Other U of L commitments expected to attend the game on unofficial visits: Alabama defensive end Tim Bonner; South Carolina running back Matt Colburn, Georgia offensive lineman Chandler Jones, Tennessee defensive back Kareem Orr, Georgia defensive end G.G. Robinson, Alabama offensive tackle Troy Thingstad and Michigan wide receiver Desmond Fitzpatrick (2016).

Robinson took an official visit to Iowa State last week but said he kept up Saturday evening with U of L's victory at Notre Dame. "L's up always!!" he wrote in a text message, adding that he's "100 percent" solid on his pledge to the Cards with plans to officially visit Louisville on a weekend when there's a big basketball game.

*As for in-state prospects, three-star Ashland Blazer junior running back Quinton Baker, who's committed to UK, may be at the game. Baker's fellow 2016 Mr. Football candidate Male receiver Keion Wakefield is expected to attend, too. Wakefield has a UK offer but not a U of L one so far.

It would be no surprise to see dozens of other good players from the state come to the game, too, even though most aren't serious U of L targets.

Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.