Could the 4-2-5 Defense Be Coming to Louisville?
Editor's Note: This piece has been updated to reflect that Ron English, nor anyone else, has yet to be officially designated as the defensive coordinator.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When Jeff Brohm was hired to be the next head coach of the Louisville football program, many fans were focused on the changes that would bring to the offensive side of the ball for the Cardinals. With Brohm's offensive-minded background as a former quarterback and his preference to air the ball out at a high caliber, it's a stark difference from Scott Satterfield's run heavy approach.
On the other side of the ball, there could also be changes coming. Ron English was officially announced to be joining Brohm's staff on Wednesday, and it has been reported that Mark Hagen - who was the co-defensive coordinator for the Boilermakers with English - will also be joining the Cardinals soon.
Of course, there's a chance that Louisville might not deviate far from the 3-4 defense that Bryan Brown utilized before he followed Satterfield up I-71 to Cincinnati. It was announced that defensive line coach Mark Ivey, who played a key role in Louisville's overall defensive success in 2022, would be staying put in a to-be-determined defensive assistant role.
Considering English's exact role on the defense has also yet to be officially announced, the title of defensive coordinator is still, theoretically, up for grabs. But if it is English, we have decided to break down what Louisville fans can expect on that side of the ball.
English utilizes the 4-2-5 as his base defense. What that means is that - more often than not - you have four defensive lineman, two linebackers and five defensive backs on the field.
First, we'll break down the defensive line. In the middle of the line, this system has both a nose tackle and a defensive tackle, unlike the 3-4 which just has the nose tackle. In this scheme, the bigger nose tackle usually lines up in a one-technique (over the shoulder of the center) while the slightly smaller defensive tackle lines up in a three-technique (over the outside shoulder of the offensive guard).
Then you have the two defensive ends that typically line up on the outside shoulders of the offensive tackles. In this system, one of them is your standard three-point stance defensive end, and the other is what is called a "Leo." Essentially, this is a defensive end/linebacker hybrid who instead of putting his hand in the dirt, will rush the backfield standing up. It's similar to the "DOG" position in the previous system, although it's not an outside linebacker position considering there are no dropbacks into coverage.
The two linebackers in this base scheme is your standard inside linebacker duo. One is a middle linebacker - which is the bigger and stronger of the two, and operates pretty much like a strong side linebacker - and the other is a weak side linebacker. For those that don't know, strong side means you line up on the side of the field where the opposing tight end is aligned, and the weak side is on the other side of the box.
The secondary is actually relatively standard, with one big exception. It features two cornerbacks and two safeties, with the fifth piece arguably being the key to the entire defense. It's a linebacker/safety hybrid called the "STAR" (also known as the ROVER in similar schemes), and this player can be aligned almost anywhere on the field: on the line, in the box, as a slot corner, you name it. It's similar to the "CARD" position, but with a lot more versatility in the alignment. Of course, this fifth position is also interchangeable with a more traditional nickelback.
Under English, Purdue typically mixed their looks up to keep opposing offenses on their toes. While the 4-2-5 was their base, they also utilized the 4-3 and even the 5-2 at times depending on down and distance. English seems to favor running zone vs. man coverage, which isn't a huge surprise, with the most common coverage being a Cover 3.
Admittedly, I couldn't find the actual blitz percentage from the Boilermakers, but from watching film of their games against Penn State, Maryland and Michigan in the Big Ten Championship, I can tell you they don't shy away from it. A large portion of their blitzes come from having an extra defender on either edge of the line of scrimmage vs. having one of the inside linebacker being a free blitzer, although that does get mixed in from time to time.
English's defense relies a lot on players winning one-on-one battles, so as you can imagine, defensive linemen are the one who typically produce the most havoc plays. For example, this past season, four of Purdue's top five most productive players in terms of tackles for loss were linemen, as were their top six sack artists. The linebackers mainly serve to clean up plays should the linemen not get home.
Considering an extra lineman will be on the field for their base defensive scheme vs. the base from under Bryan Brown, this will be a defense predicated more so on physicality than speed. This will occasionally be evened out should the STAR be replaced by a nickel, but the name of the game for this defense will still be pure strength.
That being said, Purdue still wasn't overly productive when it comes to sacks and tackles for loss. Sure, the Boilermakers did get much better statistically speaking when English and Hagen joined the fold in 2021 - which helped them turn in a nine-win season - but Purdue in 2022 ranks just 66th and 110th nationally in sacks and TFLs per game, respectively, ahead of the Citrus Bowl. Tackling also seemed to be an issue at times, as well.
This defense made up for that by being a lot more productive in the secondary. In 2022, Purdue ranked 18th in passes intercepted with 14, and 33rd in total passes defended with 60. Their overall passing defense is 48th at 213.8 passing yards allowed per game, but in 2021, English's first year, it was 33rd with 208.7 passing yards allowed per game.
English's 4-2-5 isn't perfect, but it would present an interesting matchup against an ACC that has a fair amount of upper echelon starting quarterbacks. Not to mention that, considering the Cardinals have an abundance of defensive linemen and relative depth in the secondary, it could just be what Louisville needs at the moment.
Plus, given that Louisville's dedication to football and overall defensive talent is arguably better than that of Purdue's, it has potential to be a defense that consistently ranks in the top half of the ACC. Time will tell what direction the program goes in.
(Photo of Ron English: Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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