Top Instate Target Decommits From Louisville, Cards Lock Up Kentucky Target

Louisville HC Jeff Brohm, Kentucky HC Mark Stoops — Louisville HC Jeff Brohm and Kentucky HC Mark Stoops, via Matt Stone | The Courier Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK

There are surprising twists and turns in the world of college football recruiting. One thing that is not surprising: Louisville and Kentucky are in the middle of recruiting battles days after a high-profile coaching change.

Josiah Hope is a talented 6-foot-2.5, 295-pound defensive lineman. He’s the second-ranked player from the state, and No. 274 player overall, according to On3. Hope also attends North Hardin, a school that has sent Mark Stoops multiple starters, like Octavious Oxendine and Jordan Lovett.

If you asked the KSR staff in January to pick five players who could be a part of the Wildcats’ 2026 recruiting class, Hope would have been included. That’s why it was head-scratching when he announced his commitment to Louisville.

At the time, it was difficult to understand why or how he could end up at Louisville without a serious push from Kentucky. In hindsight, it was a sign that Vince Marrow was on his way out the door. However, that does not mean he was recruiting Hope to Louisville, especially after the latest development.

Hope shared on Sunday that he is no longer committed to Louisville, putting one of the best players from the Commonwealth back on the market. Hope was only committed to the Cards for two weeks.

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After great consideration and a deep talk with my family I will be decommitting from @LouisvilleFB pic.twitter.com/XdwiI70KjT
— Josiah Hope (@JosiahHope6) June 15, 2025

It’s difficult to discern in this recruitment how heavily involved Kentucky will be moving forward, but it’s nevertheless startling to see a change of heart in such a short amount of time, during the busiest part of the recruiting calendar year.

Kentucky Target Commits to Louisville

Kentucky is shuffling official visitors on and off campus with rolling official visits. A handful of players started a three-day trip on Friday. Another handful replaced them on Sunday. Five more were expected to succeed them on Tuesday. The keyword there is “were.”

Ben Corhei is a 6-foot-5, 370-pound offensive lineman from Lowndes High School, a football powerhouse in Valdosta, GA. He spent his weekend officially visiting Louisville. Instead of using that trip to cut down on the travel to Kentucky, he canceled the OV to Lexington and committed to the Cards. It was the first recruiting win for Louisville since Vince Marrow flipped schools.

Louisville is up to 17 commitments, four on the offensive line. Kentucky got a victory over Louisville last week when Jordan Crutchfield pledged his allegiance to the Cats, but UK still only has five commitments in the 2026 recruiting class.

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