When Rivals scouted West Boca (Fla.) High School back in November, blue-chip defensive back Jaydin Broadnax sported the Louisville Cardinals decal on his helmet for the playoff game.
Afterwards, he confirmed UofL’s strong position in his recruitment. Headed into the New Year he all but named the program his leader and on Thursday, he was back on campus.
Broadnax informed Jeff Brohm and company he was indeed planning on becoming a Cardinal with a verbal commitment. The news became public on Saturday.
“I had breakfast with the staff, came back to the facility to talk some ball and then went to the head coach’s office to announce my commitment,” Broadnax told Rivals. “Coach Brohm was very excited (laughing). He got out of his chair, and his office leads to the stadium, so he went out there yelling.
“We could hear it outside of his office, he was saying, ‘we finally got him!'”
The new Cardinal commitment cites the consistency of Brohm’s staff as a major catalyst for the decision.
“Just staying true to everything since day one,” he said. “I talk to at least one staff member every other day, I get mail from them twice a week, I talk to the head coach as often as any head coach in the country — at least once a week.
“And it’s not even about football. They check in to see how I’m doing, how the workouts are going, all of that. I feel like if I stopped playing football tomorrow, they would still call me.”
A big secondary player who helped WBHS to the state championship as a junior, the Cardinals jumped in on Broadnax with an offer just over one year ago. 40 others would join in the end.
The four-star doesn’t expect to wait long into his freshman campaign to make a difference in the ACC.
“They see me as a guy who can come in and start from day one to solidify myself in the college football world,” he said.
The program also sees him at cornerback, something few programs agreed with initially. Others have since come around since the dominant junior tape, in which Broadnax didn’t allow a touchdown in coverage, came out.
“I was very happy about that,” he said. “Some schools didn’t know because they’ve never seen me run a 40 or a 100. I have started lately and some schools are switching their judgement after I went 4.5 laser and 22 miles per hour on Catapult.
“But Louisville always saw it in me.”
Now the latest Floridian to pick the program will look to give back as soon as his college career kicks off.
“I’m a guy that’s gonna change the whole culture,” he said. “I’ll stand out day one, making a difference in that defensive back room. I’m ready to make a difference.
“I’m not trying to be an average guy, I’m trying to be the guy.”
Broadnax picked Louisville over finalists Auburn, Syracuse, Michigan, Florida State, Florida and USF.
