Jeff Brohm Showing Active Defensive Involvement During Louisville's Fall Camp

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When you think of Jeff Brohm and the identity of the teams under his watch, more often than not, one's mind turns to their offensive capabilities. Considering the high-flying offenses that he ran as the head honcho at both Western Kentucky and Purdue, it's not surprising that this is what most people associate him with.

Now that Brohm is back at his alma mater, many have speculated on how efficient Louisville will be on this side of the ball. Especially considering that the Cardinals have a plethora of weapons at the offensive skill positions and a quarterback who has been in his system before.

That being said, over the first week-and-a-half of fall camp for Louisville, players on the defensive side of the ball have been pleasantly surprised with how active Brohm has been on the other side of the line of scrimmage. It's the complete opposite line of thinking that many offensive-minded head coaches take, who usually let their defensive staff take full control over that side of the ball.

"He's always on the defense," safety Josh Minkins said. "He comes over when we're doing walkthroughs and stuff, and is on us about this little detail, telling us to move over, do this and that. It helps you when you have an offensive coach that sees something, and he's telling you, 'This is what I see, this is what the quarterback sees.' It helps you play faster."

Last season, then-head coach Scott Satterfield announced midway through their 2022 campaign that he - a former quarterback himself and Louisville's offensive play caller - would get more involved with the defensive game plan moving forward. While we'll never know how involved Satterfield truly got when it came to crafting the plan of attack for the defense, there hasn't been any doubt from the defensive players as to Brohm's involvement with helping them improve.

"It definitely surprised me," linebacker/safety Benjamin Perry when asked how surprised he was at how involved Brohm has been with the defense in fall camp. "But all the stuff I've heard about him is true. He's a real coach. He's in tune with it, offense and defense. It doesn't matter if you're a walk-on, second team or a first team starter, he's going to coach you like you're a starter on day one."

Not only does Brohm present a unique defensive perspective as an offensive-minded coach, but it comes from a place of high-level first hand experience. He played for five seasons at Louisville and was a starter for two, capping off his collegiate career by guiding the Cardinals to a 9-3 record and Liberty Bowl win as a senior in 1993. He was later inducted into the Louisville Football Ring of Honor.

While Brohm didn't see extensive on-field time in the NFL, only playing in eight career games all with the San Francisco 49ers during the 1996 and 1997 seasons, he still spent seven years in the league as a backup for five different teams. That knowledge gained from his experience as a professional helps give defenders an advanced look as to what they should be looking for while on the field.

"I think the fact that, not only was he a quarterback, but he's a quarterback that played at the highest level," Perry said. "I think the fact that he has that perspective and that knowledge, it makes me more receptive to his teaching."

While Purdue wasn't particularly known for their defensive prowess under Brohm, their secondary, especially with co-defensive coordinator Ron English on staff, was a bright spot. In English's first season with Brohm in 2021, the Boilermakers' passing defense ranked No. 33 in the FBS at 208.7 passing yards allowed per game. Last season through the Big Ten Championship game, Purdue was 48th in passing defense at 213.8 passing yards allowed per game, but made up for it with 15 interceptions - the 14th-best mark in college football.

English later followed Brohm to Louisville, and through the first parts of fall camp for the Cardinals, the defense - in particular the defensive backs - has made play a ton of plays. While this is mainly a product of English's 4-2-5 scheme being very DB friendly and the depth that the Cardinals have in this area of the field, Brohm's unique perspective and defensive involvement has certainly played a role.

"You know what, if I was younger, I would not like it," English said of Brohm's defensive involvement. "I would say, 'Oh, he doesn't know how to coach defense,' and that kind of stuff. Your pride gets in the way, you don't want anyone telling you what to do and think you've got all the answers. Then when you get beat up a little bit, you figure out that you don't have all the answers.

"The most important thing about Coach Brohm is that he's good at what he does. He's really good on offense. So when he tells me how they think, and how they want to do things, I'm like 'thank you God.' We try to have answers for what offenses like to do."

(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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