Star Louisville signee TJ Capers reclassifies to 2023. Could he make an immediate impact?

Even after Scott Satterfield left Louisville for Cincinnati and Jeff Brohm became the Cardinals' head coach in December, Columbus (Florida) defensive standout TJ Capers maintained his commitment to the program. Louisville’s fourth-highest ever recruit reaffirmed his decision on Jan. 7 to join the Cardinals. Now, six months later, Capers has reclassified from the Class of 2024 to 2023 and will arrive on campus this week, according to multiple reports. The move was first reported Tuesday by Cardinal Authority. Capers, listed at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, is a four-star recruit rated by 247Sports Composite rankings as the No. 7 player in the state of Florida and the fifth-best edge prospect in the nation. As a sophomore for Columbus, he played outside linebacker in a 4-3 front defense, totaling 53 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles. In what will now be deemed as his final year of high school in 2022, Capers made 70 tackles and seven sacks to help his squad win a state championship. Louisville football spring portal news:Former Cal kicker Nick Lopez 14th to commit Capers will join a Louisville defense that returns several key players to the defensive line and added more from the transfer portal but is lacking in the linebacker spot – the Cardinals lost Yasir Abdullah and Momo Sanogo to graduation then Monty Montgomery to Ole Miss through the transfer portal. K.J. Cloyd, one of the more experienced returning players, transferred after the conclusion of the spring football season and is now at Miami. Louisville football recruiting 2024:CB Raemon Mosby commits to Jeff Brohm and Cardinals Those moves left Louisville without a linebacker with starting experience, though TJ Quinn played every game last season as a reserve, recording 18 tackles as a redshirt freshman. The Cardinals made up for some of the losses by signing Keith Brown, who has some experience as a starter at Oregon, and Miami Central’s Stanquan Clark, a three-star recruit who enrolled in January and made six tackles during Louisville’s spring game.