Big East Recruiting: Louisville flips Ole Miss commitment

Louisville coach Charlie Strong convinced Finesse Middleton to leave Ole Miss and commit to the Cardinals. (US Presswire)

The Louisville Cardinals got a commitment from Gadsden (Ala.) City High defensive end Finesse Middleton, who had originally committed to Mississippi. But perhaps the biggest news Sunday wasn't the commitment, but what Middleton shared with the Louisville Courier-Journal after announcing the switch.

Middleton told the paper that coach Charlie Strong all but assured the prep star he'd be sticking around.

“He was like, ‘I ain't going nowhere no time soon,” Middleton said. “… I asked him straight up if he was going to leave or had any intention of leaving, and he said, ‘no.' ”

Obviously much has changed since the weekend -- Strong refused to make a similar proclamation at his Monday press conference. Nevertheless, Middleton will be a Cardinal next season, unless, of course, he changes his mind.

Middleton also held offers from Southern Mississippi, UAB, Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee.

Coaching uncertainty affecting recruits. Aside from the situation at Louisville with Strong, a couple of other schools are also dealing with some uncertainty regarding their coaching staffs, as well. At Cincinnati, coach Butch Jones has been a hot name around the country, and several reports indicate that he is mulling an offer from Colorado.

There have been no indications, as of yet, that his flirtation with other schools has negatively affected any commitments or targets.

The same can't be said for South Florida, however, after the firing of coach Skip Holtz.

The Bulls lost their prized commitment, Asiantii Woulard of Winter Park (Fla.), just hours after the firing of Holtz. The nation's top-ranked dual threat quarterback told the Orlando Sentinel that he is planning to keep his options open until USF names another coach.

“It's pretty simple. I'm just waiting for everything to settle everywhere at this point, so I don't have a top (school),” Woulard told the paper via text on Sunday. “I won't until all of the coaching settles everywhere.”

Whoever succeeds Holtz will likely make Woulard priority No. 1. There has been little discussion of who that successor may be, though reports Tuesday said that Houston Nutt would interview for the job.

Wide receiver Jeff Badet of Orlando Freedom High also decommitted from the Bulls Sunday.

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Big East, follow bloggers Evan Hilbert and Matt Rybaltowski @CBSBigEast.