Tyler Gabbert visiting Louisville

Former Missouri quarterback Tyler Gabbert is visiting Louisville this weekend and is strongly considering transferring to the Cardinals, a source tells ESPN.com's Joe Schad.

I confirmed that Gabbert is scheduled to visit with Louisville coach Charlie Strong this weekend. Gabbert is the younger brother of former Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who was chosen in the first round of the NFL draft last month by Jacksonville. The younger Gabbert, who is a redshirt freshman, decided to leave Missouri earlier this month after it became clear that James Franklin would start this season.

The Gabbert family has a connection to new Louisville quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson. He recruited Tyler Gabbert while he was the offensive coordinator at Nebraska. The Cardinals staff believes Gabbert is a big-time, NFL-caliber quarterback.

The question is, what does this potentially mean for Teddy Bridgewater?

Bridgewater was Louisville's most-celebrated recruit in the 2011 class. He enrolled early and participated in spring practice, though he remains a backup to veteran Will Stein heading into the summer. The Cardinals remain high on Bridgewater, but they are concerned with depth at the position. Dominique Brown was the third quarterback this spring even though his future probably lies at another position because Louisville didn't have anybody else.

Stein is a junior, but there are legitimate concerns about whether the team can win at the highest level with the former walk-on, who is listed at just 5-foot-10. Competition is a good thing, and Bridgewater will need someone to push him during his career. Remember that Louisville was set to bring in another well-regarded quarterback recruit, local prospect DaMarcus Smith, in the same class with Bridgewater before Smith flipped his loyalty to Central Florida (making just about everybody sorry he did so in the process).

But does Louisville really want quarterbacks like Bridgewater and Gabbert so close together in class? And if Gabbert did come and beat out Bridgewater, could that do harm to the program's recruiting efforts in Miami, where Bridgewater is from? The Cardinals have been racking up all kinds of talent from South Florida in the past two years.

These are all questions that need to be answered, and that Strong must consider this weekend. Stay tuned.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/42349/tyler-gabbert-visiting-louisville

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