Identifying Louisville's Post-Early Signing Period Roster Needs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The early signing period is now in the rear view mirror, and the Louisville football program took full advantage of it.

On the first day of the period, the Cardinals secured National Letters of Intent from all 14 of their currently committed scholarship high school prospects. Louisville has yet to officially announce the various transfer portal commitments they have landed, and won't do so until they officially enroll in classes next month.

However, even with all the moves that Louisville has made over the last couple weeks, roster building never sleeps. While - as of Dec. 22 - there are not any open scholarships for the 2024 season, there are bound to be more NFL Draft declarations and transfer portal defections, especially after the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27.

Given the current state of the roster, some spots need more attention that others. So which positions should they target? Take a look below:

A Set of Second-String Edge Rushers

At this point in time, you can make an argument that the defensive line is the best unit on the field for Louisville right now. In the middle of the line, the Cardinals are slated return guys like Ramon Puryear, Dezmond Tell and Jared Dawson, could bring back Jermayne Lole if he is granted a medical hardship waiver, and have brought in two huge portal additions in Thor Griffith and Jordan Guerad.

Louisville is going to have impactful starters on the edge as well. All-American Ashton Gillotte is returning for his senior season, and Mason Reiger has been the most underrated piece on the defensive line for the last two seasons. But beyond them, Louisville doesn't really have much experience at edge rusher.

The only other returning defensive ends are R.J. Sorenson, Rodney McGraw, Micah Carter and Adonijah Green. While in theory someone in this group can make a leap over this offseason and be ready to contribute, this quartet has not seen much playing time. Louisville also brings in Maurice Davis and Xavier Porter, but both are freshmen. Selah Brown, Saadiq Clements and William Spencer could in theory play on the edge since they did in high school, but they have since made the transition to inside the line.

If Louisville is to truly get the most out of there defensive line, they will - at the minimum - need to get one more experienced edge rusher to serve as minimal talent and production drop-off when Gillotte or Reiger have to take a breather. It wouldn't hurt to have two, one at each the traditional end position and the LEO spot, but one is absolutely needed.

Cornerback Depth, Perhaps a Starter

Looking at the position as it's currently constructed, Louisville actually has a really good cornerback room. Quincy Riley and Jarvis Brownlee both have one year of eligibility left, Corey Thornton is a lengthy and experienced portal pickup from UCF, while Trey Franklin, North Carolina transfer Tayon Holloway, Marcus Washington, Aaron Williams and freshman Rae'mon Mosby.

However, it's very unlikely that the cornerback spot for Louisville looks like this whenever they kick off the 2024. This is because it's almost a guarantee that both Riley and Brownlee will declare for the NFL Draft, especially Riley considering he has already accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl.

Thornton was a starter at UCF, Holloway was a quality corner at UNC and Trey Franklin has shown his potential on a handful of occasions. But Washington has had minimal college reps, Williams is coming off of ACL surgery and Mosby will be a freshman.

Having just three cornerbacks that you can regularly count on, especially in this day and age of football where teams throw the ball all over the field, will not be enough to compete for an ACC Championship. They'll need to replace both Riley and Brownlee when (if?) they declare, and will likely need to find a former starter in the portal when they do.

An Experienced Backup Offensive Guard

For the second year in a row, the offensive line is set to have a lot of roster turnover. However, thanks to mix of quality returning starters and portal pickups, this group should have a big 2024 campaign. NIU's Pete Nygra will slide right in at center with Bryan Hudson departing, plus Texas Tech's Monroe Mills and Yale's Jonathan Mendoza will anchor down the edges. Not to mention that the projected backups at center and the tackle spots - Austin Collins, Trevonte Sylvester and Victor Cutler - are quality rotational pieces.

Where there are some questions on the line are the backup guard spots. Michael Gonzalez and Renato Brown are obviously proven commodities at left and right guard, respectively, but there isn't much experience behind them. The only lineman with a decent amount of in-game experience at either guard spot is Joshua Black, and even he hasn't seen that much playing time comparatively speaking.

When looking at the remaining offensive lineman on the roster, the only other person with in-game reps at guard is Madden Sanker, and he will be a redshirt freshman. Everyone else is a tackle by trade. Collins could slide in as the backup guard in the main O-line rotation considering he did it when Brown was lost for the season, but having another experienced guard on the roster, especially at left guard, would be a big boost.

Potentially Additional Wide Receivers

Okay, I'll preface this by saying the wide receiver room is pretty loaded right now, both in terms of talent and depth. Transfers Ja'Corey Brooks and Caullin Lacy will be an elite one-two punch in the passing game next year. Then when you add in returners like Chris Bell, Kevin Coleman Jr. and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, Louisville's potential when it comes to passing the ball will be sky high. Especially now that the tight end position is not a problem.

Now here comes the part where I try and project the future. As of right now, Louisville is slated to have 12 scholarship wide receivers on the roster. The odds of the position group having no more roster movement between now and then start of next season, just based off the current climate of college football alone, is very low.

Then you look at the expected contributors for next season. Brooks and Lacy will obviously be the focal points of the passing game, the staff really likes both Bell and Coleman, and they just signed Shaun Boykins Jr. and Jospeh Stone Jr. as true freshmen. Beyond those six, I can't confidently say anyone else could be back.

Huggins-Bruce's utilization has been up and down since he got to college. Transfers Jimmy Calloway and Jadon Thompson didn't produce much last season. Then there's the three redshirt freshmen in William Fowles, Cataurus Hicks and Jahlil McClain. I don't know who, but I would bet money that someone from the aforementioned group, maybe even multiple, would enter the transfer portal after the bowl game. At that point, Louisville would have to replace them via the portal.

(Photo of L&N Stadium: Matt McGavic - Louisville Report)

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