4-star wide receiver who signed with Louisville football no longer part of program

The Louisville Cardinals have lost a four-star class of 2022 signee, football head coach Scott Satterfield said during an appearance on 93.9 The Ville.

Wide receiver Devaughn Mortimer will not take the field for the Cardinals this season, the coach said Friday morning on the radio show.

"It's out of our hands a little bit," the fourth-year head coach continued. "(Mortimer's) going to move on, probably to a different school. We hadn't heard where he's going to go, but wish him nothing but the best."

Satterfield first addressed Mortimer's absence on Aug. 2, saying the Florida native's status with the team was still unclear and the Cardinals "should get maybe some clarity over the next couple of weeks."

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According to documents obtained by The Courier Journal, Mortimer had been arrested earlier this year on a third-degree felony battery charge on Feb. 9 in his Fort Lauderdale, his hometown.

The arrest citation from local police alleged he elbowed a female, who is a minor, in the face the day before his arrest while they were sitting in a car at Dillard High School, where he played football and was a member of the track and field team. The blow allegedly caused "a laceration to her bottom lip that required several stiches to close" and broke two of the girl's front teeth.

Mortimer pleaded not guilty but amended his plea to no contest on June 10. That same day, the 18-year-old was sentenced to a year of probation and the third-degree felony charge was reduced to a first-degree misdemeanor battery charge, according to court documents, with the possibility of transferring his probation to Kentucky.

His probation, which requires completion of a 13-week anger management course and 100 hours of community service, began July 9. The 13-week program was supposed to be completed in six weeks, which would've ended on Aug. 16, to "help facilitate the defendant's entrance into the University of Louisville ... prior to the start of the Fall 2022 semester." Mortimer is not eligible for early termination.

Mortimer was the Cardinals' second-highest rated recruit in a class that ranked No. 36 in the country, according to 247Sports, the highest-ranked group Louisville has had since 2018. He first committed to Florida State but flipped to Louisville on National Signing Day in December.

After completing his final season on the gridiron for Dillard last fall, Mortimer was ranked nationally as the No. 51 wide receiver prospect and No. 336 overall talent in the 2022 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. The wide receiver's signing day profile on U of L Athletics' official website said he caught 24 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns during the Panthers' 2021 season, which ended after six games because the team opted out of the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs.

Louisville still had three other wide receivers sign in the class of 2022 in three-star prospects Chris Bell, Chance Morrow and Maurice Turner. All three have enrolled at the university.

Returning members of the receiving corps include Braden Smith, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, Josh Johnson, Bradley West, Jatavian Churchill, Christian Henry, Elijah Downing and Jaelin Carter. The Cardinals also added Dee Wiggins and Tyler Hudson from the transfer portal.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wide receiver Devaughn Mortimer won't join Louisville football team