Breaking Down Louisville's Preseason Depth Chart
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One of the first signs that college football is almost back are the unveiling of preseason depth charts. With the season roughly a month and a half away, Louisville finally released theirs earlier this week.
At face value, it serves as an indicator as to who will start week one at Syracuse. But if you take a deeper dive, you start to get a sense as to how the Cardinals could look in 2022, or at least in the first month of the season.
Louisville Report decided to do just that, and break down each position on the newly released depth chart below:
Quarterback
Malik Cunningham (6-1, 190, R-Sr.)
Evan Conley (6-2, 212, Jr.)
Brock Domann (6-2, 227, Jr.)
Analysis: Not much to dive deep into here. Barring a meteoric collapse in his game or season-ending injury, Cunningham will be the starter for the entire season. Considering how pedestrian Conley looked in his limited reps last season, and the he is coming off of an long-term injury that allowed Brock Domann and Khalib Johnson to potentially catch up to him on the depth chart, it's a mild surprise he's still listed as the backup.
Running Back
Jalen Mitchell (5-10, 214, R-So.)
OR Trevion Cooley (5-10, 211, So.)
OR Jawhar Jordan (5-10, 180, R-So.)
OR Tiyon Evans (5-11, 210, Jr.)
Analysis: Considering how loaded that Louisville is in the running backs room, it's going to be an absolute war for starting reps here, and the preseason depth chart proves it. I believe that Tiyon Evans will eventually win out the battle for starter here, but now matter who is named started, they won't be an every down back in the slightest.
The biggest thing of note here, other than that fact that there are four co-starters for a single position, is that Jawhar Jordan is one of them. He joined the program late last offseason and had to battle an injury all year that limited his playing time, but was explosive in the bowl game. He's made up a ton of ground since then to be considered a potential starter.
Offensive Line
Left Tackle
Trevor Reid (6-5, 307, Sr.)
Michael Gonzalez (6-4, 305, So.)
Left Guard
Caleb Chandler (6-4, 300, R-Sr.)
Luke Kandra (6-4, 314, So.)
Center
Bryan Hudson (6-4, 310, R-Jr.)
Austin Collins (6-3, 283, R-Fr.)
Right Guard
Adonis Boone (6-5, 295, Sr.)
Joshua Black (6-2, 294, R-So.)
Right Tackle
Renato Brown (6-4, 317, R-So.)
Kobe Baynes (6-4, 293, R-Fr.)
Analysis: Anchored by preseason All-American Calbe Chandler and four other above-average starters, offensive line should be the strongest position group on the roster for Louisville heading into the season.
Ben Sowders' impact in the weight room is on full display here, with half of the player on the two-deep over 300 pounds, and just one under 290. As far as the actual two deep is concerned, there aren't many surprises here. Louisville returns four starters, with Bryan Hudson taking over as the starting center, which was expected.
The only relatively unexpected move is that Kobe Baynes has moved from backup right guard to backup right tackle. Other than that, it's just waiting to see which backups crack the main rotation.
Wide Receiver
Wide Receiver (X)
Tyler Hudson (6-2, 197, Jr.)
Jaelin Carter (6-2, 208, Sr.)
Slot Receiver
Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (5-10, 163, So.)
Braden Smith (5-10, 192, Sr.)
Wide Receiver (Z)
Dee Wiggins (6-3, 195, Jr.)
Josh Johnson (5-11, 187, Gr.)
Analysis: It's another offseason where the Louisville football program is having to replace a lot of departing talent in the wide receiver room. While Louisville will likely go with a wide receiver by committee passing attack like they did last year, there is a bit more optimism.
Unsurprisingly, Tyler Hudson and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce are day one starters. Had Braden Smith not suffered a season-ending knee injury last year, there's a chance he could slide over and start in place of Dee Wiggins. Something to monitor will be Jaelin Carter's role, as he is a walk-on that cracked the two-deep.
Tight End
Half Back
Marshon Ford (6-2, 240, R-Jr.)
Isaac Martin (6-1, 251, R-Sr.)
OR Duane Martin (6-2, 255, So.)
Tight End
Dez Melton (6-3, 240, R-So.)
Francis Sherman (6-3, 234, R-So.)
Analysis: Considering Marshon Ford was Louisville's leader in terms of receiving yards last year, him being named the starter is probably the least surprising but about the depth chart.
Isaac Martin has been the backup behind Ford for a while now, but it's interesting to see that Duane Martin could take away a chunk of his reserve snaps. Dez Melton and Francis Sheman were the one-two punch at tight end last year, and the beat goes on in 2022.
Defensive Line
Defensive End
Ashton Gillotte (6-2, 265, So.)
Ramon Puryear (6-3, 268, R-So.)
Zach Edwards (6-3, 265, R-So.)
Nose Tackle
Dezmond Tell (6-1, 285, So.)
Jermayne Lole (6-2, 305, Sr.)
Caleb Banks (6-7, 303, R-Fr.)
Defensive End
YaYa Diaby (6-4, 270, Sr.)
Mason Reiger (6-4, 254, So.)
Ryheem Craig (6-3, 220, R-Fr.)
Analysis: With a revamped nose tackle spot and loads of potential at the ends, Louisville could finally be getting the production from the defensive line that they have been clamoring for.
First let's look at nose. It is a but interesting to Jermayne Lole as a backup, considering he could be one of Louisville's top NFL Draft prospects. But he did only just recently join the team, and Dez Tell has gained nearly 20 pounds since last season and has made great strides in the offseason. Don't count out a potential breakout season from Caleb Banks, either.
Now let's look at the ends. Unsurprisingly, it's YaYa Diaby and Ashton Gillotte as the day one starters. Diaby was the highest-graded edge rusher in the ACC and Gillotte looked phenomenal as a true freshman when not hurt, so no surprise there. Ramon Puryear and Zach Edwards are still staples of the rotation, as is walk-on Mason Reiger. It will be interesting to see the progress that Ryheem Craig has made since last season to warrant an inclusion on the depth chart.
Linebackers
Outside Linebacker (DOG)
Yasir Abdullah (6-1, 235, Sr.)
Kam Wilson (6-2, 228, R-Fr.)
Allen Smith (6-2, 230, R-So.)
Middle Linebacker
Monty Montgomery (5-11, 220, R-Sr.)
Dorian Jones (6-0, 235, R-So.)
Jaylin Alderman (6-1, 226, So.)
Middle Linebacker
MoMo Sanogo (6-1, 227, R-Sr.)
K.J. Cloyd (6-2, 221, Jr.)
Jackson Hamilton (6-0, 219, R-Fr.)
Outside Linebacker (CARD)
Ben Perry (6-2, 212, R-Fr.)
Marvin Dallas (6-1, 190, Sr.)
Analysis: Louisville returns several impacts playmakers in the linebacking corps, and it will help tremendously with the overall efficiency of the front seven.
For starters, Yasir Abdullah is back. All he did last year was put up the best season from a UofL pass rusher since 2015, and is primed for another high-caliber season before heading to the NFL. Expect him to get a majority of the reps at CARD, with Kam Wilson to get some occasional action.
Opposite of him at the CARD linebacker spot is a mild surprise. Ben Perry was always going to get some sizable playing time in 2022 because of his talent level, but he has apparently made enough strides in just year two to leap frop Marvin Dallas as the starter. Though expect Dallas, who had a string second half of 2021, to get plenty of run as well.
Not a ton of surprises with the two starting middle linebackers in Monty Montgomery and MoMo Sanogo. Even the backups are about as expected after Dorian Jones and K.J. Cloyd has solid seasons last year after having to step up following Montgomery's injury.
Secondary
Cornerback
Chandler Jones (5-10, 186, Sr.)
Trey Franklin (5-10, 180, R-So.)
Quincy Riley (6-0, 181, Jr.)
Strong Safety
Josh Minkins (6-2, 196, So.)
M.J. Griffin (6-1, 210, So.)
D'Angelo Hutchinson (6-3, 185, Fr.)
Jeremiah Caldwell (6-3, 175, Fr.)
Free Safety
Kenderick Duncan (6-3, 206, R-Sr.)
Nicario Harper (6-1, 205, Jr.)
Shavarick Williams (6-0, 185, So.)
Cornerback
Kei'Trel Clark (5-10, 180, Jr.)
Rance Conner (5-10, 186, R-Fr.)
OR Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (5-11, 182, So.)
Derrick Edwards III (5-10, 177, R-Fr.)
Analysis: The secondary saw arguably the most moving pieces this past offseason, so there's a lot to break down.
Kei'Trel Clark holds down cornerback spot No. 1, and Louisville still has enough faith in Chandler Jones after a down 2021 campaign to list him as the starter alongside Clark. Quincy Riley and Jarvis Brownless are both high quality transfers, so to see them fighting for backup reps witj Trey Franklin and Rance Conner is a but surprising. The latter is especially true considering at least Franklin was able to see extensive playing time.
With Kenderick Duncan coming back, it's not much of a shock that he's the starting free safety. That spot does get a boost in that Nicario Harper is confirmed to be playing on the back end, after there was some chatter that the transfer could play some outside linebacker.
The staff has raved about M.J. Griffin since he arrived in spring ball, but they also called Josh Minkins one of the top standouts in spring practice, so it's not all that surprising to see him win out the position battle at strong safety.
Special Teams
Placekicker
James Turner (6-0, 205, Jr.)
Brock Travelstead (6-1, 203, So.)
Kickoff Specialist
Brock Travelstead (6-1, 203, So.)
Long Snapper
Drew Brenowitz (5-10, 210, Sr.)
Holder
Brady Hodges (6-1, 198, So.)
Mark Vassett (6-4, 220, So.)
Punter
Mark Vassett (6-4, 220, So.)
Brady Hodges (6-1, 198, So.)
Kick Returner
Jawhar Jordan (5-10, 180, R-So.)
Punt Returner
Josh Johnson (5-11, 187, Gr.)
Analysis: Not much to note here, Drew Brenowitz takes over as the starting long snapper after Mitch Hall moved on, and the staff still has faith in James Turner to be PK1.
(Photo of Louisville players: Matt Stone - Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
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