Looking Ahead: Satterfield Has High Expectations for Louisville Defense

After a disappointing 2020 season, Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield is anxious to see his Cardinals take a step forward in the coming season.

Part of the reason for the optimism stems from what he's seen from his defense, as his Louisville team has more quality depth on that side of the ball than they did a season ago. But at the same time, the Cardinals head coach said it's still a work in progress.

"We're gaining on the depth part of that," Satterfield said at the ACC Kickoff. "I think some of those positions we have some great depth. At others we're still trying to build it."

Satterfield has two areas in particular in mind from which the Cardinals really need to see major improvement.

"Number one is create more pressure on the quarterback," Satterfield said. "We have not been able to create enough pressure and create enough sacks. I think that will help our defense. I think when we do, that's going to help our number two thing, which is creating more turnovers."

The Cardinals signed five defensive linemen in the 2021 recruiting class, something Satterfield said will help the team evolve into one of the better defensive units in the country. In fact, the third-year head coach thinks his defensive front is on the verge of being great.

"Those two things I think will be a next step for our defense to be able to become one of the top defenses in the country," Satterfield said. "I think we are headed in that direction with our defensive line that we have. We signed five D-linemen last year. Sometimes you hit on it, sometimes you don't. We hit on these five. These guys can play, these freshmen that we brought in, and some will play right now for us."

Despite the disappointing 4-7 season a year ago, Satterfield thinks his team is getting close, much of that due to what he is expecting from his defense.

"I'm excited about where the defense is headed, what we'll be able to do this year."

Lousiville was picked to finish next to last in the ACC Atlantic by the media, but the Cards are getting the fourth-best odds to win the league at +3000.

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