Louisville's Takeaways From the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Atlantic Coast Conference held their annual Football Kickoff media event earlier this week, and you can imagine, the Louisville football program was present and had plenty to discuss regarding the upcoming season.

Below are some of the more impactful takeaways points over the course of the two-day event in Charlotte, N.C.

Louisville will kickoff the 2022 season at Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 3.

Satterfield Aligning With Heird's Confidence in ACC

With conference realignment dominating the news cycle over the last few weeks, many have speculated on the future of the ACC. With the SEC and Big Ten well on the way to becoming super-conferences that dominate the collegiate landscape, that has left the other three Power Five member scrambling to figure out ways to keep up.

Despite that, Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield is confident in the direction of the league.

"We want to make this conference one of the best conferences in the country, and I think we got great leadership at the top, and they're going to do the things and make decisions that will continue to benefit this conference," he said

It's a sentiment similar to Louisville athletic director Josh Heird's. Earlier this month, Heird expressed confidence in ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips' ability to guide the ACC through conference realignment, saying he's "really, really confident in what the commissioner of the ACC is doing to put the ACC in the best possible situation to be successful."

As for the the ACC has in store in the immediate future, Phillips isn't leaving any option off the table. Whether that be to go back to the negotiating table with ESPN regarding their media rights deal, standing pat or adding new members to the league.

"We've come together to have some discussions about what would be the next iteration for the ACC," Phillips said. "It doesn't mean we're going to make a move. It doesn't mean we're not going to make a move, but all options are on the table."

New Scheduling Model Favorable for Louisville

Before conference realignment got going again, the ACC finally decided to abandon divisions and alter their scheduling model.

Starting in 2023, the league will adopt a 3-3-5 scheduling model, where each team will play three primary opponents annually, and face the other 10 teams in the league twice during a four-year cycle - once at home and once on the road.

It has drawn rave reviews from nearly every person in the ACC, including Satterfield.

"We're looking forward to it, I'm excited," he said. "I like the fact that we're going to have be able to have a champion of the two best teams that can play at the end of the season. That's a good thing as opposed to having two different sides and maybe one side is stronger than the other. That's going to be a positive out of it. I think just to be able to play everybody is probably the biggest benefit."

Louisville's three primary opponents under the new model will be Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia. Satterfield says he is in favor of this draw, mainly due to the recruiting hotbeds they will get to play at and the exposure they will get from a national standpoint.

"We're going to recruit the state of Georgia around Atlanta area, and we're also going to recruit South Florida," he said. "We've had some of our greatest players to play at Louisville have come from the South Florida region. Now partnering with Miami to be able to go down there every other year is going to be good for us, for our coaches to be able to get out.

"We're going to be visible down there. Our brand. I think it works out really good for us of the footprint that we want to have in the recruiting aspect."

Taylor's Hiring Already Having an Impact on Offense

One of the biggest additions to the program over the offseason wasn't a player, but a coach. After operating without an assigned offensive coordinator last season, Satterfield hired hired Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor to come in and be the new OC and WRs coach.

He has only been on campus for half a year, but Taylor has already had an impact to the offense's overall approach behind the scenes. While it will still be Satterfield that ultimately calls the plays, Taylor has provided afresh set of eyes and another mindset to help the offensive gameplan adapt and evolve.

"What he has done is come in and really -- the organizational skills that he has with our offensive staff, and then our offensive unit bringing them together," Satterfield said. "A lot more of the offensive units, making the whole offense feel a part, and I think he is tremendous with that. It gives the offense a voice I think more than anything.

"He will be heavily involved in our offense. He has brought some new ideas, some new things that we can do, and he is coaching our wide receivers, and I love our group in that room."

Taylor spoke to Louisville Report earlier this offseason, and said that one of his main goals was to improve Louisville's situational playcalling, such as on third downs and in the red zone.

"Putting the players in those situations, and working them like they're game-like situations," he said. "Because you can't you can't expect guys to execute unless they've been in that opportunity. They feel confident because of their preparation."

Defense is Ready to Take the Next Step

It's no secret that Louisville has been an offensive-focused team in Satterfield's tenure. But after a 2020 season where the defense did show signs of improvement, it took a bit of a step back in 2021. Between a lack of consistent pressure generated at the point of attack, fourth quarter woes and a secondary that was constantly exposed, defense is what is truly holding Louisville back from taking the next step.

That being said, there is a sense of renewed optimism that they will finally be able to put it altogether in 2022 and be an elite unit.

"I think we’ve had a lot of focus on our offense the last few years and deservedly so," Satterfield said in an interview with WDRB. "But this year, I think the defense can be a bright spot for the core of our team. I think our defense is going to be sharper, and we all know that defense wins championships. So we’ve got to be good on that side of the ball."

There is reason to believe that that side of the line of scrimmage will be markedly different. Louisville will return key playmakers CB Kei'Trel Clark and LB Monty Montgomery back from injuries, they've added impact transfers like DT Jermayne Lole and LB MoMo Sanogo, and they've used the portal the build some depth in the secondary.

They'll have to put it all together on the football field, but Louisville has several impact playmakers at each level of the defense, and it could propel them back to a winning season.

Smack Talk is Already Flying

In recent years, we've been accustomed to players and coaches being relatively tame at ACC Media Days. This year wasn't the case, as Louisville is both receiving and dishing some smack talk.

The Cardinals are set to travel to Syracuse for their 2022 season opener. Despite Louisville having won three in a row against Cuse, including 71-3 in the last two matchups, Orange linebacker Mikel Jones didn't hold back.

"We see it as a good opportunity. We don't think it's going to be a tough challenge. We're excited to play those guys the first week," he said.

Preseason All-American offensive guard Caleb Chandler took to Twitter following the banter, saying, "Buddy (Cunningham) threw 4TDs in the first half and 5 total but he’s not a challenge… Make it make sense."

Cunningham didn't clap back at Syracuse, but he did have some words for the Cardinals' in-state rival, Kentucky. The Wildcats have generated a fair amount of hype over the offseason following their 10-3 campaign, and Cunningham isn't having any of it.

"They swear the team up the street is that much better than us, and we’re going to show that they’re not this year," he said.

Cunningham also had something to say about Clemson, where Louisville was a goal line stand by the Tigers away from pulling off the upset last season. During that last stand, the Cardinals had to call their final timeout after second down, then had to call a timeout. Their next two attempts were stuffed, and Clemson won 30-24.

“We had no timeouts, so we had to go signal. And if you know, Clemson steals signals, so it’s kind of hard signaling the plays and they’ve got 60 coaches looking at the signals,” Cunningham said. “We don’t blame it on that. I wouldn’t say we lost it because of signals. It wasn’t that. They beat us. It’s fair and square. ... “That (game) definitely is double circled, for sure. When we see them again, it’s going to be a different outcome.”

Cunningham Setting Lofty Expectations in Final Season

Entering his final season, Cunningham has the ability to leave a permanent mark on the record books. With 10,715 career yards of offense and 100 career offensive touchdowns scored, striking distance of Lamar Jackson's career marks of 13,175 yards and 119 touchdowns, both of which are best in Louisville history.

He does want to leave his mark on the program, but not a personal standpoint. Not only did he say he wants to win ten games this season, he wants to accomplish what no quarterback at Louisville has done before: lead them to a conference championship.

"I want to be the first to win the ACC Championship," he said.

(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Jim Dedmon - USA TODAY Sports)

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