Bridgewater shuns Miami, will attend Louisville

You thought Charlie Strong had success on the field in his first season at Louisville?

Well, that magic is extending off the field and onto the recruiting trail as the Cardinals have landed perhaps the biggest fish in the program’s history.

QB Teddy Bridgewater is headed to Louisville to play for Charlie Strong.

Teddy Bridgewater, whom Rivals.com lists as the second-best signal caller in the country, has committed to playing for Strong and the Cardinals in 2011. It is Louisville’s first five-star player in program history.

Bridgewater has been the starting quarterback at Miami Northwestern — one of the most well-known programs in the South — since his sophomore season. He was also the highlight of Miami’s 2011 class until he decommitted from the Hurricanes on December 7 following the firing of head coach Randy Shannon.

The 6-2 Bridgewater passed for 2,606 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior while rushing for 223 yards and eight scores.

Shannon had played a major role in Bridgewater's decision to join the Hurricanes, and he was Miami's only five-star prospect from a class that only had seven commitments and now is down to just four after Bridgewater,  four-star safety Albert Louis-Jean and three-star offensive guard Marcus Johnson all decommitted.

Now, working on only his second recruiting class, Strong has landed a program-changing prospect. In addition, Louisville also landed Eli Rogers, Bridgewater's teammate at Miami Northwestern. The 5-10 receiver caught 35 passes for 551 yards this season and is one of the more underrated receiver prospects in the state of Florida.

Louisville loses senior quarterbacks Adam Froman and Justin Burke after this season but appear to have an intriguing quarterback battle shaping up for 2011 with Bridgewater and fellow quarterback recruit DaMarcus Smith.

A truly strong weekend for Louisville football.

Email dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com or follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave