Westgate High senior defensive lineman Tae Thibodeaux took his time with the recruiting process, wanting to make sure he made the right decision about where to play college football.

A trip to the University of Louisville was the key factor in his decision to sign with the Cardinals over his other finalist, the University of Arkansas.

“Honestly at first, I really was leaning toward Arkansas, because (they’re in the SEC),” Thibodeaux said Wednesday morning before he signed a national letter of intent with Louisville. “I was like, I get to play LSU, I get to play Alabama.”But he decided to visit Louisville just to see what it was like. He met with head coach Bobby Petrino, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who took that position in January after four years as Georgia’s defensive coordinator, and defensive line coach L.D. Scott on his trip and was hosted by redshirt freshman linebacker Lyn Clark of O. Perry Walker High in New Orleans.

“I did my homework,” the 6-foot-1, 275-pound senior. “They got the d-coordinator from Georgia. They run a 3-4 (defense). He puts people in the league (NFL) every year. People can say what they want about Petrino being an offensive guy, but their d-coordinator puts people in the league in the first round every year. They were ranked top 20 in total defense at Georgia.”

Thibodeaux said the Cardinals will run the same 3-4 alignment that Georgia did, with Thibodeaux asked to play defensive end with his hand on the ground, rather than nose guard. He’s looking forward to it after playing defensive end in certain packages with Westgate.

Westgate coach Ryan Antoine said it’s a position Thibodeaux wants to play, and he won’t have to put on weight to do so. Grantham told Antoine that Thibodeaux reminds him of former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marcus Spears, who played for LSU.

“So he definitely can play on Sundays (in the NFL),” Antoine said. “As long as he’s training and doing the types of things he needs to do, the great student that he is and the great kid that he is, I think he’s going to thrive out there.”

Because teams rotate so many players in and out of the game at defensive end, Thibodeaux has a chance to contribute as a freshman, Antoine said.

“It was more of a need than they want me,” Thibodeaux said. “They really need me instead of just wanting me to be part of their recruiting class. I was the only defensive tackle they signed, and that was a big part of it too.”

Antoine said that he’s dealt with kids feeling pressure to sign on National Signing Day (which was Feb. 5 this year), so he and Thibodeaux wanted to make sure he didn’t rush into a decision because of pressure from college coaches or anyone else.

“A lot of kids get caught up with wanting to sign on National Signing Day,” Antoine said. “We just wanted to take our time. We didn’t want to rush a decision. We knew he still had a lot of time to go around and do it. He prayed about it, talked with his parents. Louisville, they all sent papers (for Thibodeaux to sign) on National Signing Day.”

Louisville really felt like home for Thibodeaux, Antoine said.

“It’s been a tough process. It’s been a long process. But I’m glad he finally made the decision for him, because at the end of the day, he has to go over there and live there,” Antoine said.

On his trip to Louisville, Thibodeaux enjoyed meeting Clark.

“I felt like I’ve known him for years,” Thibodeaux said. “We had a connection. He really felt like a brother, like I’ve been around him my whole high school career.”

Though it took a little longer for him to make a decision than some of his teammates who signed a week earlier, Thibodeaux is glad he took the time to do so.

“The wait is finally over,” Thibodeaux said. “I can get some sleep. People can stop asking me. I was really being patient about it, but with the way my phone was going off after (people) heard about Louisville and Arkansas. There were times I had to put my phone on silent.”